The Artists Identity

Silent Sundays
Basic Facts:
The band was formed by 4 friends Dave O'leary, Tom Harris, Chris Tracey and Lee Dainty in Sheffield 2006. All of the band members are between the ages of 16 - 18 and are white. As each member has different likes and interests they have produced a  variety of songs that appeal to a wide audience from soft rock/indie to more bass heavy rock. As the band have a wide range of influences they can perform covers of bands such as Green Day whilst also using these influences and others to create their own indie sound. They are currently an unsigned band but have released several singles and are working on producing a 10 - track album.


Typography:

I think that this selection of different fonts are best suited to the style that this group is trying to portray as they include some old school punk looking types as well as others that would appeal to the indie side of their audience. Also all the typography shown here helps to portray the band as a unique group with their own style of visuals and music.

Colours:

    Black    Red     Blue     Greens     Grey   White

Clothing:
These are some examples of the type of clothing that I feel best represents that band.

Imagery:

These are some of the images that i want my music video to put into the heads of my audience. Some are locations, others are representations os specific lyrics in the song which I feel need to be emphasised.

For the band members I will have my friends play the roles as they are very reliable and are also interested in this genre of music and so have similar fashion sense.

Pratik Clare

Jamie O'Sullivan

Reece Larkin

 

Myself

99dollarmusicvideos.com

What is 99dollarmusicvideo.com?
99dollarmusicvideo.com is an independent music network that enables individuals to produce music videos in collaboration with the artist. It aims to merge low-fi, cutting edge videos with the best of today's music scene. The artists used are unsigned and there are strict guidelines that the filmmakers must adhere to:

1. The video must be made for less than $99
2. It must be shot in one day (total)
3. It must be edited in one day (total)
4. There must be collaboration between the artist and the filmmaker

What is their Ethos?
99dollarmusicvideo attempt to bring independent artists and unknown filmmakers together to collaborate on a music video, this helps to increase the artists notoriety and promotes the filmmaker. They upload a new video each week which displays  contemporary, cutting edge techniques for a global audience to enjoy an example would be the new video for "Strange Machines" by Redding Hunter.

What Labels, Types and Genres appear on the Website?
Most of the videos displayed on the website are rock and pop songs and from the images shown on the homepage many of the bands have an element of indie in their music as well. All the labels on this website are independent which is in-keeping with the websites rules for creating a music video and posting it on the site. By examining the website further it has become clear that most of the artists fall under the genres of Rock, Indie or Alternative Pop which could be due to the lack of demand for those genres compared with HipHop and Regular Pop. An example of a Rock/Indie artist would be "Balls" by King Bee, the group has the classic set up of a rock band but the effects put on the vocals and the slightly exaggerated electro sound from the guitar sets them apart from the conventional Rock genre.


What is the Relationship between the Artist and the Filmmaker?
99dollarmusicvideos encourages as much collaboration as possible between the artist and the filmmaker so much so that it is one of their criteria for posting a video on their website. This provides a setting for the filmmaker and the artist to develop a good working relationship which will help them to further their career in the music industry and produce an end product that both parties are pleased with. The need for the video to be contemporary and cutting-edge forces the filmmaker to think creatively but in a way that the artist thinks reflects them best which helps the filmmaker to progress and produce even better music videos. An example of this would be the multitude of videos and shorts that Sherng-Lee Huang has created after posting a video on 99dollarmusicvideo.com.

Costs?
The funds given to the filmmaker are there to cover the costs of equipment/costumes that are needed for the video but which are not available for free. This means that the filmmaker could borrow a friends 1080p HD camera to shoot the video and the $99 would not be effected, but if the drummer needs a new set of drumsticks then this would come out of the $99.


Audience Participation?
99dollarmusicvideos strongly encourages audience participation by allowing people to leave comments and "liking" different videos and if they wish, can attempt to produce their own music video. There is also an FAQ page indicating that the audience actively inquires about different aspects of the process.

Is it possible to make a Professional looking video for $99?

From the variety of videos displayed on 99dollarmusicvideos.com I would say that yes it is possible to produce a professional quality video on this budget. The strict giudlines and small budget brings out the creativity in the filmmaker and encourages them to use their injinuity and persuasiveness in order to ba able to use the best equpiment available. From the quality of shots and editing in this video "Balls" by King Bee I would say that it was a very professional looking video.

Music Video Case Study

Open publication - Free publishing - More case study

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin was Director of Music and the Organist at Bangor Cathedral for 37 years, during which time he released his theory on music videos in his book 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'. He theorised that every music video has a relationship between the lyrics and their visual representation in the video, that different genres use varied styles and differing amounts of voyeurism and iconography and that most artists have a "Star Persona" which is usually an exaggerated form of one of the artists qualities e.g. aggressive, sexy.

The Relationship between the Lyrics and Visuals
Goodwin's theory suggests that the lyrics of the song on some level correspond with the footage and visual effects seen in the music video. The visuals can be used to reinforce the meaning of the lyrics or the message that the artist is trying to get across. An example of this would be in Sum 41's video 'In Too Deep' the lead singer begins doing a backflip and the lyrics correspond with this, saying "I'm bending over backwards to relate". It could be connoted that this visual representation of completing a very difficult task is comparable with being in a relationship. 

Voyeurism

In most music videos, spreading across genres, there are often female dancers/performers in revealing costumes being portrayed in a very sexual manner. This objectifies these women and is used to increase the sales/views of the music video as it appeals to the "Male Gaze". In recent years solo female artists have begun using this method to increase their popularity with their male audience and have started to exploit the "Female Gaze" by introducing male performers and displaying them in the same fashion. 

An example of targeting the Male gaze would Rihanna in her video "Umbrella".

An example of the Female gaze would be the performers in Nicki Minaj's video "Super Bass".

The Genres Characteristics

According to Goodwin each genre has a stereotypical base to their videos for example a rock group usually has a lot of footage of the group playing their instruments, where as a Rap/Hip-Hop video will typically have provocatively dressed women performers and the main artists will have expensive jewellery and large expensive cars.

This image shows Green Day doing an "As-Live" performance in their music video for American Idiot.

Both these images are from 50 Cent's video for his song "Window Shopper".






Star Persona
An artists Star Persona is when one of the artists qualities is exaggerated in the videos and other form of media like news channels and sometimes in interviews. Although the persona is a part of the artist it is also fictional as the artists will only act their persona when in the public eye. Artists don't usually show their all-round character, the record companies usually try to focus in on one particular quality and market the artist by their persona. Star Persona's can change over time as the artist adapts to try and keep their popularity and income up, a great example of this would be Madonna who has changed her persona or image many times in order to be in-keeping with the current fashion and maintain her popularity.

Madonna 80's

Madonna 90's

Madonna 2000

Madonna 2011

erqheh

Styles & Conventions of Music Videos

Narrative:
In a narrative video there is very little footage of the band or group/band, the video concentrates on telling a story that which can have  something to do with the lyrics in the song. This style helps to keep the audience interested during the performance and also shows the audience the bands style. A narrative video can also be the choice of the producer, this could be because they want to break the group away from the norm of music videos for that genre of music. 


Interpretative:
In this style of video the images and footage in the video is directly related to the lyrics of the song, this helps the audience to visualise what the artist wants the lyrics to mean. In this instance the artists are trying to create a funny video in which the simplicity of the lyrics together with the footage of the artists gives the video a very comedic feel. Interpretive videos are most likely to be chosen by artists who are quite mainstream because it doesn't confuse the audience. It could also be chosen because they are easier to produce that an impressionist video and it may seem odd to the audience if a mainstream artist does a music video hat is against the norm for that genre.


Impressionist:
An impressionist video may be chosen by the artist because like interpretive videos they are relatively easy to produce and have a similar effect. The footage may not match the lyrics directly but the pace and feel of the editing in the video match the sound of the song and some elements of interpretive may be incorporated to make it easier for the audience to comprehend. The producer of the video may chose for the artist to use this type of video as it makes the video more appealing to the mainstream audience as this would increase the sales of the song.


Surreal/Abstract:
Some artists may chose to do a surreal video to try and separate themselves from the majority by creating a video that is confusing and usually doesn't represent the lyrics in the same way as an interpretive video. Many of these videos are controversial which can lead to the artist gaining popularity as the audience remembers the video due to its uniqueness. The producer may also encourage the controversy to increase the publics knowledge of the artist.


Animation:
Animation is when the footage shown in the video is computer generated or uses the stop motion method. This means that real footage of the artist or any thing else is rarely seen. Animated videos can work well with all kinds of video styles and can help the video appeal to a greater audience. An example of an animated music video would be "Stylo" by the "Gorillaz" in which the artists are animated but the environment is real.


Intertextuality:
This is when a phrase, action or theme is replicated in one form of media but id originally from another medium. This is mostly used to add humour to the video and takes advantage of the  audiences prior knowledge, but some of the audience who may not fully understand the reference can still appreciate the humour behind it. An example of this would be the TV show "Family Guy" which, like "The Simpsons", incorporates themes, phrases or characters from other forms of media and uses them for added comedic effect.


Parody:
A parody is when one form of media produces a video or episode that combines some elements of another medium in a way that adds comedic effect in an almost mocking fashion, this is also known as Pastiche. An example of this would be Wierd Al Yankovic's parody of Michael Jacksons "Bad".

Music Video Outlets

Mainstream TV:
Mainstream TV a great way for the artist to reach a huge audience as anyone can get these channels and it shows all genres therefore it can open new groups to the audience. It can also target a wide variety of ages which will make it easier for the artist's fan-base to grow, which in turn will increase sales. Mainstream shows can also provide interviews with the artist as well as clips and previews, this encourages people to watch and learn more about artists/groups that were previously unknown. 
A limitation of mainstream TV is that the videos are only shown for a short period of time and they can be restricted on what type of music they can show due to the standards that editors and producers are held to. Another limitation of mainstream TV 
is that the amount of music programmes on air is very low and so the chances of an unknown artist getting their video aired are quite low.

Music Channels:

These channels specialise in showing specific genres of music constantly, some examples are MTV and Kerrang. Music videos on these channels get far more air-play than on mainstream TV and have the chance of being repeated when the channel does Top 100's and others. Also because of the variety of music channels they can be targeted toward a specific genre and therefore audience, this allows the audience to listen to their chosen genre without having to listen to other types of music.

A limitation of this medium is that because it is such a specialised channel the viewing audience is far less than that of the mainstream channels. Also these channels are usually only available on subscription TV which again limits the audience to those who can afford it.

CD's & Special Edition DVD's/CD's:
CD's and DVD's are still popular today even with the ability to download songs from the internet, as they give the buyer something tangible. This medium also appeals to the older audience who may prefer to buy a CD or possibly might not fully understand how to download their favourite songs. Another advantage is that in the future the CD's, DVD's and other merchandise will be far more valuable than an MP3 file on your computer as they appeal to collectors.
One limitation is that these items require far more storage space than a hard drive on your computer, this means that in order to keep a large CD collection a lot of space is needed. Another disadvantage is that waiting for the official release of the CD instead of simply downloading an take a long time and the audience may get annoyed at having to wait.

Streaming Websites:
In recent years the invention of streaming sites has allowed artists to promote their material to a global audience which in the past would have taken months or years to accomplish. This also helps unknown artists to get their material out and increase their chances of getting signed. Also websites such as youtube allow the audience to share the link of the video to other social websites increasing the popularity of the artist with almost no effort. These streaming sites also allow the audience to leave comments on the music video, this helps to increase the diversity of opinions on the song and also gives the artist feedback from the people that are most likely to buy their other singles/albums.
A limitation of streaming sites is that there is some legal confusion as to whether it is legal to download the songs, re-post them or share the downloaded file. This can lead to legal proceedings where an ill-informed party is punished simply for not being fully informed. Another limitation is that with it being so easy to download the files from some streaming sites the audience is more likely to turn to piracy instead of paying for the songs legally, this means that the artist doesn't get the money from the sale and people are at risk of being prosecuted.

Artist's Website:
Another way of viewing an artist's material is by visiting their webpage, this allows the audience to see other material such as unseen footage of the artist or the release date of their new album. Also this gives the audience the opportunity to purchase official merchandise and also provides the audience with the ability to post comments on the website directly or displays links to the artists social network pages.
One of the biggest limitations of going on an artists website is that it is relatively easy to create a fake website which could lead to the audience spending money and not receiving the goods they purchased. Another limitation is that they can sometimes block the ability to share links or re-post the video's on other social websites.

















Downloads;
There are a variety of positive arguments for downloading songs, one of which is that it is very easy for the audience to locate the desired song/album on the internet and there are hundreds of sites dedicated to converting videos found on streaming sites to MP3 format. Also downloading the song is much easier and quicker than purchasing the CD which means that it appeals to a larger audience.
A big limitation of downloading is that there is a lot of legal confusion a to whether a song can be downloaded for free on certain websites, this can lead to poorly informed parties being prosecuted. Another limitation is that apart from purchasing the music from websites such as itunes or the artists website these downloads are free, meaning the artist doesn't get any money.

Purpose of a Music Video

To Promote a new Release:
One of the main reasons for bringing out a new music video is to promote and advertise an artists new single. This is largly helped by the internet in recent years and the invention of websites such as Youtube and other streaming sites. This way of advertising a new single means that the artist can control the release time of the video and try to build up the fans anticipation which in turn will increase the overall sales of the single. The video being accessible online also means that it can be viewed by people all over the world increasing their popularity and getting them noticed in the music world. This is also a free way to display videos meaning that even a person on a very low budget can put their song on the website to be heard and enjoyed. Also with the artist able to control the release whilst simultaneously using other types of media to promote their video they are able to make just the release of the video an event in itself, also increasing the number of sales.

This statistic shows that a relatively unknown british band  is fairly popular in most of North America and Australia

Creating a Visual Representation of the Artist:
The way in which the video is shot, the props and costumes that are used and the location and actors all help to communicate the style, energy and genre of the song. Not having lots of cuts in a video can help to emphasis the slow pace of the song and it gives the audience time to appreciate the lyrics and imagery in the video. Also the style and amount of special effects can show how the artist wants to appear to the audience and helps to display that artists brand. Having a music video also allows the audience to see the artist while not actually performing this helps to make the artist seem more accessible to the audience as they are looking at a person and not just a singer/performer. With the amount of special effects and techniques available now artists are ably to reinvent themselves to maintain their popularity and keep up sales of their songs. This means that artists can extend their career over a far greater period of time allowing them to change their style of singing and attempt new genres which will again increase the sales of their music.

This video helps to show the audience that Blink 182 is a group that really enjoy making silly and amusing videos which match their songs






Extending the Playability & Creating additional Income:
A music video can be shown on a music channel for a far longer period than the single would get air play on the radio, this helps to promote the artist over a longer period of time. This keeps the artist in the public eye for longer increasing their fan base and therefore their sales.As the video is repeated many times on music channels the artist also gets added income from the royalties that have to be payed to them. Also when the music video is on a streaming site the adverts that appear whilst their video is being played provide additional income, another way in which a music video provides an income for the artist is by releasing  a DVD with a collection of music videos.

This Shows a YouTube video which also advertises Nickleback's Facebook and Myspace page as well as their new album.






Creating Synergy with other Media Sectors:
An artists music video can contain references and tie-ins to other businesses in order to create links between the two and increase awareness and popularity. This is done mainly when a song is played in a movie and the music video incorporates scenes from the movie. This is when an artist is asked to produce a soundtrack for a movie and when the artist makes a music video for that song they incorporate parts of the movie as well. This also allows the artist to explore new sectors and expand their career into other media forms e.g. acting.

This Paramore video shows scenes from the first Twilight movie in which their sone "Decode" is featured.

To be Art in Their Own Right:

Some videos are produced not just to add a visual element to the song but also to act as a piece of art that deserves the audiences attention separate to the song itself. When a video is produced in this way it intrigues the audience and  encourages them to think about what connection the song has to the video if any. This also allows the audience to gain some insight into how the artist visualises the song themselves and what they were thinking and feeling when they wrote the song. An example of an artistic music video would be when two or more music videos create and follow story line.

These two videos by Green Day show a continuing story line of the groups journey in a car and when the car breaks down.

 
 
       

Good & Bad Music Video Techniques

Green Screen:

Good example:
This music video by Seether highlights an over exaggerated view of how green screen is used and because the audience can see how and when this technique has been used it doesn't have the same effect in a conventional sense. Although this video is about exposing fakes, so in that sense it works well to convey the message to the audience whilst also adding a touch of humour by simplifying the actual process.



Bad Example:
This video shows how if the technique is not done correctly it can cause the video to lose any effect it may have had and unintentionally encourages the audience to mock the group/band as well as the music genre as a whole. A bad example such as this is usually easy to spot as around the edges of the person(s) in shot a green border will appear, this is due to the green background not being completely replaced by the intended image.



Special Effects:


Good Example:
This music video is completely computer animated and the way in which they depict the lyrics of the song makes it appeal more to the audience as it isn't a person being promiscuous but a dog doing what it is biologically programmed to do and eventually suffering the consequences. The style of the animation is different to the conventional cartoon as some aspects seem quite realistic as well as the sharp features of the characters and the fact that they are blue.


Bad Example:
In this exert from the Terminator movie it is clearly visible that when the eye is pulled out it switches from being Arnold Schwarzenegger to a robotic model. This is clear to the audience not just from the change in skin texture but also by the sudden change to jerky stiff movements from the fluidity of a human actor.
http://youtu.be/E2oTXjAB-8o


Cutting to the Beat:


Good Example:
This video by The Prodigy is a great example of cutting to the beat, this gives even more emphasis to the drums throughout the song. Although there isn't a lot of camera movement in this video the different angles and shots used break the song up and help to add to the chaotic feel of of the song.



Bad Example:
Although some of the cuts are on the beat most are irregular and off the beat, this may distract the audience's attention from the song but could provide more emphasis on the actual video. As the majority of the cuts aren't on the beat the audience may lose track of the song or not listen fully to the lyrics.



Large Number of Cuts:


Good Example:
There are loads of cuts in this song by Slipknot which helps to add to the violent and psychotic feel of the video. This will help to keep the audience's interest as the screen is constantly changing showing a variety of camera angles, shots and movement. It also helps to highlight the instruments that are most prevalent in that section of the song.





Bad Example:
There are no cuts in this song by Bruno Mars which could result in the audience losing interest and makes it seem less professional. Although this is a bad example of cuts in a music video the lack of cuts emphasises what the song is about and makes it feel more like a home movie that some friends have filmed which is essentially what it is.



Camera Language:


Good Example:
This video has a lot of camera movement such as zooming in, panning, and tracking. The tracking and panning movement methods are used in this video to try and keep the performers in shot for most of the time they are moving around the warehouse. This helps to keep the audiences focus on that individual as at that point in the song they are a crucial element. Also the camera zooms in on specific elements such as the shoe to focus the audiences attention on what will be a vital element of the videos story. 



Bad Example:
This music video by Weezer has ver little camera movement in it, this could cause the audience to lose interest in the song. Although there are some panning shots, in the majority of the video the targeted individual is in the middle of the shot. The song has some very unusual lyrics which are backed up with an apparently random mixture of video clips.




Lip-synching
Good Example:
This video by Nickleback is a great example of lip-synching  as non of the people shown in the video are band members and so have to be lip synching. This video is a compilation of many other videos of people lip-synching the actual song, This helps to give a visual representation of the songs lyrics such as "We all just wanna be big Rockstars".



Bad Example:
In this video the young boys lips are out of synch with the lyrics from the song, this is clearly visible in some parts but in others his timing improves. This can make it hard for the audience to concentrate on both the lyrics and what the video is about.

Evaluation of Promotional Video

The Project Brief:

For this project we were asked to create a short video for a charity support program called BASIS. This video would be shown at their annual general meeting to display the kind of work that BASIS had done with the groups during that year. Our video is about the BASIS program itself and shows the 10 charities that were being coached this year and how the charities were being coached. It also goes into some detail about the different charities and what they do for the people they are trying to help.

http://www.redbridgecvs.net/

Production:
Pre-Production:
Before we began filming we did some research on corporate videos and evaluated them so that we knew the main components of a corporate video.We had a short meeting with Maddy, the leadership coach for BASIS, to discuss the best time for us to interview her and asked her what she wanted us to include in the video and if there were any improvements that could be made on the previous years video, shortly afterwards we looked at some archive footage so that we knew what needed to be included. Also we asked if she could send us any of the footage that the charities had shot themselves with the camera's they were given. We then emailed Maddy a list of some of the questions that we were going to ask her so that she could prepare detailed answers to give during the interview.


Production:
During the production stage we filmed an interview with Maddy at the BASIS headquarters in Ilford where she answered our questions and gave insight into how BASIS helps to coach the charity groups and what each of the groups does to help the people that use their facilities. We filmed the interview from different angles so that we could break the interview up and make it more interesting. We also used a mic to try and stop any background noise affecting the sound of Maddy speaking. This allowed us to get a much clearer sound for the promotional video making it easier to edit in post-production. Also we used some footage and images that other groups had filmed and some footage that Maddy gave us in order to break up the interview into sections. 


Post-Production:
During editing stage we cut the different angles of the interview with Maddy together which helped to make it more interesting for the audience. We also cut in images from the each of the 10 charity groups to help demonstrate to the audience what the groups do to help the people that attend and advertise the groups logo and some of their contacts. Using the additional footage provided by Maddy and some of the groups we were able to provide an insight into how the BASIS programme has helped coach the groups from their point of view. We tried to use very simple transitions in order to not draw the audiences attention away from the message of the video. This also helped to ease into some of the more noticeable transitions and we used some other graphics to provide extra information on what Maddy does to help the charity groups.


Problems That We Encountered:
During the editing stage we had trouble with keeping the sound clips in the correct places because when we added in some more video footage the audio clips moved positions. This took a while to solve as we had to find some of the audio clips that we had deleted earlier in the editing process. We solved this by going through all of the discarded audio clips and putting them back in the appropriate places. Also I found it difficult to learn how to use some of the software as this was the first time that I had taken media but after some help this was no longer a problem. Another problem that we found was finding time when all the members of our group had free time in order to edit, this was solved by going after school some days to finish the editing stage.


Strengths & Weaknesses:
I think that one of our strengths was that we were able to use a lot of the footage by cutting and editing all available clips to the correct size. This meant that our promotional video wasn't just a long interview with Maddy but showed the audience lots of images and other clips that helped display all of the groups. Another strength was that we worked well as a team by using input from all members and all contributing to how the look and sound of the video. One of our weaknesses was that as I hadn't done media before it took some time for me to learn how to use the software during the editing process and so this slowed down our groups progress until I learned some of the basics and was able to get to the same level of knowledge as my other group members. Another weakness was that during the production stage we found it difficult to get rid of the background sound in our interview with Maddy and so we had to repeat some parts of the interview which took more time than we had planned.


The Finished Product:
In my opinion our finished promotional video displays the message that we were trying to get across very well whilst keeping the audiences attention throughout the entire video. This means that as people are interested in the whole video they are more likely to take in what the video is trying to say. Also I feel that our video gives lots of information on how the BASIS programme coaches each of the groups and what kind of support is provided. If we were to go back and do this project again I would like to have more video clips of the groups during one of their meetings in order to convey more easily how that charity helps its members.