Analysis of Music Video Using Goodwin's Theory

It's Time - Imagine Dragons

Feature 1 - Music video demonstrates genre characteristics - The genre of the band Imagine Dragons is Indie Rock, this genre of music usually produces music videos which are quite empowering is most music in this genre is rock but is normally quite up beat and feel good. Despite the overall theme of the video being quite empowering and uplifting, the fact that the video throughout has a very dark overall means that the video is partly going against the stereotypical feel of a video in this genre.

Feature 2 - There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals -

'And now it's time to build from the bottom of the pit' - When this lyric is being sung the band are seen to be walking out of what seems to be a wreckage or pit.

'The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell' - When this line if sung the band are seen to be walking towards a cloudy dark landscape.

These links between lyrics and visuals help the audience gain a better understanding of the meaning behind the video and help them build a connection between the video and lyrics.

Feature 3 - There is a relationship between music and visuals -

When the lead singer sings the line 'Never changing who I am' he punches his chest in time to the beat of the music. Also for the majority of the video, the cuts only happen on a beat of the music, doing this helps with the continuity of the video and helps it flow better.

 

Feature 4 - Record label demands close ups - Throughout the video there is a frequent us of close ups on the male lead singer in the band, doing this helps the audience get a better understanding of who the lead singer is, but also put empathises on the performance part of the video. The record label require close up as it helps the band and mainly the lead singer or front man of the band to get more public exposure, meaning his is more easily recognisable to the public. The lead singer being more recognisable will lead to things like posters and t-shirt being sold as there will be more interest in the public about him.

 

Feature 5 - Regular mention of how people look & voyeuristic treatment of women - There is minimal reference to the way people look in this video and minimal reference to women, however towards the end of the video, there is a female who is suspended in mid-air, as she is dressed in what seems to be just a t-shirt and a jacket, some would say that she looks vulnerable and has been made to look like an object of desire for the other men in the video.

Feature 6 - Intertextual references - Intertextual references are present when other forms of media can be found in a music video, if intertexutal references where present in this video there would be something along the lines of clips or characters from a film or programme the song has featured in, but because this is present in the video, there are no intertexual reference present in this video.

Goodwin's Theory

Independent Learning - Music Video Fact Sheet

The Purpose of Music Videos in the Digital Age

- The purpose of a music video is to sell products, most obviously the song which is featuring over it, however a lot of other things can be sold through music videos.

- Other things which can be sold are things like, the album the song is on, a film that song might be featuring in, an upcoming tour the artist is doing or things like merchandise or clothing brands.

- Music videos are a very different way of marketing to normal forms of marketing as the consumer is actually getting the product they are being sold. For example when you see a car advert on TV, the advert is making the item desirable to you, and not actually giving it to you, however a music video is giving you the song and the video.



YouTube Homepage

- Giving people full access to the product in marketing before the digital age was far to problematic as songs where only available to listen to at certain times in certain places like Top Of The Pops.

- However due to advances in media technologies people are able to watch music videos on portable platforms like YouTube by viewing them on their Mobiles or I-Pods.

- However the fact that people can view things online and on mobile platforms means that people are less likely to buy physical copies of an album/song as they can listen to it online for free.

- At first artists and record companies were reluctant to allow people to upload videos to sites like YouTube due to copyright, however they realised it was impossible to control who uploaded what so they ended up allowing it but by controlling who does it.

- Artists have realised that having their own channels and linking things like iTunes links to buy their songs or links to their social media sites actually helps with publicity and making money.

Conventions of Music Videos

'Haim - Don't save me' - showing one of the main convention
of featuring the band.

- A music video adds something to the experience of listening to the song it is with.

- Although music videos can be extremely varied due to genre there are conventions which are evident through out.

- Movement is essential to music videos and usually complements the rhythm of the song.

- Most music videos have a narrate
ve, the narrative links to the lyrics and illustrate what is being said or be independent from the song and tell a different story.

-Most music videos feature the band and the artist as they are also a product to be sold. The artist is usually seen playing an instrument or lip syncing to the track, depending on their role in the band.

 

- I got this information from a fact booklet which was put together informing people about the purpose of a music video and the conventions you find in a music video.

Initial Ideas on our Music Video

 

After talking with my group we decided that we didn't want to use a song by a well known artist, we would rather pick an artist who isn't as well known and is more independent, this is because it would be easier for us to contact them, plus we will be able to have the actually artist starring in our video when we come to make it.

 

After going over musicians that each of us know we decided to go with an artist called Ben Pavitt, who is good friends with Me and Charlotte. Deciding to use his original song called 'Lights' means we can work closely with the artist during the filming and he will be easily available if we ever need to re-shoot any of the shots.

 

Below is a digital version of the initial diagram we did when thinking about all the aspects of our video.

 

Notes On Music Artist Poster

Lady Gaga - Born This Way - Music Poster

Initially what makes this poster stand out is the fact that there are only 3 colours used, the main ones being Black and White and the other one Red is only used slightly on Lady Gaga's lips. This draws attention to the poster as it is very monotone and basic, which can actually be more effective that something that has a lot going on. The poster uses the same font throughout and stands out a lot due to the contrasting of the colours of the background and the font. The artists name and the date of the album release are shown in a white font and the name of the album is shown with black lettering on a white background. This is done to draw more attention to the fact that the album is by Lady Gaga and the date it comes out, allowing the viewer to find out what the album is called after they have got this information. The image used is striking also as it is of the artist, and because its the album cover, not many people have seen it before meaning it will draw them too the advertisement. Due to the fact the artist looks a lot different from how she did on the cover of her last album, it makes the person viewing the advert want to listen to the album and see if her music has changed as much as her. 

Why? - I have analysed this artist poster as it will aid me in how I am going to make mine. This analysis will help me decide what I need to include on the poster buut also how big and what colour everything needs to be as certain things need more attention than other things, like the artists name and the release date are more important that a picture of the artist or the album name.

Notes On Magazine Advertisement

Queen of the Stone Age - Like Clockwork Advert

Initially when you see this advertisement you are stricken by the bold colour red that is used in the background which contrasts a lot with the colour black that the two figures are wearing. 

The font used in the advertisement is the same throughout , however despite being quite thin, it is coloured effectively against the background, meaning the words stand out, especially the 'OUT NOW' which is white on black, a combination that works very well. Also the bands name is bolder than the title of the album, showing how making sure the readers know who the band are is more important than them knowing the album name. This advert is very basic and doesn't contain any actual images, just a sketchy cartoon picture of two figures, however because of the colouring it makes the advert very interesting and draws the reader in. Also the slight use of the colour blue helps the advert to stand out more. The words which you are most drawn to on the page is 'OUT NOT' due to the fact it is contrasted well with the black and also because it is central and bold, it the most important thing the advert has to get across to the reader. 

Why? Analysing this magazine advert will help me in many ways when it comes to making my digipack, firstly iw will aid me when planning what to include in my magazine advert such as wording and colour, it will also help me as it gives me an insite into what attracts people to the advert, for example wether you need the bands name or the album title on the album, and how much of the page does it need to take up.

Other Students Music Video

Music Video 'Rivers Kankouran'

Genre - The genre of the band and the song that is being played over the video is alternative pop, however the genre of the video which has been created is in my opinion a drama/romance video. As it features a very serious storyline about love and a couple.

Narrative - The storyline of the video shows a couple when they were together and also currently when they are both separated and dealing with the fact they are no longer together. The themes in this video are ones of Love and Heartbreak, these themes are very typical of music videos as most songs are written about these themes. TODOROV's 5 stages is not shown in this video due to the discontinuous editing used. The recognisable character in this video are that of a female and a male, these are the main characters in the video and are typical of this type of theme. The lyrics relate to what is shown in the video a lot, the title of the song is 'Rivers' and rivers, water and other things along these lines are shown throughout the video. 

Representation - There are no obviously issue shown using representation in this video, however both genders of male and female are represented, one stereotypically and the other not so much. The female gender is shown to be stereotypical as the female character is seen to be very upset and dealing with the heartbreak very badly. However, men do experience heartbreak, but are seen to hide their true feeling to look more manly, however the male in this video is seen to be visibly upset and having trouble dealing with it also, this is not stereotypical. 

Visual Codes - The video is set near a river, on a beach and in and around a very coastal area, this is effective as it links in with the lyrics and overall theme of the song. The beach is seen to be a place where people go to get peace and be reflective, which is what is happening with both the characters in this video. The colours used in this video are very effective and show the audience a lot about the feelings of the characters in the video. When you see footage of the couple when they are in a relationship, the footage is very bright and has very high contrast, however when you see footage of the two character on their own the footage is very dull and colourless, both of these effects connote that the couple are happier together.

Technical  Codes - The camera angles used in this video help the audience understand how the characters are feeling, the close ups at the beginning of the video show the audience that the couple were very close and romantic, as the close ups are from when they where together and show the male giving the female a necklace. There are many close ups used throughout to show the audience what is happening and how it effectives the character. However few High or Low angle shots are used, the editing is very fast pace at points which shows how the heartbreak the character are going through it very whirlwind and painful. The editing is very effective in this video which makes up for the lack of different camera angles. 

Audience - The audience which would watch this audience would probably be mainly female, however some males may find it appealing due to the fact there lead role is equal between the male and the female. However the age that this video would appeal to is most likely 16+ because it had mature themes of love and romance which only people of that age are likely to relate to or understand. 

What worked - I think the editing of this video worked really well as it showed the audience very clearly what was going on in the video and also helped convey the feelings of the two character well, you know that, despite the video showing clips from the past and current time, that the couple are no longer together and that the old clips are used to show what they used to have, putting more empathises on the fact they no longer have it. 

What didn't work - I think there couple have been a few more type of camera angle, and also some written iconography could have been used to add to the quality of the final video. Apart from that I thought this video was of very good quality.

The Purpose of a Music Video

What is the purpose of a Music Video?

- A music video is typically a short film which involve the song that it is accompanying and also video of the artist or typically a story line which links to the artists or the song.

- Music videos are mainly used as a promotional tool to help sell the artist, the song or the album that the song has come off of.

- Music videos are also used to sell product, which either link to the artist or have been paid by a company to feature to help sell a product. An artist which regularly featured a great deal of 'Product Placement' in their music videos is Will.I.Am

- Music videos sometimes features clips from a film, this is if the song features in the film, this can help promote either the film or the song depending on how famous the artist if or how big the film is.

- Some artists use music videos to clear up rumours about their personal lives but also use them to publicise themselves and make themselves more well known by creating rumours and controversy.

- Music video are used as a form of communications by some artists to reach out to their fans and make them feel closer to the artist. Some artists have very large and close followings of fans so they

use music videos to make their fans feel featured and part of their lives.

- Music videos are also used to help the audience remember the song which features, music videos give the audience visuals to match the song with, helping them remember it.

Music Video History

Textual Analysis - John Mayer

John Mayer - Half of My Heart 

Genre - The genre of the piece of music and the artist who has created the piece of music is acoustic pop rock. However the genre of the video the music is played with is a drama, the storyline featured in the video is one which the viewer would expect to see in a soap or in a drama film. The video features themes of love, heartbreak and family. Considering the genre something like a wedding is expected and also the fact that there was something wrong with the wedding. However an unexpected element of the video is the fact that the grooms location is actually known by the end of the video and not just left to never be solved. 

Narrative - the main storyline of the video is the fact that there is a wedding about to happen between a man and a woman, however the man doesn't show up to the wedding, leaving the bride and the rest of the family to clean up the wedding and locate the groom, while the groom is sat in a bar with a guitar singing about why he didn't turn up. The main themes of the video are Love, Family, Heartbreak and Relationships. TODOROV's 5 stages is seen in this video, 4 stages are seen in this video, the stages being equilibrium, disruption, recognition and attempted repair. The only main recognisable character is the artist who is playing the groom. The lyrics of the song link in well to the fact he is walking away from love for example 'I can't keep loving you, with half of my heart'.

Representation  - Men are shown very stereotypically in this video, for example, the fact that the man is the one that has walked away re-enforces the stereotype that men are bad at handling their feelings and run away from issues instead of confronting them. Also the male protagonist of the video is shown to have a lot of power as all he does for most of the video is sit in a bar but he has managed to cause a large amount of damage to peoples days and lives. The artist is constructed as being someone who has trouble with their love life, which links back to their actual personal life in the stop light, as John Mayer is well known for having a lot of and trouble with women. 

Visual Codes - The video is set partly in a church, which has connotations of Love, and also commitment, for some people this can be very comforting, but for others this can be very scary, both of there feelings are shown in this video. The other place the video is set is in a Bar, this is a stereotypical setting in music videos as somewhere someone would go when they are having troubles or want an escape from what is going on in their life, which is what John Mayer is going in the video. There are no obvious uses of block colour, but the lighting is used effectively, in the church it is very bright and well light, showing connotations of happiness however in the bar it is very very dark and dull, showing connotations of sadness and confusion. 

Technical Codes - The camera angles used on the male in the video show how he has a lot of power but is also feeling very vulnerable and confused, this is because a range of shots are used on him, such as high and low angles through out, this connotes a sense of confusion across to the viewer. The male is also shot from a distance many times throughout the video, showing how he is confused and also how he feels pressure and overwhelmed as to the viewer, the camera angle makes it seem like he is being watched or followed. The cuts in the video are going at a steady pace, not too fast or too slow, showing how despite the terrible situation that is going on, it may not be a shock or disaster to some people present, especially the groom. 

Audience - The audience of this video could be either males or females as the video doesn't contain anything that swings toward any particular gender, however the video is probably best suited to be watched by people over the age of 16 the video and the song both contain strong themes about love and heartbreak which you probably need experience in either area to full relate to or understand.