Top Music Videos Research

As it is nearing the end of the year, many websites and blogs are releasing posts and articles highlighting which music videos have been the most popular this year. I have decided to take information from one of the posts and analysis some of the decision to see why they were most popular, what aspects of the video made them popular and also if what parts of the video I like and dislike. I have decided to use Rolling Stone's 'Top 10 Music Videos of 2013' as they are a reputable music source.

Number 10 - Vampire Weekend - "Diane Young"

Vampire Weekend are an indie band, who have a quite large and dedicated following of fans, this song was the first single off of their most recent album so it was bound to be quite successful. Vampire Weekend are one of my favourite bands and I personally think this video is one of their best, because it finds a good balance between narrative, which is mild as they are an indie band, but I find they work the beat and feel of the song in well with the video. As the song builds so does the video and that's why I think it is such a well liked video as the building of the song and video help build the viewing experience and help give the audience a better feel for the music. Rolling Stone quoted the video as 'frantic and hilarious' which I agree completely with, they achieved this by also using well known figures in the Indie scene such as 'Sky Ferreira, Santigold and David Longstreth', while also using a set which some will recognise from the famous Leonardo Da Vinci Painting of the final supper. This use of a well known painting will draw people from other musical scenes who probably wouldn't have watched the video otherwise, therefore widening the audience and gaining publicity.

 

Number 8 -  Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - "Can't Hold Us"

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released this song as a second single off of their most recent album, as their first song was such a big hit both musically and due to the video going viral, this song and video were much anticipated, however also due to the fact that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis had exploded onto the music scene this year bringing in a whole new type of artist, Macklemore combines rapping and positive political messages, in a way which is accessible for many types of audiences, while using Ryan Lewis and various of artists to create and feature in his music. The video for this song covers more than just the song featuring a small narrative section at the beginning and end, also credits are featured making the video more of a short film than a video. I agree with the video being in the Top 10 because it suits the artists style of music but also challenges standard conventions of that genre, most rap artists wouldn't have a video with a narrative, or a video that is filmed in such a professional, almost sophisticated way, however this video does this successfully in my opinion.

 

Number 5 - Robin Thicke - "Blurred Lines"

Robin Thicke has exploded on to the scene this year with his controversial one hit wonder that is Blurred Lines. Undoubtedly the most controversial video of the year, the song combines singing and rap to form an all round standard misogynistic song that is expected in the Hip Hop/R&B world of today. The video in my opinion is very distasteful and painful to watch because of the blatant stereotypes of the genre which are featured, however I personally think the acknowledgment of these issues is 50/50 with the audience as the video and song are popular for two main reasons. The first being people actually like the song and video, enjoying the voyeuristic treatment of women and using it for their own viewing pleasure. The second reason I think its gotten so much attention is because people are fighting against the message and trying to make a point about it. However there is no arguing that the video has been a big hit this year, regardless of why, the video fits in with the Genre of the song and this is probably why people enjoy the video so much, as it is nothing out of the ordinary for what is expected of that genre.

 

Number 1 - Miley Cyrus - "Wrecking Ball" 

Miley Cyrus in the past year has probably made the biggest change to her musical identity and look than ever before in her life, some argue the changes to be bad, some argue good, but regardless Wrecking Ball was a complete game changer for Miley. After a year of criticism and at times abuse for her song 'We Can't Stop', she completely opens up to her audience and the world with her minimalistic video and ballad like song Wrecking Ball. Managing to claw back any respect people ever had for her, she ALMOST makes a tasteful video, the two element which I personally think make this such a popular video is the stripped back, honest feelings which are displayed in the video make it appealing for the audience who are hungry for anything to do with the artists personal life. However the video is also popular as people are intrigued to see and criticise her controversial chose to ride a wrecking ball naked.

Magazine Advert Plan 2

 

I have made a second magazine advert plan to aid our group in making our one, this time I have decided to focus less on the artist being the background and focus more on the use of colour. I have done this by taking a picture of Ben that has him holding a bright blue gun and using that colour to help make the title of his name stand out more. I have also used a similar image to the one I used in my Digipak plan to create some continuity. After looking at other magazine adverts for artists and album, I have tried to make this design more professional by adding things like a website and copyright at the bottom.

Magazine Advert Plan 1

This is a design I have created to give me and my group some ideas on what we want our Magazine Advert to look like, I have taken inspiration from other artists I have looked at as many of them have chosen to use bold text and contrasting colours. I have made the whole background of the advert a picture of out artist and then surrounded the picture with information like his name and the name of the album, and also the release date.

Analysis Of Magzaine Advert By Artist In Chosen Genre

Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

 

Font - In this magazine advert, the Fonts which the artist has chosen to use correspond very well with what the words are telling the audience. The larger words are in a much clearer bold font, these words are important things like what the name of the album is, and what the name of the artist is, these are like this as the audience need to be able to see who the artist is and what they are selling before anything else. The other information, like the release date is shown in the script font near the bottom of the page, this information is what people look for after they have found out who the album is buy, that is why it is nearer the bottom in a smaller font.

 

Colour - Overall, the colours used in this advert are very light, this will attract people if for example it is in a magazine like Kerrang! which usually has very dark colour in it. It also helps draw more attention to the picture of the artist as her hair and eyes are much darker than everything else in the picture. The colour of the font works well as it sticks with the theme of light colours in the advert, but the use of white goes well with the sky background, meaning the name of the artist still sticks out. There is also a theme created with the font of blue and white because the artists white shirt is used as a background for the album name.

 

 Images - There is only one image featured in this advert and it is a large one of the artist, this helps draw the audiences attention to the advert, also because Lana Del Rey has a very unique look people will be able to recognise her when looking at this advert. The image takes centre stage in the advert as it is edited to be in front of the title, almost making it seem like she is leaning out of the advert, making the audience feel closer to her and the advert.

 

I like Lana Del Rey's magazine advert as it draws the audience in, while also being very simple, I will definitely consider features she has used when it comes round to making our magazine advert such as, the prominent use of the picture of the artist and the colour themes.

Features Of A Magazine Advert

Digipak Plan 2

 

I have done a second plan for a digipak which will give me and my group ideas when we come to making our actual digipak, I created this one in Photoshop so it looks more professional than the last one I made, I have focused more on the pictures featured on the outside as they now fit with the themes that the album and the song have about the night. I have also thought more about the positioning and how easy it is to read the track names. I have also picked a better font for the artist name and the album title as they are much easier to read than my last design.

Digipak Plan 1

 

This is a design I have created to give me and my group some ideas on what we want our Digipak to look like, I have taken inspiration from other artists I have looked at as many of them have chosen to use Black and White or Grayscale colour themes. I have placed a picture of out artist on the front, his name and title of the album and then on the two folding side panels of the pack put the names of the 6 tracks that would be on the album.