Blog Reflection - Summer

These past few weeks have consisted of me learning about different styles of video as well as understanding how record labels promote their artists by using certain personality traits. These are all very key aspects of my knowledge within this unit as they have taught me about very useful parts of the industry itself.

With this knowledge that I have obtained, I can now include these traits within my own video. I could use a characteristic such as an embodiment as well as using a narrative style video to obtain a certain audience. By looking at videos by people such as Jessie J, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga and more, I can now interpret these video ideas into my own so that I can create a production that is conformed to the stereotypes of a professional video. I also may be able to create a video that is not conforming to these conventions so that I could be unique.

However, all will be decided in September when the official production begins!

Dyer's Star Theory

CONSTRUCTION - This is when an artist has a great transformation that is displayed to the public through any media text, typically a reality television programme such as the X Factor.

Example: Cher Lloyd

Lloyd has explained on many occasions, even during her time on the show, that she is not a "pop" artist. In fact, she deems herself to be a "rapper" and has wanted to be taken seriously for a long time now. Unfortunately she made the mistake of going onto a pop talent show and allowed the programme's staff to alter her public personality into being very cheesy. If you compare the video above, something that she had minimal say into, to this video, a video that she directed and choreographed, then you will understand the huge construction that the media has had on her. Her USP that the media has chosen for her is that she can rap and still sing songs in a very cheesy way. This allows fans of cheesy pop and possibly rap to be brought together to create an even bigger fanbase. However, these two genres are so differed from each other that she has no received a very loyal fanbase, however because of the constant attention being brought  on to her, Cher Lloyd has received a total of four gold rated singles and three platinum ones, one of them (Want U Back) going double platinum in the US. Clearly because of her constructed background, she has received this attention due to her filling up the gap in the market.

STARS AS PRODUCTS - This is when an artist is constructed to fit exactly the way that the record label wants them in order to fill up a market niche.

Example: Justin Bieber

When this artist first came out, there was no dominant male teenage singer. At this time the most popular male vocalists were the pop group "Jonas Brothers". Justin Bieber has been constructed in order to fill up this market niche that has been left open. He fits this as he has grown up into somebody completely different from what he first started out as being. When he first began as a professional singer he wore overly baggy clothing with a face that looked like it should of had been wearing much more fitted and childish clothing. However, for his record label to attract teenage girls into being into him they needed an artist that would look more like a poster boy rather than a child entertainer. This is his artificial USP. In terms of media attention, Justin has received a lot and even went through a very PR themed week one time in Europe where he turned up late for a concert, fought with a paparazzi and almost "fainted" on stage. The media gave a great uproar of attention, thus exemplifying his superficial background.

STARS AS EMBODIMENTS OF IDEOLOGIES/CULTURES - When an artist has something to say, they are made into an embodiment so that they can constantly preach their words and showcase their true feelings.

Example: Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga is a very unique artist that preaches about feminism and most importantly (to her), homosexuality. She is the epitome of equality and constantly tries to make sure that the world become less sexist, misogynistic, homophobic and transphobic.  She represents all of the minorities through her music. For example, in the video above she talks about how it does not matter what ethnicity, sexual orientation etc. somebody has, because they're on the right path as they were born with that. Nobody is wrong as long as they are happy with who they are. She chooses to not wear much clothing as she likes to represent the love that people should have of themselves and others.

STARS AS PERSONALITIES - This is where a celebrity does not hide their true personality and uses their real personality as part of their image.

Example: Miley Cyrus

Originating her fame from the Disney Channel production of "Hannah Montana", Miley was very controlled by the Disney Channel. A few years after the show has finished she is now beginning to show her true colours. In her latest single for her new album is a great example of it. She sings about how she can't stop taking drugs, partying, being with boys etc... much different than the Miley from Disney. In interviews and the streets she wears little amounts of clothes as this is something that she is comfortable wearing. She even cut her hair to show that she is not the innocent girl that people think she is but she is much more rebellious (See: P!nk). Miley is a very big example of a star as a personality as her new image is the one that is truly who she is and is something that has been used to market her products. This has proven to be successful as Miley's latest video above, the video that showcases who she really is, holds the VEVO record for the most views in 24 hours by any artist.

Style and Conventions of Music Videos

INCONGRUENT - This is when the song itself is of one genre whilst the video is of a different one. This can have the affect of enabling the audience to have a better outlook on the song; although the song may seem like one meaning, the video can allow to viewers to obtain a much more enhanced and possibly differentiated understanding of what the artist is representing.

An example of this music video style being incorporated would be with Selena Gomez's "Come and Get It".

How it is incorporated

The song comments on how the female in the relationship (Selena) has great feelings for her partner and is willing to get back together with them. She says that she is giving them "an open invitation" and that "this love ain't finished yet", emphasising that whenever her partner is ready, then she will also be ready to get back together. However, although the lyrics unravel a very loving and relationship-needy woman, the music video begs to differ. We see various clips of Selena gently walking around in open air, allowing the wind to rush through her body/clothing. This is something that typically symbolises the feeling of freedom, which is usually a happy thought that single men and women tend to embrace after getting out of a relationship. Also, there are various moments where the Indian culture is included; as a culture that represents peace, love and happiness, this very highly contradicts the meaning of the song that Selena is singing.

Why the institution used it/the impact it has on the audience

At the time of this song's release, Selena Gomez had just gotten out of a relationship with the infamous male singer, Justin Bieber. After getting a lot of bad press from this relationship, the institution most likely decided that they needed to represent Selena in a very positive light in order to boost sales. With a song that showcases her affection for her ex boyfriend as well as diving into a foreign culture and representing a very peaceful image of herself, audiences can understand that Selena is not this horrible human being that the media has made her out to be. Instead, she is a very kind, loving and independent female.

How I may use it

Although I will not be dealing with nagging journalists that aim to destroy my artist's career, I may incorporate this style of music video for a completely different one than Hollywood Record's. As mentioned before it enables the audience to have multiple views on the artist's thought and expression, so if I were to include it then this style may allow audiences to think about my music video/song more, thus listening/watching more often, which will then increase views and potentially sales.

PERFORMANCE/CONCERT/'AS LIVE' - This style is very commonly used in the music industry. It allows multiple benefits to be obtained from it. This includes allowing the artist to seem more like a musician as they are physically performing their music, being easier to create as thought may not be as necessary and one more that I will explain below.

This can be exemplified in Taylor Swift's "Red" music video.

How it is incorporated

This video consists purely of concert clips of Taylor performing. We can see that she has represented herself as a musician that tours very well as there are various different stages that are from different parts of the United States of America. The viewers are given both concert and backstage scenes that enable us to understand how she performs regularly and from the energetic facial expressions and  light coloured lighting, it is clear that she enjoys this part of her career.

Why the institution used it/the impact it has on the audience

This music video consists of clips from Taylor's 2013 concert "RED" which will pan out worldwide in 2014 as well. The concert title is also named after her 2013 record of the same title. The fact that the song, tour and album are all of the same name, the institution have already placed this word into the audience's mind. In order to entice them to pay for tickets/CD's, Big Machine Records have chosen concert clips of Taylor performing this same song live whilst showcasing her happiness backstage and on-stage so that the audience are aware of her positivity towards her own music. As the tour is worldwide, there are plenty of chances for thousands of people to still buy tickets. With this in mind, we can understand that this music video style has also been used as it can encourage audience members to pay for tickets to her upcoming show, thus gaining sales for the record company, an aim of virtually every single recording label.

How I may use it

As a concert music video may be quite difficult for me to record as it would require a lot of money, time and extras involved, I may not use this style. However I can incorporate the performance aspect of a concert video as it enables the audience to understand the musician side of the artist. As this has been proven to make many artists such as Taylor Swift successful (as she incorporates it a lot) I may be able to gain sales/attention by using this style. It is very simple to set up as I only need a platform and a good lip syncer, which means that time and money may not be a very big issue.

NARRATIVE - When an artist wants to tell a story during their song, they tend to use a narrative element to it. This includes actors (whether it is the artist or not) performing what is practically a "short film". This was actually the original idea of a music video, as expressed through Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

An example of this is within Jessie J's "Who's Laughing Now".

How it is incorporated

The song is a story that Jessie wants people to know about how she was bullied in school and now that she has made her first album as well as a lot of other success, she feels overpowering to her former bullies. The video does not show any success that Jessie has now, but does contain a small girl who appears to be a younger version of Jessie herself. The audience are shown the narrative of how this girl is also bullied in school and then takes out her revenge after gaining some form of confidence. We see the story progress as the video goes along which proves how it is a narrative music video. In order for Jessie to add an extra layer of interest into her video, she has decided to play all of the adult characters in order to add a comedic effect. This enables the audience to be more interested, thus increasing the views.

Why the institution used it/the impact it has on the audience

The institution have used this for this particular video as it showcases a story in Jessie J's life. As an artist that is very open with her fans about her life, she wants them to feel as connected to her as possible. Her label have decided to include this narrative tale as it showcases exactly what happened at this moment in Jessie's life, thus allowing the audience to feel closer to her due to the extra knowledge that this video has given them.

How I may use it

Personally I would say that a narrative is quite an easy and interesting convention of a music video as it can fit the song very well, thus anchoring the correct message into the audience's mind. I may incorporate this into my work by having a song that is emotional and get people that are not involved in creating the song to play out characters in the video just like Jessie did. This allows an extra layer of entertainment to be added as the audience are given more than the ordinary to look at.

INTERPRETATIVE - When a music video exemplifies exactly what the song lyrics are saying. This allows the audience to understand the media text easier and to add a light hearted outlook on the video.

This style is noticeable in Lily Allen's "LDN" music video.

How it is incorporated

The song lyrics are very self explanatory, but with the beat of the song added to it one would believe that Lily is prancing around about how happy she believes London is. This is where the video kicks in. As this colourfully dressed woman is walking around London, we see the views in front of her are very positive, whereas once she walks past it, the scenario differs greatly. For example, the couple at the beginning go from being in a happy conversation together to displaying signs of abuse. With the use of colour and many more in the mise-en-scene (lighting, costume, props, facial expression and body language) the video represents how London is not as amazing as it is made out to be by plenty of people. This video is particularly congruent to the song as the lyrics state how things are seen wrongly such as the "little old lady" and the people "having lunch in the park." Soon enough, this petite elderly woman was hit "over the head" by a boy. With the help of the beat of the song, the audience can understand Lily's sarcastic approach as well, which, again, is anchored by the change in mise-en-scene once the artist walks past it in the video.

Why the institution used it/the impact it has on the audience

As this song, like many other songs by Lily Allen (See: "F*ck You"), are aimed at the government. This was a time when the government had done something to really get on her nerves, so the institution have decided to make a little mockery of what the UK Government has done to one of their most prestigious places. This had obtained quite a bit of a media uproar thus allowing people to see it and for Allen to get her message across.

How I may use it

I think that if I were to use this music video style then I would most likely go for the sarcastic approach that I have just explained. Due to this high level of sarcasm that Lily expresses, the cheesiness aspect that many interpretative music videos have is not apparent and instead is seen as very artistic and quite humorous.

IMPRESSIONIST - In order for artists to be taken seriously, some go for the "impressionist" route. This means that the video is not completely relevant to the song but has the correct mood that matches the lyrics. It enables the song to have a certain meaning to it so that the audience can feel a particular emotion after/whilst watching the video.

This technique can be seen in the video "No Cure" by Megan Hilty.

How it is incorporated

With a song about feeling lonely and not having anyone by your side, this video expresses that purely through its mise-en-scene. One does not have to listen to the lyrics (or look at the on screen lyrics) to understand that the song is about feeling lonely. This is because of the sad facial expressions/body language, use of slightly dark lighting and an empty apartment. These are all things that one typically sees when a media text is expressing loneliness as there is only one human being in the entire video and the rest of it showcases the emptiness.

Why the institution used it/the impact it has on the audience

As this was her first music video, the institution wanted to set her outlook that the world would see on her precisely. As they intended for her to be taken seriously, they went for this impressionistic view that many respected artists such as Coldplay, Gotye and more go for. This allows the audience to realise that she is not another female blonde country artist with a teenage fanbase but she is someone that has songs that adults can relate to (as expressed through her having an apartment).

How I may use it

An impressionist video is very hard to create as the mood needs to be perfect in order for it to work correctly. If I were to use this idea then I would not use as many shots as I would rather focus on including a few strong conventions into one shot as opposed to lots of different average ones in plenty of shots. This would enable the audience to understand the emotion that the artist is feeling as long shots tend to exemplify exactly that as they last for a longer time.

SURREALISM - For artists that are a bit on the crazy side of life and want to stand out a bit, the surrealism route is perfect for them. Not only does it express their wild side but it also showcases to the world that they're not afraid to be who they are and are proud of that fact.

This can be seen in Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".

How it is incorporated

This entire video is not exactly something that one would see in real life. In fact, it would most likely not even appear in a cartoon, which is what adds to the surreal atmosphere that it contains. With the artist standing on a green screen, the video editors have incorporated lots of colours and special effects to create a "crazy" atmosphere.

Why the institution used it/the impact it has on the audience

Usually when an institution creates a video of this style they intend for it to look very artistic to the audience members. This video did exactly that. Not only did the video receive several positive critical remarks but the song remained number one in the UK charts for nine consecutive weeks! This may or may not have had something to do with the very abstract video that was created for it, but nonetheless, it can be a possibility.

How I may use it

Knowing my abilities and time constraints, I don't think that I would be able to create such an amazing video. However, I could potentially add a few bits of surrealism if it fit my video. I could put it on a television screen which is then zoomed into etc.

ANIMATION - These videos are those that are either completely animated cartoons or use stop motion effects. They tend to lighten the mood or create an artistic view of the artist/song.

A video that uses this is "JCB Song" by Nizlopi.

How it is incorporated

The video consists of a little boy in a vehicle with his dad. There are no real people in this video as they are all drawn. It appears to have a notepad effect in order to add to the 'drawing' outlook that the video contains.

Why the institution used it/the impact it has on the audience

Due to the song being quite light hearted and based on the story of a little boy, the institution decided to play on this aspect and include a very child-like music video. Although it is quite complicated to create, the concept seems very simple and very eye catching of a child. It has a great impact on the audience as it catches the attention of many people, especially little children due to it being so unique and cartoon-like.

How I may use it

Just like the surrealism aspect I may find great difficulty in this but can incorporate it by throwing it in here and there.

INTERTEXTUALITY - When  a music video makes a reference to another form of media text, whether it is another music video or a film, television show etc.

A music video that uses this is Miley Cyrus' "When I Look At You".

How it is incorporated

This song was the main song on the soundtrack for the Nicholas spark novel turned film "The Last Song". Miley herself starred in the film which is a great reference in itself. Another use of reference are the locations in which the performance parts of the song are done in as they are also in the film. Other parts of the video that count as a "reference" are the scenes that also appear in the film. These all help to refer to the film in many different ways so that it is kept in the audience's mind.

Why the institution used it/the impact it has on the audience

This has been incorporated for very obvious reasons. As this was Miley's first ever mainstream film that she starred in that was not related to the Disney Channel, she needed to make sure that it was a 'hit' so that she did not have the Disney Princess outlook for long. With this in mind, Hollywood Records made her do this video to promote the film so that people would be enticed to see it. After being shown various amounts of scenes/locations in the film, audiences would be becoming more and more familiar with the film the more they watched the video. This would then possible attract them to watch the film as they would like to know more about it, thus creating a successful production.

How I may use it

As I do not own the rights to any Hollywood Blockbuster, I cannot include any scenes into my productions. Also, with me not being a musician or knowing anybody willing enough to create a song for me, I cannot feature any particular lyrics to reference to anything. However, I may incorporate a small message within the video if it is relevant, as it may work out. This can be incorporated by me having just a little part of the production where it features an imitation of something else.