Creative Journey - Progress Report (Summer)

To begin the process of A2 media I have carried out research on both documentaries and music videos codes and conventions in order to decide the nature of my A2 project. I have developed my knowledge on narrative theories as well as developing my skills on textual analysis by analysing the short film ‘Gasman’ which will benefit me as I progress during the process especially whilst analysing products related to my own project. After carrying out research I have decided to gain the best results creating a music video will be the best approach moving forward.

Applying Andrew Goodwin's Video Theory

The 5 key aspects to music videos following Andrew Goodwin’s theory:

1.     Thought through beat

2.     Relationship between the song and visuals

3.     Narrative and performance of the song

4.     Technical aspect of a music video

5.     Star image

Thought through beat

Thought through the beat is seeing what the video means or represents to the listener/viewer. The first step of this process is to analyse the music structure understanding the verses, chorus and bridge. Followed by identifying the main voice of the song, if the voice of the artist is unique compared to other artists it will enable to give the person a form of identification that can be related to the star image. The final step is the story of the artist that they are trying to tell within the song. The video can assist the story of the song through visuals.

Relationship between the Music and Visuals

There are three ways visuals are used to support a song. The first is to illustrate, music videos use certain images and shots to illustrate or explain the meaning of lyrics to their song and the genre. The second way is to disjuncture, meaning the song and lyrics are completely ignored in the visuals of the music video highlighting no synergy. The final technique is to amplify, this is when images and camera shots are manipulated and shown repeatedly throughout the music video and is instilled into the viewers. Andrew Goodwin’s theory suggests that a music video can promote a song through the way it analyses the lyrics.

Narrative and Performance of the song

Goodwin’s theory also implies that it is important for an artist to be involved in the music video by performing or acting as the main character. Goodwin believes this helps to make the song look more realistic and also gives the audience a connection and understanding of the song. An example of this practice being used is ‘Katy Perry – Roar’. Not only Is she the main character but she also gives an element of performance helping the audience to engage.

Technical Aspects of a Music Video

This theory proposes that the technical aspect helps to hold the music video together through the use of mise-en-scene, special effects, sound and editing. Lighting and colour helps set the mood of the video and creates emphasis on the significant areas of the song to create an effect on the audience. Mise-en-scene helps the artist gain authentication and is vital to the production. When editing Goodwin recommends editing to the beat of the song with cuts etc. helps the song look more professional and entertaining if the visual matches the rhythm of the song.

Star Image

Goodwin refers to the star image as a vital aspect of the production of a music video. The star image makes the video more appealing to the viewers as well as bringing a unique style to the video. The star image is always unique through not only costumes but also the way the star moves and the appearance of the star. This aspect of Goodwin’s theory helps promote the artist/star and also promotes the video. The star doesn’t have to always be the artist themselves but can be an actress or public figure.

Codes and Conventions of Music Videos

Codes and conventions of music videos establishes the different techniques used to construct meaning. The purpose of a music video is to do the following:

·       Set the meaning of the song by the use of image.

·       Entertain

·       Promote the artist/band and their music.

 A basic structure of a music video is a 3-4 minute video with either a narrative, a live performance or another form of visual imagery such as animation. Videos are often performance, narrative, thematic or symbolic based.

Performance

Music videos developed from clips of artists performances. The majority of music videos include the artist performing as part of the visual. Depending on the nature of the video will often contain shots or the artist performing live with images of the audience, shots of the artist lip syncing in a set location or potentially day to day activities of the artists life such as sound check etc. Often the performers look directly at the camera making it look like they are looking at the viewer. This is called direct address and is an idea of spectacle. An example of a performance based music video is 'Wherever I Go' by One Republic, the video was released as an additional video to the original. We only see the band performing throughout the video in a gold, black and white themed room.

Narrative

When music videos follow the narrative element the visual often tells a story that is either told or suggested in the lyrics. This narrative represents a short film with a beginning, middle and end. Due to the short duration of music videos the story can be very fast paced. The artists can be an observer or part of the story however it is common that the production involves external cast members to tell the story. In some cases the artist is not seen in the video at all. An example of a narrative based music video is 'Everytime' by Britney Spears, it shows the story of a star and the price of fame. The video develops the story of a star and how she ends her life after a series of incidents occur.

Cameo

A cameo requires another famous person or the artist or band to feature in the video but they do not perform. This is a clever marketing tool as it creates a hype and gets the public talking about the video, especially if the cast consists of A List celebrities with a large fan base. A recent example of a cameo music video is 'Boys' by Charli XCX, it is a self directed music video that features a variety of male celebrities challenging gender stereotypes. The video includes Joe Jonas, Caspar Lee, G-Eazy, Stormzy, The Vamps and a variety of other males in the public eye.

Concept

 Concept videos are based around one idea, the idea of a successful concept video is to keep the audience entertained and constantly looking at what and who is on the screen. Symbolic videos use a lot of symbols and montages to build up the meaning of the video. They are often fast paced due to building up meaning by lots of quick shots. Thematic styled videos take the theme of the song and relate it throughout the visual. An example of this is many rap videos are located in urban areas, many female artists are performance related as well as heavy metal bands. An example of a thematic styled video is 'Shutdown' by Skepta, this video is based in the streets of London where the grime originated from.

Abstract / Artistic 

A creative and imaginative music video that uses animation or surreal and innovative art forms, they usually require a lot editing. An example of a music video of this kind is 'Good Morning' by Kanye West, the video is all animated with the main character being the graduation bear that features on the front of the his album 'Graduation'.