Wednesday 29 June 2011
Tuesday 28 June 2011
Research on Jane Doe
In order to understand the band and plan better, I did some research on the star image of the band itself.
The style there are going for is pop/soul. However, the style they are going for is more old-fashioned than modern and would possibly attrack older audience as well. Nevertheless, their song "Naughty Nasty" is very catchy. Their style in general (clothes, hair, 50s make-up) is old-fashioned as well, which automatically addresses Niche audience.
As you can see on the pictures, which I took from their myspace account, their hair and clothes are from the same time period - 20s - 40s. They are not very famous and still have not signed, but take part in festivals.
Christina Aguilera as already mentioned in the previous post, adopts a similar image in her album "Back to Basics" which is a "throwback to the 20s, 30s, and 40s-style jazz, blues and feel-good soul music, but with a modern twist". This is very similar to what Jane Doe's band is aiming for, in my opinion. In her song "Candy Man" there is a great use of chorus and harmonies, which is also evident in Jane Does' song. I think shots, looking straight into the camera and medium shots, as well as wide shots of the three girls (lead and two backing vocalists) would be a good idea. Unfortunately, the style would be difficult to develop and show clearer because we will be using the same location. However, there is a "dance" break at the end of the song "Naughty Nasty", which can be used as an interesting new touch to the video.
Monday 27 June 2011
Research For Preliminary Task
I thought of videos, which could be similar to our band's song - Jane Doe - Naughty Nasty, in order to look for ideas and shot types and style. I took as as an example one of the Hurtwood pop videos recently made called "Crazy in Love":
The similarities are that there are three singers, in our case there is one lead singer and two backing vocalists. The style of the songs is similar as well and the costumes are quite cabaret like, which gave me the idea of taking shots of each one of them and then cutting between them, depending on who is singing, also taking the fact that they were using old-fashioned microphones, I thought that it would look authentic if we used some as well in our preliminary task. A number of close-ups we also done and I found useful. Wide shots of the three girls, I also find a good idea in order to show togetherness, suits the style of the song. However, there we no shots of the band and it was quite storyline led ("Crazy in Love"), therefore I thought that on this stage we would just use performance shots, so I thought of some shots of the band - drums, keyboard, guitar and base.
A famous performer that came into my mind was Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man, where she uses a similar style.
I thought that she uses close ups and mid shot a lot, singing on the microphone, which again suits the singing style. Looking straight into the camera is also quite common in order to address the audience. Shots of the instruments - trumpets and drums, often to be seen, fits the music, which I thought we should use as well. The backing singers were very often behind her. Therefore this gave me the idea of putting the two backing vocalists behind her, but still in a triangular form, so the lead singer is at the front.
The similarities are that there are three singers, in our case there is one lead singer and two backing vocalists. The style of the songs is similar as well and the costumes are quite cabaret like, which gave me the idea of taking shots of each one of them and then cutting between them, depending on who is singing, also taking the fact that they were using old-fashioned microphones, I thought that it would look authentic if we used some as well in our preliminary task. A number of close-ups we also done and I found useful. Wide shots of the three girls, I also find a good idea in order to show togetherness, suits the style of the song. However, there we no shots of the band and it was quite storyline led ("Crazy in Love"), therefore I thought that on this stage we would just use performance shots, so I thought of some shots of the band - drums, keyboard, guitar and base.
A famous performer that came into my mind was Christina Aguilera - Ain't No Other Man, where she uses a similar style.
I thought that she uses close ups and mid shot a lot, singing on the microphone, which again suits the singing style. Looking straight into the camera is also quite common in order to address the audience. Shots of the instruments - trumpets and drums, often to be seen, fits the music, which I thought we should use as well. The backing singers were very often behind her. Therefore this gave me the idea of putting the two backing vocalists behind her, but still in a triangular form, so the lead singer is at the front.
Sunday 26 June 2011
Analysis of a Music Video - Bon Jovi - It's My Life
HOW does the music video you have chosen sell its artist to the audience and what image is being presented?
In the rock video, Bon Jovi conforms a number of criteria of the “star” image he has created. The representation of youthfulness – the band is playing in front of a massive audience that clearly enjoys the concert. The main protagonists – the white boy and his girlfriend waiting for him to come, are presenting a young audience. So, the fact that the video concentrates on playing live in front of so many people puts across two ideas: the band is loved by many people, especially young and the second star criteria is talent and creativity. The fact that they sell their song by playing live stimulates the audience to go and see a concert of them. So, they are not only stars but also talented performers that are worth seeing live. Therefore we respect their songs as well. Another stardom image is sexual magnetism which Bon Jovi uses in his favour. There are a number of close-ups of his face – he is the main singer, he is the most important one, he is the good-looking one who many women find attractive. The fact that he gets the privilege on screen shows that he is the leader of the band. There are not that many shots of the guitarist or the drummer. However, there are some of them occasionally in order to conform the idea of a rock video (normally playing with the band together). He adheres to a representation of masculinity and male strong appearance. The fact that there are no guy people in the video (but a boy and a girl) illustrates the idea that he is thought to be the good guy – a positive representation, easy for the audience to figure out by using archetypes. The white boy – is the hero and the girl the one that needs him – audience pictures the situation easily in terms of narrative. However, another aspect of stardom used is “safe” rebellion. Bon Jovi’s videos are not aggressive, there are no drugs, alcohol abuse and sex, which makes it pleasantly likeable to more people. The rebellion is more acceptable and contrasts with some rap videos such as of artists like 50 Cent. One more aspect is the success against the odds, not in terms of the artist himself, but the video. The main protagonist risks his life to go and see the concert and this particular song and succeeds eventually, which makes the message of the song deliberately positive again.
In terms of narrative, it is quite simple. A boy is called by his girlfriend who gives him five minutes to go and see the concert, which sets the tension because he goes through a variety of problems on his way. The constant cross-cutting between the concert and the boy creates tension. The audience likes the hero and is mentally highly engaged in order to wait for the outcome: Is he going to make it? The fast shots which create a sense of fast pace action create this atmosphere. The lyrics fit the action because it is about life and how people should live it before it is too late to take risks and enjoy youth fully. It is about taking life in your own hands, against people moaning and relying only on religion (“it’s not a silent prayer for the faith-departed”). The message is live for the moment. The fact that the boy is on his computer and his mother tells him to “take out the garbage” helps the younger audience to identify with the character which also shows to whom it is targeted.
However, being a hard rock band which normally is targeting male audience, in contrast with Metallica for example Bon Jovi is targeting more main stream audience because of the fact that their songs are safe rebellious, not too harsh sounding, universal lyrics, not specified and often ballades – romantic. This means girls could also enjoy their music. It is also very broad because the audience we see in the massive gig is not only one time. The fact that we see in the car black people means that is targeted to international audience – young, black, Asian – it does not matter; everybody enjoys Bon Jovi – that is the message that is put across. However, it is still mainly male targeted because the action shots would attract male audience more than girls and the main protagonist is still a boy. Nevertheless, there is also a girl in the picture, which makes it more widely accepted concept – a girl and a boy want to watch the concert together, audience gets it and likes the idea – easy to understand.
In the rock video, Bon Jovi conforms a number of criteria of the “star” image he has created. The representation of youthfulness – the band is playing in front of a massive audience that clearly enjoys the concert. The main protagonists – the white boy and his girlfriend waiting for him to come, are presenting a young audience. So, the fact that the video concentrates on playing live in front of so many people puts across two ideas: the band is loved by many people, especially young and the second star criteria is talent and creativity. The fact that they sell their song by playing live stimulates the audience to go and see a concert of them. So, they are not only stars but also talented performers that are worth seeing live. Therefore we respect their songs as well. Another stardom image is sexual magnetism which Bon Jovi uses in his favour. There are a number of close-ups of his face – he is the main singer, he is the most important one, he is the good-looking one who many women find attractive. The fact that he gets the privilege on screen shows that he is the leader of the band. There are not that many shots of the guitarist or the drummer. However, there are some of them occasionally in order to conform the idea of a rock video (normally playing with the band together). He adheres to a representation of masculinity and male strong appearance. The fact that there are no guy people in the video (but a boy and a girl) illustrates the idea that he is thought to be the good guy – a positive representation, easy for the audience to figure out by using archetypes. The white boy – is the hero and the girl the one that needs him – audience pictures the situation easily in terms of narrative. However, another aspect of stardom used is “safe” rebellion. Bon Jovi’s videos are not aggressive, there are no drugs, alcohol abuse and sex, which makes it pleasantly likeable to more people. The rebellion is more acceptable and contrasts with some rap videos such as of artists like 50 Cent. One more aspect is the success against the odds, not in terms of the artist himself, but the video. The main protagonist risks his life to go and see the concert and this particular song and succeeds eventually, which makes the message of the song deliberately positive again.
In terms of narrative, it is quite simple. A boy is called by his girlfriend who gives him five minutes to go and see the concert, which sets the tension because he goes through a variety of problems on his way. The constant cross-cutting between the concert and the boy creates tension. The audience likes the hero and is mentally highly engaged in order to wait for the outcome: Is he going to make it? The fast shots which create a sense of fast pace action create this atmosphere. The lyrics fit the action because it is about life and how people should live it before it is too late to take risks and enjoy youth fully. It is about taking life in your own hands, against people moaning and relying only on religion (“it’s not a silent prayer for the faith-departed”). The message is live for the moment. The fact that the boy is on his computer and his mother tells him to “take out the garbage” helps the younger audience to identify with the character which also shows to whom it is targeted.
However, being a hard rock band which normally is targeting male audience, in contrast with Metallica for example Bon Jovi is targeting more main stream audience because of the fact that their songs are safe rebellious, not too harsh sounding, universal lyrics, not specified and often ballades – romantic. This means girls could also enjoy their music. It is also very broad because the audience we see in the massive gig is not only one time. The fact that we see in the car black people means that is targeted to international audience – young, black, Asian – it does not matter; everybody enjoys Bon Jovi – that is the message that is put across. However, it is still mainly male targeted because the action shots would attract male audience more than girls and the main protagonist is still a boy. Nevertheless, there is also a girl in the picture, which makes it more widely accepted concept – a girl and a boy want to watch the concert together, audience gets it and likes the idea – easy to understand.
Wednesday 22 June 2011
A2 - Music Industry: Advanced Production Brief
In this second year of Media Studies, I will create a promotion package for the release of an album of a new artist, including...
a music video to his or hers first single
the cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD package)
a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD package).
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