Pre/Post Production Work

Below are the pieces of work which we have created as a group as part of a group effort. Each member of the group was assigned to a piece of task and was asked to complete it so that we could work efficiently. After this we emailed each other the tasks we completed alone and hence all have copies of the work. This part of the post production was a group task which we all worked well to complete within the short space of time we had.





 

Music Video Analysis

Mindmap of Ideas

Moodboard

--> For our mood board we collated images relating to Bhangra and used them to create a collage of images. The costumes which Bhangra performers wear are shown above in many of the pictures. Their costumes are bright, colourful and attractive as the Bhangra performances are joyful. The drum, also known as the Dhol, is the drum(s) that the drummers use to bring in the Indian style. This is a cultural drum and is used within all the Bhangra music tracks. When the Dhol is played it bring life into the atmosphere and makes Bhangra performances better to enjoy. The fields represent the cultural background of where Bhangra music originated. Green fields are often very colourful and a big location which many Bhangra music videos are shot in. the large field implies the freedom of movement. Finally, the images of the male artists are the two DJ’s who have composed this track. 

Budget Plan

Risk Assessment

Actor Agreement

Permission Slip

Production Company Name & Logo

Audience

Henna Ashraf

Audience

Introduction

During this assignment I will be writing about the different types of audience and how the media affects their perception of the world, also including the influence of ideas and behaviours on the audience. Following from this, I will also be explaining Blumer and Katz's 'The Uses and Gratification Theory', which has been expanded from a previous theory.

Audience

An audience is the target group of the product being marketed. For example, in music there are many types of genres and different genres are aimed at different audiences. A R&B music video would most likely be aimed at the youth and perhaps teenagers and young adults. This is because the lyrics and music are to their preference and they are able to see relate to the meaning of the song. Most R&B songs have fast beats which make it harder for young children or really old adults to understand, either because they do not understand the terminology being used or simply because their reaction time is too slow to understand what is being sung to them. 

Similarly, different types of media institutions have diverse audience. News papers are usually read or viewed by adults, some of which are from professional bodies, whereas magazines are aimed at teenagers. Nevertheless some magazines and media institutions relate to a specific gender; for example a beauty/cosmetics magazine is likely to be targeted at women than men, as they are more pre-cautious about their looks. The audience is most important for media products because it is the centre of which the ideas and thoughts are based around. If a singer/composer was to create a piece of music and wanted to target it at teenagers, he would have to research into teenage preferences; likes and dislikes and more so. This would then help them to create a musical piece which would be successful in the music industry, hence stressing the importance of a target audience.

Mass Audience

Audience being a large group as it goes is narrowed down into two further categories; mass audience and niche audience. A mass audience is defined as the large group of people which a media product is aimed at. An example is of a new shampoo product which would be targeted at a wide audience, as almost everyone uses shampoo hence the product would be most sold in large quantities, as well as increasing media awareness.

Niche Audience

On the other hand, a niche audience can be defined as a smaller group of people to whom a media product is advertised and aimed at. A producer/manufacturer of a sports car, such as a Ferrari or Lamborghini will have a niche target audience. This is because majority of the human population are likely to drive cars such as Ford and Toyota which are family cars selling at an affordable price. However the target audience for sports cars are likely to be aimed at the rich and wealthy people like celebrities. As they have the money they are able to consume such products and hence the market audience for this product is very small.

Audience Perception of the World Through the Media
The media has the power to shape an audience perception of the world, especially music. Music nowadays are concept based which shapes the the world around us. For example Black Eyed Peas was a concept based music video which conveyed a message, acknowledging the wrong in the world. This music video was favoured by many individuals and  hence became a trend in the media. Whereas stereotypes such as gold diggers have been common among the society and have also alerted individuals too. Media is also able to influence some people more than others. For example, when big names in society choose something in particular, more people are likely to choose it too. Media products like NIKE and ADIDAS are advertised by celebrities in the sports field, and hence it impacts the audience and makes them want to follow their inspirations. Presidents up for election persuade us to give them our votes but they do this by giving us unrealistic expectations and when they have achieved their status they forget about the promises they have made too us.

Media Influence of Ideas and Behaviours on the Audience

The media is a very powerful tool which influences the ideas and behaviours of the audience. They are able to emphasise ideas and to be bias. For example, news channels which are owned by an individual who has conservative views is likely to portray conservative views within his news broadcasting, hence brainwashing and influencing our minds. Not only this but they are able to stereotype certain representations of people, for instance Micheal Jackson. Micheal Jackson was named and shamed for hanging his child out of the bedroom window to show press, however the news reporters manipulated the story and exxagerate the truth. Once the news was spread Micheal Jackson was seen as a neglecting and irresponsible father, as people were not ready to believe his truth due to media impact.

But on the other hand, despite saying this it can also be argued that the audience has the choose to interpret the media in their own way, in other words meaning that they may not be influenced by it. 

Media can also alter the perception of the audience. For examples reports and studies showed that video games which were too violent affected young children and hence parents became more alert when buying certain games for their children. People are likely to be influenced by things which affect them or their family like the violent games affect. Not only this but media is also able to influence the way we dress. what we eat and how we look, mainly through television adverts (like Lo real starring Cheryl Cole) and magazine front covers, where women want to look the most appealing. Nevertheless movies can also have a negative influence to a younger audience which was referred to, during the James Bulger Case. Two young children captured a naive toddler and abused, assaulted and murdered him and investigations revealed that it was the influence of a movie they had watched the night before.

Television programmes in the media, like Eastenders and Hollyoaks give groups of people a topic to talk about which allows them to feel a sense of belonging. On the other hand the same actors can also be disgraced openly whereas other individuals with money, status and power are overlooked. For example, Jeremy Clarkson made a opinionated comment which was bias on a television show and the matter had quickly been resolved with a simple 'sorry.' However media also causes social conflicts and segregates culture. Sometimes what is portrayed by a group/cult/sect of people may not be accepted by another group of people and it causes social cohesion. For example, when Muslims are labelled 'terrorists' a large debate works around society which makes people hate the entire Muslim community. Therefore this supports the argument that media can make and destroy society.  

Blumer and Katz's: 'The Uses and Gratification Theory'

Blumer and Katz's theory was based upon four main ideas; information, personal identity, social interaction and entertainment. They expanded from an original theory which explained why an audience may engage in the media and then came up with the above ideas. Blumer and Katz's theory was to focus on why people engage in the media productions.

Information: 

An audience would want to watch an informative piece of television product to learn new things. An example of an informative media production is the news. The news is heavily based upon the events taking place in the world as well as the knowledge of the society we are living in. Informative productions allow an individual to seek advice on practical matters and opinions and help them make decisions as well as satisfying a general interest on a certain topic.

Personal Identity:

Blumer and Kat'z second suggestion was personal identity. Personal identity causes an audience to engage in watching a certain media production because it reinforces an individuals personal values as well as modelling a certain type of behaviour, giving them a chance to relate to their inner self.

Social Interaction:

On the other hand, media can be consumed for social purposes. Soap operas like Eastenders and Coronation Street gives groups of individuals topics to talk about. When individuals get together to discuss a particular topic it creates a sense of belonging among peers, hence which is why it is also consumed by a large audience.

Entertainment:

On the other hand, Blumer and Katz theory had also expanded from a previous version to state that media is also consumed for entertainment purposes. This was a common factor among a study of students, which claimed to have said that students engaged in media products to keep themselves amused.

History of Music Video

Hennah Ashraf
Music Video Production

The earliest of music videos and promos were filmed in 1950's, however before then, around 1920's, music with animation was discovered, known as 'visual music.' A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of song or music. Music videos, nowadays, are predominantly made and used as a marketing tool intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Initially, songs or pieces of music were written without a sequel of images or art, however moving on from Bessie Smiths era, not only has society discovered colour, but also videos and moving art. This helps a lot in the entertainment industry, as the audience is occupied not only with the songs, but a video too. An advantage of this is that it will not bore the user and also it can be played on repeat continuously, because it is not a live performance.

The thought of making music videos was by a lady called Bessie Smith in her 1923 single. She made her first video, in 1923, called: "Baby, won't you please come home," in Columbia, New York. Bessie was an American Blues singer, who worked with other Jazz artists. Her music was very different too today's era of jazz, however she has been very famous for her music videos. The above named single, is an example of a narrative based music video. Music videos can be categorised into three groups; narrative, performance and concept based videos. Some music videos which I will be writing about are sung by artists such as Bessie Smith, Jennifer Lopez and Madonna’s Frozen.

Narrative music videos portray a message, which is emphasised throughout the video, whereas performance music videos are composed from live sessions of a performance. Nevertheless, concepts videos simply focus on a particular subject matter, such as love, war, street crime and more so. Another example of the earliest music videos, besides Bessie Smith, was Louis Jordan.

History of  Music Videos : Bessie Smith

A sequel of footage or collected images, to tell a story, combines to create a narrative based music video. The images displayed on screen, help to build the better picture, with the lyrics. An example of a narrative music video is Bessie Smiths first music video in 1923, called: "Baby, won’t you please come home". In addition to this, you could say that Bessie's music video very well complies with her lyrics, as it portrays the woman asking for her love to come back home. Emotions are clearly shown through the photo and body language of the women as it flows with the lyrics. This woman is in demand of her husband, love or child, as she refers to landlords, payment and how the mama is all alone, through the lyrics.

The music video is composed of black and white images, which reflects an old love story. In the video the first image that is shown is the image of Bessie Smith, on the front page of her album, with a cheerful look. Either this represents, her happiness on the release of her album/single or of her in her childhood years. After this, all the pictures are black and white. Black and white pictures are quite good to use because, it allows the audience to look into the songs meaning, rather than concentrate on the video. However, if it doesn’t have colour it also becomes quiet boring and appeals to a smaller audience. 

Nevertheless, this music video has a contrast of images, both happy and sad. Few of the happy images include the man, who Bessie Smith is talking about in her song. They reflect the happy times they both had, while dancing at musical nights and as that is the story of her music, she refers back to him, to give a proper picture. The woman is in desperate plea for her husband and all she wants is for him to come back and support her. We are left to think that she if feeling helpless, which then makes the audience feel sympathetic for her.

Narrative Based Video: Chasing Pavements (Adele)

Adeles', Chasing Pavements is a narrative based music video, which was inspired by an incident Adele had with her ex-boyfriend. When she realised he had cheated on her, she went to the bar he was at and punched him the face. After getting thrown out from the bar and walking down the streets, she asked herself "what is it that she is chasing," and empty pavement. In other words it would mean that she was in a unworthy relationship, where there were no emotional attachments with one another. Following this incident, Adele wrote this song, which on YouTube has had 21, 346, 420 viewers.

This music video entered the Irish singles chart at number 26, through download sales alone and jumped up to position seven. However in the United Kingdom, the single was at number two in the singles chart, that too on downloads alone. Chasing Pavements was also the 27th best selling single of 2008, in the United Kingdom, with over 280,000 sales. One of the main reasons for why this music video was such a big success was because it was a narration of real life story; which others can relate to. It made this music video realistic.

During the beginning of this music video, we as the audience sense a slow start, as the camera is quite close to the ground and moves upwards, steadily, tracing the leaves which lead us as the viewers to two people, who are lying on the ground. One is a female and the other a male. Our first instincts when we see the people are that they are dead, hence which is why they are lying on solid ground with no movements. At this point we already start to think about what may have caused this and hence we slowly find out as the song proceeds. From this, I can conclude that this is a non-linear music video, as it first tells us the consequence and then traces back to the actual situation that had taken place.

Moving on from the few seconds of the opening, we see a range of medium shots taken from a variety of angles. Medium shots are used in this video to show us a part of the car which the characters are travelling in, as well as the people in front of the car. One of the two people, was the singer (Adele), who was in the passenger seat. Shortly, after this shot we see a long shot, which establishes the location of the setting and we see a car in the distant and it looks like smoke is coming from it. This implies that something unpleasant has happened; either a engine heat up or a crash and entering the same scene we see a black figure of a person walking towards the car and suddenly that scene is cut.  As an audience we start to make assumptions and we start building a picture of what could of happened. Once again, we return to the female singer, to see her facial expressions. There is a close up shot to show this and being a rather upset person, within this music video, we are also able to hear her deep voice. Her deep voice is pitched to sound like a group of choir.

Next, we see people entering the scene at the pavement, where the characters are lying, in very slow motion. However as the other characters walk towards the deceased people, there actions start to become faster. Bringing the characters in slowly emphasises the sadness and pain in the happening of this incident and also makes us, as the audience think that they have some good relationships with the people. Throughout this music video we see alot of autumn/spring colours used, like brown and shades of yellow. We are able to extract this from the music video, as leaves fall off trees and trees are bare during the autumn to spring time, hence also making it feel more realistic.

Once again, a slightly different type of shot is used within this music video, to display a different angle to it. Bird's eye view has been used quite often, within this music video, which angles above the scene of the pavement. Only from this angle, is it better to visualise the scarf flying off the lady and towards the man, at which point we also see movement. Animation and effects have been used to show that the wind is moving the scarf away as the bodies begin to waken. Every time the bodies come to life, we see a little bit more of the picture.

Going back to the storyline of this music video, we start to see the story of two lovers reuniting, as they move towards each other. This according to society, is one of the few signs of love. The two characters hold hands in hands, which makes us start understanding the story better. However, when movement is carried out on the ground and which is easily see able, we come across a low angled camera shot; eye-level with the characters, as they roll across the pavements. As the story unfolds, we see the twist. The woman hands the man with a white paper, on which he sees and gets furious. We are able to say this as he uses force when pushing the woman away, after reading it. At this moment, we feel sympathetic towards the women, as she has been treated unwell.

In this music video, there are alot of stop and starts. This is because after the above scene has happened, the women goes back and freezes again; lying still on the pavements, as the police and paramedics gather evidence from their search. When the music slows down the movements also do too, whereas when the music and beat becomes fast, the actions turn fast too. Towards the end of the music video the screen goes black as the camera goes up, following the tree until it is eventually black. At this point we assume that this is the end of the video, however another birds eye view shows the paramedics taking them away on stretchers in negative directions. This implies the impression that they were not meant to be.  

Performance Based Video: On The Floor (Jennifer Lopez)

Concept based video are videos evolved around a single concept or idea, it is not narrative and sometimes the video does not comply with the lyrics itself. The performance based music video that I will be analysing is: On the Floor, By Jennifer Lopez. Every music video can be used for multi purposes. Promos and music videos are used for promotion, entertainment, marketing and sales. However, the main purpose of this music video is to make money and create fame. This is an example of a very successful music video that has all the codes and conventions, which makes a ground-breaking performance based video. It has a very enticing and appealing introduction to the video. It illustrates a Los Angeles underground club culture, where Jennifer Lopez presents herself as a “queen of the nightclub,” among other individuals. This video pays homage to her career beginnings as a dancer.

Construction and choreography through this video is so sleek and lively, it makes the video looks so realistic, which probably is the reason for why it has about 597, 074, 248 viewers, on YouTube alone. Amongst other YouTube videos, Jennifer’s single has been rated one of the most viewed songs on YouTube, heavily favouring the fact that it was a massive success. A possible reason for why this was such a big success, was because it was broadcasted on stations like BBC One and was uploading on to the web, which is a main resource tool for the younger generation. It saves the public money, as they can watch it without any costs, play and replay constantly, like the video and also if they have an existing account with YouTube, they can also post their comments. Social networking sites have become so famous and are another reason for the widespread of this music video. If it weren’t for individuals sharing this video, through their Facebook statuses or following up on Twitter, perhaps this video wouldn’t have been as large success that it is now.

Each aspect of the video has been finely edited to tune in with the lyrics and timings are perfect. Wherever, the music, tempo and rhythm slows the pace of the performance also slows down too; there are 130 beats per minute in the tempo, which is amazing. The purpose of this music video is to entertain the viewers in order for the artist to be successful, and this music video accomplishes this purpose very well. The fast tempo and the amount of beats build interaction with the audience. For example, if the music was quiet slow, but the video was at a party, the two sides would clash, because slow doesn’t flow smoothly, with a groovy atmosphere. It would rather put the party-goers to sleeps rather than make them join in.

The other most amazing feature of this single is that it has a blend of the new musical era, which sets the party mood. Colours such as black and gold, have been used to give a fine appearance, and also because the two colours are very pleasing, when used in conjunction to one another. Due to the fact that this is a party song, it attracts a wider audience, as it fits most people’s preferences and also different camera shots and angles have been used to cause mixed emotions, and the shots have been finely tuned to make parts of the video appear slower so that it is not all up-beat. 

Concept Based Video: Madonna

Madonna’s concept based music video is based on love and how emotions derive and vanish within this kind of affection for one another. However the main purpose of this music video is to build a rapport with the people who have, will or are experiencing such problems. It enables the audience to build a bond with the song, so that they don’t feel alone, but rather better knowing that someone, somewhere is if feeling similar. This music video is a prime target for those people who have given their heart away, but have gained nothing or have been hurt in return. Madonna and her fellow workers have worked really hard to bring this elite piece of work together to produce an awesome video.

As this video is based on a sensitive issue, it makes Madonna deeply emotional within the song, as she portrays an image of a woman who’s stating how stone hearted people are that do not open their heart, to love someone, but rather chase money, success and fame. She does this by comparing those selfish people to dogs and herself as a crow or a type of bird, which only wants to ever fly freely. A dog, chases its prey, to earn for his survival, and is not worried about others feelings and how its consequences could affect the prey, hence relating it to a stone-hearted being.

Within this music video, there are many assumptions to be made from it. For example, the lyrics comply with the animations, when she herself changes from human to creature. She changes from a being to a crow, to a being again and at a point she even turns to a black dog, which is running. The whole purpose of this video is to relate to a lovers position, which this video outlines in depth very well. Crow being a free bird, implies that love is a free emotion or feeling and to let it remain like that. During some parts of the song, there are strong powerful words used which interpret to the audience, that they shouldn’t hide their feelings, because it will only ever cause problems in the future. The medium/long shot shows the dog’s movement and how it comes across to people as vicious, heartless and dangerous. This is a negative label which the artist applies to people who have not learnt how to love.

On the contrary, despite this song having quiet a depressing and sad meaning, it has actually reached to second position on the Billboard Hot 100, number one on dance charts on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play Charts and number two in the UK Singles Chart, which shows that this music video has made a worldwide success. Good reviews have been made from music critics too, and it has been viewed 3, 180, 204 times on YouTube alone. Looking at these statistics, you can tell that this music video has been very popular and hence shows that it has been very popular among its audience and has attained an excellent response. Following on from this, I will try to explain the reasons for why this music video has had some outstanding results.

Initially, at the start of the concept based music video, the camera is facing towards the ground and follows a path. From looking into the first few seconds into the video makes the audience assume that the camera is following someone’s footsteps, however you soon realise that this is not the case. As seconds proceed, the camera is located on dried cracked sand, showing an establishing shot of something which looks like a crow. However, as the camera pans upwards you get a better view; medium shot, showing a human being, in this case Madonna. She has a stern look on her face, which implies that the song is not going to be lively. Also the colours used set the atmosphere as well as the establishing shot. Grey and black are used quiet heavily throughout this music video to imply a dull, depressing and down impression and the establishing long shot sets the scene. The colours used initially represent a sad scene and therefore as the producer and directors of this song have decided to use it; it makes it easier for the audience to relate to the settings.

Furthermore, the music video flows with the lyrics and creativity has been used when producing animations of professional standards. For example, at the start Madonna is in a dress, however a crow swirls across the floor and turns to a cloak for her. There is also an aspect of this music video where Madonna drops back and her body breaks into many parts, those parts then split to make many crows/eagles, which fly around the sky. As she talks about a crow, a crow enters and exits the scenes at them particular timings. At these various times of the music video, the camera is  put at various angles, taking different lengths of shots, such as medium shots when they want to show slow swift movements to show facial expressions, in order to create a better impact on the audience.  Also, choreography of this music video has been considered deeply, as each movement is swift and there are gentle hand gestures, because the beat and the lyrics are slow-moving, hence it has to follow the flow of the tempo and beat of the music. Animation has also been included to show multiple amounts of Madonna’s on the screen, which implies that she is in desperate need of love, is heartbroken and helpless.

Also, another thing revealed from the piece of music video is that as we get deeper into the song, the clouds start coming in and the black outfit which she is wearing becomes more utilised. This is because, the words become depressing and the colour black is associated with dull and darkness and during the upsetting parts of the music video, the atmosphere is emphasised more. Madonna, slow drifts so that she is flying in the air, in the direction of the movement of the clouds and then steadily lands back on the ground. At this peak, of the video, she is singing about how crows want to fly in the air and hence associating herself as one. When Madonna, falls back to the ground; it is a sign of her being helpless in love. Other indications, throughout this music video, which reveal this is the tattoo on her hand and a part of the necklace she is wearing. To the audience, this makes them think assume that the necklace and tattoo are somehow related to the person she is in love with. Both the tattoo and the necklace are shown, through a close up shot, which allows us to see what she is showing us, a bit clear. It is yet unclear of what the tattoo represents, however the necklace looks like a piece of jewellery, which she has memories attached too.

Successful Music Video

However, there have also been many other successful music videos. Further on from here, I will be writing about a specific music video which has been successful and has had large quantities of CD sales. Some examples of successful music videos, for 2010 are: Whip My Hair (Willow Smith), Love The Way You Lie (Rihanna) and Just The Way you Are, by Bruno Mars. Amongst the mentioned few, i will be analysing Rihannas' song, as it was one of the top ten music videos of 2010, referenced by MuchMusic.com. 

On YouTube alone, Eminem featuring Rihanna's video, called Love the Way Lie, had 498, 027, 824 viewers and was also in the top ten music videos of 2010. This music video was produced by Alex da Kid and holds the following record labels: Aftermath entertainment, Shady and Interscope and the budget production for it has been estimated to be around $10, 000. these are the manufacture, production, distribution promotion and so forth. Rihanna's single, sold more than five million copies in the United States, just over 9.3 million copies internationally and became the best selling song of 2010, in the United Kingdom. It was also nominated for five Grammy Awards. Love the Way You Lie, single, was number one on 25 weekly charts worldwide, including the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks. these figures them self show, the massive success of this one music video. Due to the great respond they received from this video, the produced; Alex da Kid, produced the second part to this song. 

This lyrics of this song reflect the singers real life situation and therefore it is categorised as a narrative based music video. It is a narrative based music video, because the story imitates the lives of the artists, and also the lyrics and video are in synchronisation. whatever is told to us by words, is also portrayed within the video, which describes why this is a narrative based music video.Rihanna, was in an abusive, romantic relationship with another famous artist and this music video conveys the message of two people in a love-hate relationship, who do not want to separate. Within this music video, we are able to see a lot of action and domestic violence, between the couple, which mirrors the reality of Rihannas' past experience. An average time of a YouTube video is 4 minutes and 12 seconds, whereas this music video is 4 minutes and 23 seconds long, which is within the average boundary, and music videos alone make up about 31% of any other entertainment purpose production.

In the very first few seconds of the video, a close up of Rihanna's face is shown, which allows the users to see her facial expressions. It builds a contract with the viewer as the woman sitting cross-legged is holding fire in her hands. A medium shot is used so that we can see alot of what is going on, and the environment she is sitting it; this throws the audience back. This part of the video, makes the audience think, 'wow, how did they do that;' creating alot of confused questions in the audiences mind. it also implies the woman, as being brave, bold and fearless, even though we can see through her facial expressions, that she is not going through a good time, in life. Moving on from this, we see Rihanna appear on screen again with red hair, natural make up and fire in the background creates a fiery feel, and a negative atmosphere. This creates a huge impact on the audience, which draws their attention away from everything else. Despite, two great singers being promoted, the efforts to this masterpiece have also been shown in the high levels of positive reviews and response. One of the reasons for this is that as the words become powerful in the song, the beat and tempo of the music also turns up.

Unlike other music videos, this music is like watching a movie with music. Everything begins still and then when the woman finds a number on the back of her partners hand, of a woman called Cindy, she becomes outrageous and things behind to heat up and cause disequilibrium and problems. At this point, the video and lyrics become intense. This is what the audience wants to see; they want to see action, problems arising between relationships and violence, as it entertains them as well as making them feel sympathetic. Action is the cause of attention for most viewers. Also the story behind this narrative music video, can be quite common. It may apply to a lot of people across the globe and therefore they can listen to this song, from a sensitive viewpoint. There are a lot of close ups used to show the facial expressions, such as anger, sadness, helpless and loss of control. Close ups allow the bond between the audience and the video, to be stronger so that this piece of art touches their heart.

The music video itself contains a lot of action, violence and powerful adult scenes. These are the aspects which make a youth or an adult audience want to watch this music video, again and again. Also, as there are really powerful scenes within the video, the audience will also remember it for a longer period of time. This is because it is wild, creating a permanent image within their brain, rather than the same old traditional scenes of a video. Production of this movie has been done so precisely, so that every aspect of this music video feels realistic. They have done this through the use of sets and open side walls, which allow us to see the movement of the actors, from room to room, from a distance. An establishing long shot, has been used to help with this image. When the pitching of the song becomes high, the actions speeds up to balance it out, whereas when the pitch becomes lower, actions become slower, simpler and innocent looking, which emphasis the behaviours of the characters. Towards the end of the video both people are reunited; back int he same beg which is a sign of equilibrium, reparation and resolution.

Record Labels

Each music video is assigned to a record label. A record label is a brand and trademark associated with the marketing of music videos and music recordings. a record company manages the manufacturing, production and distribution of a music video(s). However, some record labels are much more famous and successful than others. Aftermath Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Group, are three of the most successful record companies, going.

Aftermath Entertainment

Aftermath Entertainment is an American record label founded by Dr. Dre and is distributed through the Universal Music Group's Interscope Records. Dr. Dre made this label famous through his motivational thinking. He believed that music was about "quality over quantity" and therefore gave a small number of high profile releases, alongside the people he worked with. Despite many downfalls, Dr. Dre was determined for a successful group, which started from Eminems debut album called, 'The Slim Shady LP', in 1998. Eminems album became a super hit and that is when Dr. Dre business started running. Famous, Eminem, also gave another super hit album, called 'Get Rick of Die Tryin.' Due to these massive successes, more singers signed on with Aftermath Entertainment, rather than drop out from it, and hence it has become world famous for its hip hop music today. Since 1996, there have been, in total, of 12 albums released under Aftermath, which shows the reward for such determination and perseverance. Black Eye Peas, Mariah Carey, 50 Cent, Kanye West, Eminem and Dr. Dre, all work under and for the Aftermath Entertainment.

Dr. Dre could have had an awful career, but because of Eminem debut, has he had a great comeback. His music videos and record labels are so famous now because of his chosen genre; hip hop. A lot of sounds, nowadays, are for the younger generation of adults, and therefore hip hop is a theme which almost everyone can relate to. It is a common theme, for which people are able to watch. If there are songs with explicit scenes, the label company itself alter the music video so that it has a cleaner version so that young people can have access to it too. This record label, solely focuses on the hip hop genre, which makes it so successful because it appeals to a huge audience.

Sony Music Entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment is the second biggest major record label in music sales. They accounted for 21.5% of the market in 2005, and have since expanded internationally. This entertainment label produces different genres, for all ages and genders, however it has not been able to reach a higher position than it currently is, even though it is for all genders and ages. Artists of familiar faces to this record label are Alicia Keys, Shakira, Britney Spears and more so.

The music this entertainment group are record labels for, provides the needs of every individuals, hence they are successful. They do individual genres, which relate to different types of audience and therefore they have such a large market expansion. Making music of all kinds, allows people with different taste to pursue it, and hence make more money than videos, from record companies, that have a single genre.

Children benefit from music and music videos as it can be a source of discipline for them. If they develop an interest for music and artists, they will learn to show respect, dedication and obedience to the work of their elders. Whereas for teenagers, music videos can create a source of belonging for them, allowing them to relate to something. It may also take their mind of other things, such as stress and perhaps an artist would become an idol for them, in the future. These are a few ways in how different genres of music appeal to different types of audience. Children and teenagers would prefer hip hop, Pop, or R n B music videos, whereas adults and families may prefer classical, jazz and more slower songs.

Music videos can assist people from their emotional stress and everyday problems and put them into a relaxing mood, as well as being able to put them to sleep. This can be done by slow classical songs, which this record company are able to produce. Not only this, but music videos allow people have a sense of belonging as it reflects real life situations. But families would perfer music with a calming, non explicit formats, so that they can enjoy it as a whole and come together, for a  bit of fun. Music videos of this kind livens up the atmosphere. Different genres meet the expectation of different groups of individuals, and as with this record company they produce various genres, therefore making them successful.

EMI Group

The EMI group is the third biggest major record label in music sales, which account for 13.4% of the market. They have promoted artists such as , Beatles, Coldplay, Rolling Stones and Robbie Williams. Other successful new acts broken in 2010, by this group was by Tinie Tempah, who sings a variety of music genres, from hip hop to electric.

David Fincher

David Fincher, is an extremely famous music video director and television producer. He has produced movies The Game, Se7ven, Fight Club, Panic Room and many more. Not only has he directed such great movies but he has also director music videos, starring Micheal Jackson and Madonna. I will be comparing and contrasting two music videos, directed by him, called Who Is It, featuring Micheal Jackson  and Bad Girl, featuring Madonna.

Micheal Jackson: Who Is It

This music video, by David Fincher, featuring Micheal Jackson falls into two categories of music videos. It can be considered as a narrative based music video and a concept based music video. This is because in the video we see that it is about love, cheats and misunderstanding each other. The reasons for why these fall into both categories are because it can be associated as Micheal Jackson's personal matter as well as relating to the wider context and other people. Other people are also more likely to have been through or go through similar problems and therefore they can relate to this music video. On the other hand, the music video consists of the word "I" very often, which refers to Micheal Jackson. This means to say that he is talking about his personal experience, hence it then becomes a narrative based music video.

Who Is It, music video starts of quite slow and then gets faster as we follow  through into the song. At the beginning when the songs is slow, there are slow moving images of beautiful old buildings, in the sunset and shows how quickly the darkness covers the buildings; implying a negative feel for the song already. Establishing shots are used to show the audience, the settings of this music video. It allows us to get a better understanding of the atmosphere and the environment in which the video has been shot in. Following from this, the darkness builds up and at some points we see flashes of golden lighting. During this period, there are a clash of colours used; golden lighting on one hand, with a pitch black atmosphere on the other hand. Long shots have also been used to set the scene of this location too, before any character makes an appearance. The first appearance of this music video, is of a woman wearing white clothes; the colour white implies signs of purity. On the other hand, Micheal Jackson is wearing a dull dark colour; black. These colours imply a dark, painful and unfortunate feel, we begin to feel empathetic, seeing the two individual characters. Already, minutes within the music video, we are able to make out that the song will be emotionally sensitive.

Further on from this, emotions are revealed, using close up and extreme close up, to show how furious Micheal Jackson is. He has been waiting too long for her and has about lost his patience and throws the nameplate, which has Alex engraved on it. At this point suspense build and the music video has very well drew the audiences attention. Powerful words are used to describe his emotions as heartbroken, used and cheated on. a rhetorical question has also been asked by him, asking " who it is" that has taken his girlfriend away from  him. According to him, he gave her everything she could possibly want, and she left him. Up until this point, we see the woman as a deceitful, heartless and a useless. We are able to make this decision, from the close ups we see of how shes living as a toy at different places, even after everything Micheal Jackson has provided for her. The women keeps moving on, like a predator after it prey.

As the music video proceeds, we see the true story unfold and realise that his judgements about his girlfriend are not true. When Micheal Jackson is about to leave town, in the dark night, his girlfriend returns to him. Despite this not being a track about a pleasant experience, it has still caught the audiences attention. This track has been a commercial success worldwide, appearing in the top thirty positions of the national music charts. This music video has also reached number fourteen on the United States' billboard Hot 100 chart, while reaching at number six on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs, and the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play. But in the United Kingdom, this song has reached number twelve on July 25th, 1992. Also, Who Is It, has been in the top one hundred positions for seven consecutive weeks, from  July to September 1992.

Madonna: Bad Girl

This music video is about a high-powered Manhattan female executive who is an alcoholic and has a desire for one-night stands with many different men. Throughout the music video, we see that she behaves this way in order to try to deal with her depression and sadness over a relationship with someone she loves deeply and in reverse it becomes the ladder to her death. During her days, she gets distracted by cigarettes, cocktails, and random hook-ups which are conveyed in a message, within the song.

The introduction of the music video, starts of by revealing a dead body, within the first few seconds of the opening. It does this to create a contract with the viewer and then, in a non-linear sequence it follows back the story, so that we get a better picture of the problem, that caused this stage. Different angles and camera shots have been used so quickly and efficiently within the opening; from extreme close ups on a watch, ticking, to the low angle shot, showing the setting of the house and office. The clock ticking implies that there is nothing the people can do to change the situation, as it is going super quick. Bad Girl is an example of a narrative and concept based music video. It is telling a day,of a life's story, which can also relate to other real life situations, which also allows it to fall into the concept based category.

This music video, is very like Micheal Jackson's music video, which I looked at earlier. Both videos use a lot of black which implies a feel of depression, sadness and an unlively feel. The camera work is carried out from  different angles and there are also different types of shots been use. For example, there are close up shots to show the expression on the characters faces, as well as shots easing out, to create emphasis. There is also a close up of facial expressions of Madonna smoking; revealing her stressed out character, which makes the audience sense her pain. Oppositely, we also start to think, what a filthy woman she is, as she kisses a strangers lips.  The words sung in the music video, synchronise the movements on screen, which makes it seem more realistic and hence this we feel sympathetic towards them. there are blurred aspects of this music video, when Madonna walks towards the crucifixes on her jewellery rack. As the audience, we are eased into watching her pick up the crucifix, from the many that are there, by which some people may feel disappointed. This is because on one hand, Madonna is playing a bad girl and on the other hand she is also trying to maintain her religious beliefs; the two do not fit well together.

Back in the days, this music video was another great success, of David Finchers production, which was a success on the charts, reaching number 36 on the United States, Billboard Hot 100 and number ten on the United Kingdoms Singles Chart. However following this success, it did fall of the charts a while later. This video portrays a mind of an woman who had messed up her life in the stubbornness of not ending a relationship, which was too hard for her to handle. On YouTube alone, this song had 197, 056 views.

Codes and Conventions of Music Videos

Hennah Ashraf

Codes and Conventions of Music Videos

  

Introduction

During this written assignment, I will be writing about five different music genres and the codes and conventions of each. The types of genres I am going to be focusing on are; RnB, Rap, Punjabi, Religious and Pop music. Below are an example of each genre which I will be looking at and comparing it against the codes and convention of other music videos, from a similar genre.

RnB example: Yo (excuse me miss) (Chris Brown)

Rap:   Smack That (Akon ft Eminem)

Punjabi: Ki Samjaiye (Amrinder Gill)

Religious: Mein Taliyan Nabi Diyan Chumda (Muhammad Milad Raza Qadri)

Pop: Man In The Mirror (Micheal Jackson)

Yo, Excuse Me Miss: Chris Brown

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yn_6LC4loY8&feature=player_embedded

An example of a R&B music video is the song called Yo (Excuse Me Miss) by Chris Brown. This music video is from a males viewpoint, in this case, Chris Brown. In R&B music videos, men are portrayed as topless, especially in Trey songs, so that they can attract a female audience. However, this also happens vice versa. Women are not displayed as topless but are portrayed very bare, with minimal clothing and are seen as sex objects. For most R&B music videos the target audience is the youth and young teenage girls and boys. Teenage girls are usually the target for songs performed and composed by male artists, whereas teenage boys are the target audience for music videos containing women, as opposite sexes attract. The impact has to be quite big hence both male and female artists where very little clothing.

On one hand, male artists tend to show off their abs and six packs, whereas women show their beautiful figures. In music videos of this type of genre, men usually wear jeans, which tend to hang below their waist. This is so that you can see their boxers and perhaps a shiny designer belt. They also have tattoos around their body which tend to be on the arms, legs or on the upper body, where it is visible. For a change, male artists also wear jewellery, but very little jewellery unlike hip hop artists. The type of jewellery they usually wear is a diamante earring, silver chain and perhaps a designer watch in some cases. These are minor elements which also impact the audience.

On the contrary, women are also seen in minimal clothes too, however they wear a lot of make-up, with variety of tans and eye make-up is very heavy and bold. This is used to seek attention. Computer editing also allows them to hide their wrinkles, eye bags and any spots.  In R&B videos, women have their hair looking very dramatic which leaves a wow look, that influences other women. Also, they wear high heals to make their legs look longer and so that their bottoms stick out, which is again to attract the opposite gender. Although saying this, in some performance videos, women wear trainers and jeans rather than dresses and heels. This is to suit the style of their song.  Another slight change, in comparison to male dressing within this genre of music is that women wear quite big earrings and hardly any other jewellery; make up and dress usually does the job.

In fast songs women are often portrayed as sex object and when the eye make-up is very light the use of bright red or pink lipstick is used, which creates a balance. A vast majority of the fast songs are shot in a studio so that effects can be added to it. Songs which are about love and relationship problems contain women who are dress appropriately. By wearing costumes which reveal very little represent the women as goddesses and they are seen in a positive light.  

Smack That: Akon Featuring Eminem

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKDdT_nyP54&feature=player_embedded

Akon's music video, called Smack That is an example of a rap music video. By looking at the opening of this music video we are able to see a lot of black, white and grey scale however like some odd rap videos there are also a high contrast in the colours used. Not only this, but they are also in an environment where you expect them to be played in. For example, in night clubs, bars and on the streets. These are all places where music of this sort is brought to life at. This music video is in a nightclub therefore you can see that it fits into the nightclub theme.

In this particular music video, the artist is represented like a gangster/criminal. This can be applied to all other music videos. Videos of this kind show a representation of gangsters, people with fame, personal wealth and cars. However, some songs are made for club records and others to address a subject matter; being both positive and negative.

Rap music videos also have a hook at the beginning, which in ordinary music is also known as the chorus. The chorus captures the theme of the song and has to be catchy and appealing to a mainstream audience.Beats within the music videos invoke the emotions that inspired the artist when composing the song. They contain a lot of slang, informal and street language, hence being easily interpreted by youths of the modern era. Emotions, creativity and rhymes also derive from this genre of music video and as it is rhymes it makes the music video much easier to remember, having an Urban impact.

Most rap tracks are composition of electronic instruments or drum beats, which are played in the background and are most popular in dance clubs.  

 

Ki Samjaiye: Amrinder Gill

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct9e00Cts94

Ki Samjaiye is an example of a Punjabi music video. The thing which makes this type of genre popular among Asians is because is uses the Indian drum, called the Dhol, in the background. When the Dhol is played, the first thoughts of an individual are to dance to the amazing beat.  Similarly, Punjabi music is also created to make people dance and feel happy.

Bright colours and costumes are used to set the mood of the song, however if the video takes place within a club or disco, the artists work in the dark and adjust to different lighting to match the mood of the song. Costumes generally consist of patiala salwar and tight fitted kameez. This is to make the body appear elegant and attractive as most of the themes are based around love, dance, weddings and parties.

Punjabi music allows people from around different parts of Asia to listen along, as the language spoken is a contrast of Urdu and Hindi. Urdu is spoken in most regions of Asia, therefore making it an understandable language to sing in. Punjabi is similar to the slang language used in England. Voice of the singer is more important than the musical instruments. Instruments which accompany Punjabi music are flutes, harmoniums, pianos and the most commonly used; Dhol's. Songs of this genre are very enjoyable and the music rejoices people.

Mein Taliyan Nabi Diyan Chumda: Muhammad Milad Raza Qadri

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtQqO5GkkSk&feature=player_embedded

Religious music is also another genre and a music video, which fits into this category is the one named above; Mein Taliyan Nabi Diyan Chumda. This is an Islamic music video which relates to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), which is a role model to all the Muslim nation. Similarly, like this music video, other videos of such kind are also based around religion, God, beliefs, values and morals. Religious music can be composed in different languages, which allows other people to express their views, opinions and feelings about their religion. Some strong influences of religious music in Islam are in Arabic, Iranian and Turkish classical music, in which individuals relate them self to God and the world itself.

Masses of the music produced makes people want to cry, or makes them realise certain aspects of religion really hard, which they may not have given as much importance to before. Some videos are narrative based music videos which tells a specific religious story. Islamic music video use a lot of natural settings, such as landscapes and environment with greenery. This is to imply the naturalness of nature.

Within religious Islamic music, there are also different music types, for example nasheeds, Sufi's, a Hamd, a Naat, Manqabats and Ghazals. Nasheeds are music sung without any musical instruments; considered as permissible and halal in Islam, among Muslims. Sufi's are chanting for the Sufi's of Turkey, however it not seen as a worshipping service. On the other hand, a Hamd is a song in praise of Allah. Similarly and a Naat is a song in praise of the Prophet Muahmmad (peace be upon him). Manqabats are songs in praise of the teachers of the Sufi brotherhood to which the musicians belong to. Whereas, Ghazals are songs which use the language of romantic love to express the soul's longing for union. These are few of the many types of religious music associated with Islam.

 

Man In The Mirror: Micheal Jackson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEQAie8ABLE&feature=player_embedded

Micheal Jackson's, Man In The Mirror is an example of a pop music video. In pop music videos men are commonly portrayed in a modern way, where they are seen as glamourous and attractive.  They are also a dominant character within these type of videos, especially in dance and performances. On the contrary, women are also shown in a modern way as they are shown as having upset the man, which hardly ever happened in the past eras. This shows the modernisation of the society.

Pop music videos are based upon relationships, scandals and sexual activity. Common videos portray women negatively and they are often seen as cheats, players and very aggressive in a relationship. When the songs subject is based on a positive thing the lighting is usually light and vibrant, however when it is based on a negative thing the lighting is usually quite dim and dark. This implies the negativity of the song as well as representing darkness within the artists' life, which impacts the mood of the song.

Settings of music videos are set in mansions, nightclubs, boats, beaches and street. When videos are shot in mansions it tends to represent happy, rich people. Whereas if it were set on the streets or nightclubs it gives a youth feel to the music and is enjoyed differently. Props such as cars and jewellery are used quite often, along with bright colours and band performances in some situations. Once again cars demonstrate a rich personality and less jewellery creates a good impression in the audiences minds, commonly in young people's minds.

Animation Video: One More Time (Daft Punk)

Features of this music video are:

• Use of bright colours
• Close ups of animated characters lips while singing 
• Adult theme in a cartoon format
• Images and sounds are not suitable for young children
• Music video slows down as the lyrics slow down
• The colours used are party colours and the colours used are of lighting with in nightclubs
• Fictional setting as there are spaceships. 

In concert/live: Linking Park (Numb Encore)

Features of this music video are:

• Screams and cheers before the performance has started
• Live band and performance, with lighting
• Singers singing live
• Include footage of their journey in black and white (applies a posh feel)
• A live concert is boring alone therefore the video includes footage of the audience jumping, cheering and screaming showing the statement
• Artist voice is louder than the sounds themselves, which is good because the audience can understand what is being sung
• Shows the work behind the music video production (production team etc)
• Singer signing off stage
• Black out to imply the end of the music video.

Homage: Ghetto Ghospel (2Pac)

Features of this music video are:

• A diary type of music video
• Events are recorded and timestamps are displayed of the event
• Tribute to 2 pac
• Dull colours, black room to show the pain
• Gangs on streets doing undercover drugs business, shows the type of lifestyle he lived
• Narrative - telling the life story of 2 pac (realistic)
• The use of colours like, black and red (colours related to crime and funeral colours)
• Picture at the end, to show people who he is and what marks he left behind 
• The outfits the thugs wore (black with silver chains and earrings gives a gangster impression)
• Woman seeing things as she removes her veil to realise that she is seeing an illusion.

Parody: Some Study That I Used To Know (Gotye)

Features of this music video are:

• Get a horrible feeling already, see half a body of naked male who's hairy (off putting)
•  The name of the song fits well as it is about school days and studies, even though it is a bit boring
• However the video itself is quite good in terms of whatever is being painted on the wall, is also being painted on the human which I haven't seen in hardly any other music video, making this one unique and memorable
• The language which is used is not for young children nor is the video itself because it has censored aspects of nudity
• Not as expected, uncomfortable to watch and inappropriate for my taste of music.

Influence: Gold Digger (Kanye West) 

Features of this music video are:

• Introduction is quite squeaky, even if you don't want to you will still turn to look at the video, as the squeakiness is what attracts us(the hook of it)
• A theatre type of introduction like a starting of the movie, curtain raisers
• Warning sign given before hand, however its not so sharp and bright which indicates is an easy going music video
• Target audience is for adults; at all not suitable for children (too influential and not good for a young audience).

Example of Pastiche Music Video

Christina Aguilera - Candyman video

pastiche - imitating a certain era

• Pastiche music videos are music videos which imitate a certain era, in Christina Aguileras' music video it is of a previous era, back in the days. The music video above goes back to the 40's. Some of the features of this video are that it:
• Contains highly sexual lyrical meanings
• Not suitable for a young audience
• Costume is of the olden era and a white costume simplifies purity, however this is not the case throughout the song
• A lot of facial make up to make them appear like barbies, strong lipstick colour to have an impact on the opposite gender and the clothes that they wear reveal alot of skin
• Energetic and representing the olden era in a new way
• Adult content, concept music video and the subject is love and sexual desire/feelings

Lyric Interpretations
Try by Pink

 

Looking at the lyrics for this music video, we assume that the theme has a negative feel. which conveys the message of an individual who is attempting to live in a relationship which is failing to be successful. Not only this but we can also iterate that this music video is from a women's point of view because she approaches the other person as a 'he'. In a heterosexual relationship, which is very common in all societies contains heterosexual couples, hence reflecting from this I make a stereotypical judgement that it is the thoughts of a woman towards a male partner.

 

Nevertheless, the word 'try' has been emphasised a lot and it is also within the title of the song, which emphasises its meaning further. The writer of this song believes that you should keep trying to make it right in a relationship and this has been clearly demonstrated within the music video. Within the chorus we think that the music video is about a woman who has heard something about her partner but is saying to the world that rather than believing it she is going to try and make it work out for herself. This entire piece of lyrical music has been evolved around a woman's thoughts, mind and feelings.

 

The character which is being portrayed to us within the lyrics is a woman who has been badly hurt and it trying to move on from it, however the love pulls her back to a relationship which has become too tough to handle and that it is better for her to live again and learn from her mistake. Pink has also mentioned the word 'flame' throughout her chorus which makes me think that perhaps she will also use a fake flame like Rihanna did in her music video called, Love The Way You Lie. The music video seems narrative based and may use a contrast of dark colours and shadings to demonstrate the pain. Various shots, mainly close ups are likely to be used to show facial expressions and body language of the actors, which is likely to be from a subjective and at times and objective viewpoint. In reflection of this, costume, colour and lighting may also be dull, dark and dreary to enhance the feeling of a depressed atmosphere.

Actual Video:

 

However in the real video everything was almost opposite to how we may off assumed it to be like. For example the video contains so much more action and colour with eliminates aspects of stereotypes. The lyrics talk about being hurt and to imply this colours such as blue and yellow (emphasising the black and blue bruises)  have been used to create a better impact of the brutality of this music video. In this case the couple have not been be separated but instead their love brings them together again, which is slightly unusual in comparison to other music video of similar kind. There is an equal part of violence from both actors towards one another however the lyrics are from a woman's viewpoint which makes us feel sympathetic towards her more, which completely disregards the man's situation. In favour to her viewpoint, the lyrics create a bias.

 

Another point of consideration from this music video is that the setting is in a house which looks empty, reflecting their relationship. However as the camera moves from room to room, a different story is also being told. Firstly everything starts off on an equilibrium and then matters worsen when each room contains more action. The music video switches from moments of love to moments of hate and abuse and abrupt,sharp, bright colours are used which are not expected.

Love Story by Taylor Swift

Lyrics of the music refer to Romeo and Juliet's era from the past which implies that the music video is to be based upon a love story similar, if not the same as to Romeo and Juliet's. It implies how strong love can be and by comparing it against Romeo and Juliet love story it creates an impact and the audience can sympathise with the actors as the story is so common among society, that many versions in different languages have been created to narrate the same story. Coming from this, I assume that this music video is going to be a narrative based music video which will follow the lives of the two individuals to show their love story. The clue of what the music video is about is in the name. Love Story indicates that it is going to be about the story of their love.

 

Also, I can conclude that it is from a woman's viewpoint as she states 'that you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles...' which clearly allows us to assume that she is likely to be taking on Juliet's role. Romeo and Juliet's story was famous for keeping hope in their love and that some day they will be one and hence this music video follows a similar structure. The word 'difficult' has been used to create an impact on the audience so that we know how difficult their situations are and how they still keep faith. This music video is likely to be set in a school, college or university as it is based on young love. It is also likely to be joyful and adventurous at times as well as slightly saddening and emotional at times. As an audience we assume that when she talks about the separation of her with her boyfriend that we will see rivers of emotions and unhappy people. A story is being told within the lyrics which tells us that her father is not happy with the relationship. For example it is mentioned in the lyrics that '...my daddy said to stay away from Juliet...' which explains the reasons for their distance. From this we can also assume that the boy was not capable for Juliet because when he returns he says he will buy her a wedding dress and ask her father but he asks her to say 'yes.'

Actual video:

 

The actual video is very much like how we would think it to be like. In the opening sequence of the music video we see a variety of shots, from establishing shot, to close up and medium close up shots. All these types of shots give a different feel to the audience hence they have been used so diversely. This music video is set in Romeo and Juliet's era and hence the women wear big dresses in mainly white and beige colours with beautiful hair-do's and are dressed to feature like Queens and Princesses. Personally, this is how I imagined the video to be and in reality it has lived up to my expectations.

 

Lyrics reflect what is being shown to us in the video too, but majority of the video is located at a college and in the forest, which goes a bit by the location which I predicted. However, none of it is based at home, which does not matter a lot. From a cheerful vibe we move to a sad part of it when Juliet leaves Romeo's hand which makes the audience hold their hand against their heart hoping that the two will reunite. During this particular moment of the scene, the so-called Juliet walks past an angel who is holding her hands making some sort of wish, which reflects how she hopes that there is a new beginning to this sad ending. The fairytale ending occurs when he returns to her like she had hoped and they meet up again in a field similar to the one where they departed from. They both are happy once again.

Techniques Used In Music Video Production:Music producers use various types of techniques within a music video. Some examples of them which I will be writing about are; cutting to beat, effects, miming and lip sync, playback and lip sync, multi image, camera movements, camera angles and chroma key.

Cutting to Beat: Can be defined as the change of music with the change of scene. It is simply syncing the audio to the music video. A scene cuts to another scene on a specific lyric. An example of when cutting to beat was used was in the music video by Adele; Rolling in the Deep.

Effects: Effects can be referred to a result or a change of something. In music videos effects such as animation and visual effects (VFX) are used between the change of scenes and are appealing to a different range of audience. Some simple effects which can be used in music video are; dissolve in, ease in and out, flash, check board and so forth. Producers also use other visual effects and 3D animation as well as CGI. Visual effects allow the producers and directors to go more creative and to appeal to a larger audience.

Miming and Lip Sync: Miming is to use gestures and movements without using words while acting in a play or a performance. Whereas lip sync is to move the lips at the same time as the speech or song which has been recorded, in order to make it look real and as if to make it feel live. Artists like Britney Spears, Queen, Ashlee Simpson, Milli Vanilli and Justin Bieber have done miming and lip syncing within their music video productions.

Playback and Lip Sync: Audio playback in a music video means to replay a part (if not all) of a audio/video recording in order to monitor quality.

Multi Image: Multi-image is sometimes used to describe the output of digital images being portrayed on screen, as a combination. Multi images are used for photo montages and image stitching.

Camera Movements: There are many ways in which the camera moves such as crab, dolly, dolly zoom, follow, pan, pedestal (ped) and tilt.

Crab - A term used for tracking or trucking, however this term is not very often used.
Dolly - This type of shot usually travels along tracks to give a very smooth movement which can also be referred to as a tracking or trucking shot, whereas Dolly Zoom tracks smoothly while the camera moves closer to further away from a certain object.
Follow - The camera follows the subject at almost a constant distance.
Pan - This means for the camera to move from left to right and right to left.
Pedestal (Ped - This is the opposite to panning; moving the camera up and down with respect to the subject.
Tilt - Vertical movement of the camera angle, either pointing up or down etc.

Camera Angles: Different angles of camera shots are as follows; extreme long shot, long shot, medium shot, close up, extreme close up, birds eye view, high angle, eye level and low angle.

Extreme Long Shot- an establishing long shot of setting. This type of shot is usually used to set the scene and it includes an exterior view of the landscape; as much as possible.
Long Shot - This is a full shot showing the entire human body; from head to toe. It also shows slight sections of the setting.
Medium Shot - A camera shot from the knees or to the waist up.  
Close Up - This type of shot shows very little background and concentrates on a specific detail of the object.
Extreme Close Up - This is an extreme version of the close up, generally a zoom in which creates an intimidating feel.
Birds Eye View -  A view  of the setting from an overhead view which gives a feel as if you are looking down upon something.
High Angle - The camera is high above the action sequence however it is lower than the bird's eye view, showing a wider picture.
Eye Level - A neutral shot where the camera is position in level with the human eye which creates a feel from a participants/actors viewpoint.
Low Angle - This is a drop down from the eye level point. Low angles are used to create confusion and shows the speed of the action. This also creates an intimidate look.

Chroma Key: Blue screen or chroma key effects allow producers to record actors/singers against a chroma key (single colour, either blue or green0 background which allows them to replace the backdrop during the post production of the music video. Some examples of music videos which have used chroma key during the post production are: Oasis ( All Around the World), Fat Boy Slim ( Right Here, Right Now) and Kylie's music video; Can't Get You Out Of My Head.