Star Image

“She has a creative aesthetic that stretches beyond songwriting into the fashion and even technology fields,”  

                                                           Jill Bradshaw, Trend Director at New York fashion




When researching further into the image of certain stars, Lady Gaga was instantly the first person I thought of. Lady Gaga was described by the NY post in her early life as a 'refugee form Jersey Shore' with her heavy eye make-up and tight, revealing clothing. The world famous singer is most commonly known for her outrageous outfits ranging from dresses made of plastic bubbles to a dress covered in meat for the 2010 VMA's. She never bypasses the opportunity to accessorize her choice of clothing with something out of the ordinary. Her appearance on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross found her carrying a Tea- Cup, in recognition of the english tea.

.Creative.Bizarre.Eccentric.Interesting.Unique. Extraordinary. 

Lip sync activity - REACH FOR THE STARS

As part of our 'revision' if you like, we had to create a prelim of a music video whereby we would practise techniques which would in turn create a better music video in the end. This didn't have to be to the standards of our final video, it was really purely just to practise with our camera presence, lip syncing and camera stability and gain a better understanding on how to use the software involved.
As a group we came to the decision to sing 'Reach For The Stars' by S Club 7 which was released in 2000. This was a good choice because we was all familiar with the lyrics, it would be fun which made it easier for us. In order to make this as beneficial as possible we filmed in a range of locations around the school in a variety of different shots; long, middle and close ups.
As expected we did experience several problems throughout the task but as a group we overcame these with ease, after all this was only to practise.  Having not previously used the programme final cut i feel that the final outcome was at an extremely satisfying standard. The most challenging part of the project was ensuring that the lip syncing was in time with the music being played. However we eventually got the short film to a level whereby all was in sync, however occasionally there may be a few mis haps that we should go back and improve if this was a final product. But as this is only a practise we though it would be good to show some mistakes, and make sure we are aware of them to ensure they do not arise in the final product. I am happy with the experience and look forward to creating a music video later in the project.

Chloe shaw

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Important Language:

Connotation:  A description of value, meaning or ideology associated with a media text.
Ideology: How we as individuals understand the world in which we live.
Industry: The agencies and institutions involved with the production of media texts.
Narrative: The telling of a plot or story. In a media text, narrative is the coherent 
sequencing of events across time and space.
Match on Action: Using edits whereby different objects or people are doing the same thing. E.g: A close up on one persons hands typing then a close up on another persons hands typing. 
Representation: The process by which a constructed media text stands for, symbolises, describes or represents people, places, events or ideas that are real and have an existence outside the text.
Code: This is the meaning behind a text, something that varies between industries and products.
Conventions: This is something that you would expect to see in a text. For example every magazine has a title, barcode and contents etc. 
30 degree rule:  This is a jump cut whereby you don't move the camera more than 30 degrees to give the effect of a jump rather than an edit. 
180 degree rule: This is important to ensure that the audience remain in the same position when making edits between shots to make sure that the orientation is the same.
Intertextuality: is the reference to other media texts within a text. 
Amplification: This is when new meaning is added to the song.
Disjunction: This is when the lyrics contradict the video and vice versa. 

Ghetto Gospel

. Diegetic sounds
. Opens with narrative
. We don't see the artist, the whole video is more cinematic because the director want you to focus on the        narrative
. Establishing shots, Flash backs, Chronological order, Attempt to achieve realism.
. The name of the son is an example of juxtaposition: oxymoronic 'Ghetto' - 'Gospel' the words don't go together

Codes
- Helicopters, radio, speaking, police (diegetic)

Conventions
- pathetic fallacy; rain, weather adds to mood ( rain, sad )
- point of view shot to immerse we are part os the narrative which enhances realism.
- panning camera is ground level to make the audience feel part of the narrative.
- song comes in after the narrative.
- defocusing add to the realism.
- flashbacks; intrigue the audience.
- graphic matches; lyrics match the narrative
- urbanisation, establishing shops; churches, roads, city
- last supper on the wall, could signify the characters last meal.
- she is happy, all codes establish they are good people.
- costume & body language tell us they are a gang.
- close up on drugs progress the narrative
- messing with friends show youthfulness.
- overlooks cityscape, character aims to get out of the city, another reference to religion ( Godlike)
...possibly wants to get out of the city, may feel trapped.
- video starts and ends at the same place.

How has the music industry changed?

The online music revolution is changing the way chart-topping bands are being recognized.  Bands who are using the Internet to reach their fans without the help of major labels, feel able to walk away from the big corporations claiming ‘I am tired of them taking all the money’.

Nizlopi are a duo act playing the bass and guitar, they rely solely on the Internet and intimate gigs to publicize their music. They became more apparent within the industry when they released their song ‘JCB’ via viral advertising. This method promoted them as a band to just 20 people through an e-mail, who sent it on to their friends who then sent it on again and so on. This viral effect sent the JCB song up into one of the top 10 songs of the year. This effect gave Nizpoli the ability to act as a marketing machine without the aid of an already established record label.  

‘The internet it crucial for an artist to go independent’ Bands and their fans are using the internet as a way to rebel against the big record labels who have for so long dominated the music industry; Warner bros, Song BMG, Universal & EMI have corned 80% of the sales which add up to £20b a year.' There technique is to sign bands, market them and asses their sales. If their sales drop, they drop them. However the internet has given bands the structure and ability to succeed on their own.

The Arctic Monkeys are the most successful band from the internet. They began their career by sharing music on forums with other hopeful artists and users. MySpace is the credited site that has the answers to the most important site that contributed to the success of The Arctic Monkeys.  When they released their albums in the beginning of 2006 it went straight to number 1.

The new comers teach the establishes what should be done, the major record labels claim that the internet is killing the record companies, sales are dramatically down.

Illegal downloading occurs by ‘file sharers’ known to the industry as ‘pirates’. They would buy  a CD and upload it onto the internet sharing it for free to other music lovers. Because of this the decline of CD sales deteriorated over the past few years. 


As the music industry continues to grow and succeed outside of the major record labels, the new music world looks to continue to change dramatically with more music available through internet services. This is the biggest contributor to the decline in CD sales.

Lady Gaga Telephone

Lady Gaga has been in the music industry now for 3 years, excelling from night clubs and small events to sold out tours, nationwide. On her way up to the top of the top she has changed the music industry forever and will be recognised forever on for her music video's out rating any existing video's and fascinating fashions and costumes. Currently just nearing the end of her 4th worldwide tour, her ability to change the standards of music videos in the 21st century has exceeded any expectations. 

Telephone was one of the biggest music videos of 2010, at over 9 minutes long she morphed narrative and music to create a short movie for her audience. An idea that has already been established within the industry by rock music legend, Michael Jackson. 

In this video, there are numerous codes and conventions that can be linked or related to other music videos. Like in music videos ‘Thriller’ & ‘When September ends’ which are videos that I have previously analyzed there is a narrative in this video which relates to the song to the lyrics which creates something for the audience to react too.

Like in Thriller, Lady Gaga's video opens with an establishing shot, however to differentiate the videos the director has chosen the establishing shot to be a montage of shots following the 30-degree rule. Which is seen frequently within the videos of other artists. Telephone and Thriller share the same conventions of danger within the opening shots of their video's recognising stereotypes of danger and portraying them in a way to make the audience aware that they are watching not only a music video but also a short film.

The opening sequence also creates a relationship between those involved in the song. In ‘Thriller’ the narrative opens with a conversation between a young couple on a date, this kind of opening establishes the relationship between the characters with the aid of their body language, costume and the location chosen. Whereas in Telephone Lady Gaga’s feature in the narrative is her as a provocative protagonist. This character has been largely influenced by costume with her minimal clothing (fishnets, leather & tattoos) approach to sexual references, which will create an erotic image for the audience, however later on in the film Gaga has recognised the inappropriateness by wearing 'censored' tape, which implies that she is aware of the problems that her costume choice may bring to criticisers.  

Lady Gaga has chosen to emphasise product placement by using a cell that is sponsored by Virgin media, she may have chosen to do this to show that she is aware of the extent to which the  role and importance branded names have within society today. Gaga also uses intersexuality, which is an immediate reference to another media text. Gaga has done this using the ‘Pussy Wagon’ which appears in Kill Bill. This method of product placement keeps the interest of the audience.

Like in Thriller lady gaga emphasizes the diegetic noises that are involved in the narrative, Gaga has also used graphic match’s  to ensure that the audience is reminded that they are watching a video. Another technique Gaga had incorporated into her film is the extreme use of close up’s and low angle shots. By doing this she achieves several things;

1)  Low angle shots give prestige to the artist creating a procreation relationship between the audience, performer and stage, which gives off the feeling that they are watching them live.

2)   Close up’s are  continuous way to give the artist importance within the music video.

Something that both Thriller and Telephone have created is a narrative, a music video and a combination between the two using the artist as one role featuring in several aspects. In telephone Gaga & Beyoncé are used as both characters within the narrative and also the artist. It becomes totally apparent that the short film is actually a music video when the artist become actively involved in the narrative and song at the same time,  which would be when the artists suddenly perform their songs,  this is a code of music video’s it is something that does not have to be in the music video but many video’s use this method. By having non diegetic music throughout the video the convention adds to the cinematic vibe of the video, which adds realism.

Overall this video holds a very very strong narrative as well as music video, Gaga has been successful in creating a music video/ short film which has changed the way the music industry approaches music videos. 

Researching a current artist...KATY PERRY

Katy Perry

AS part of my A2 course I have decided to focus in on one particular artist and research into their marketing strategies to find out what seems to be more popular and successful. Having won nominations and sold numerous albums I have decided to use Katy Perry as my min focus.

At the age of 26 Katy Perry (singer/songwriter) hasn’t done bad for herself, rising in the summer of 2008 to her current status with the aid of her pop music and larger than life attitude.  It took much hard work and rejection for Katy to get where she is now, but being one of the industries brightest pop stars wasn’t going to come easy.  But with her time and determination bought success and achievements.

Katy Perry has become most popular with fans through her online music promotion; she has adopted ideas from social networking sights and other aspects of the internet in order to intrigue her fans. Recently she had a public countdown on Facebook to the revealing of the cover of her album. By doing this she was not only publicizing her album but also keeping her fans excited and curious. Katy also unlike most artists provides the public with ‘previews’ of her music videos, this encourages a stronger relationship with her audience because they feel that she is letting them inside this world that other artists do not because they do not want their fans to be involved in because of this ‘perfect image’ they portray in their music videos.

As with most artists Katy’s merchandise is promoted on her Myspace page and her official website. However, her merchandise has also been promoted in some particularly interesting ways.  Two of the main ways she finds helps promoted her more than anything is

1)   Wearing your own merchandise

2)   Getting other celebrities to wear your merchandise

Wearing your own merchandise is an extremely effective way to make your fans aware of your products. By getting other celebrities to wear your merchandise creates awareness to it not only to your audience but to fans of other public figures.

In 200 Katy released her album ‘one of the boys’ and in order to ensure it was a success and she connected with her fans rightfully she embarked on a 2 month radio station tour, this promoted her as an artist and her album with the single ‘I kissed a girl’ climbing to the top of the charts.  After the release of her album and the continuous growth of her fans Katy was set to be involved in many music festivals nationwide, to help establish her as a recording artist and great performer.

Katy Perry keeps her fans up to date with recent video diaries on fan sights and daily tweets and updates using the more popular social networking sights. Marketing has proved to be an extremely effective foundation for the successfulness of Katy Perry and her positive happy image is upheld in the industry and continues to grow which in effect generates a larger fan base.

Love the way you lie...

Narrative Introduction Analysis...Michael Jackson "Thriller"

Thriller is a music video with great intentions, it was a video that set standards for artists wishing to continue in the music industry combining narrative and music as one in a cinematic music video. It has been said to be 'THE MOST INFLUENTIAL MUSIC VIDEO OF ALL TIME.' 
Thriller opens with the obvious conventions of a horror movie, the first insight of the video is a tracking shot following a car down a dark road with very little lighting. The typical mise en scene of a forest with broken light peering through, full moon, misty air and an eery silence hovering over the script all add to the regular conventions of any horror film. There is no music being played at this point, however there is over exaggerated noises you would expect to hear in this given environment; bugs, the noise of the car travelling along a road.  As the car breaks down it adds to the convention of a horror scene, it being in a dark mise en scene. As the characters (in this video, the artist is used in both the narrative & the song) leave the car in the dark night the camera pans their every move on ground level focusing on their feet to emphasise that they are walking in this 'horrific' environment.
As the clip gets further in the non-diagetic music turns the video into a short film rather than just simply a 'music video'. This is only because the director has decided to use music that is not related to the song, instead he uses PARALLEL MUSIC to fit the scene and exaggerate the code of a horror film. 
The actors that have been used also create a sense of importance and relevance to the audience, the girl involved has been dressed to look innocent and vulnerable, and shows signs of distress throughout the experience within the first 30 seconds of the cars breaking down, which again proves to be a convention of  horror. The costume Michael has chosen to use for himself is iconic to him as a performer, which instantly establishes him as an artist. 
The introduction in this video becomes so long it becomes a film its self within the music video.
Unlike many of modern narrative music videos, thriller was created using Michael as not only the artist but also as the main character in the narrative. By doing this it makes the video become beyond believable because the narrative and performance is combined. 


One important thing when creating a narrative music video is to ensure that the narrative and performance is balanced.  Thriller has managed to do this by having the ability to connect imagery and music. In each section of short film the choreography and the image is linked with the music. By doing this Michael has created a video that has the capability to stand alone in the world of music and narrative and create a standard for others to aspire. 




(i tried to embed the music video, but i was unable too)

Opening Narrative Analysis...Green Day "When September Ends"

When September Ends is a classic video whereby the artist has chosen to incorporate a narrative within the video. Using actors opposed to the band themselves they have created a sense of 'two different worlds' for the viewers. 

This video opens with a classic mise-en-scene shot discovering the setting of the video. The producer has decided to use a conventional romantic setting, a wide field of flowers and had used a young couple holding hands, which is a typical CODE of young love. We can tell that the actors are in love by the way the camera uses intimate work to read their emotions, focusing on them kissing and looking in each others eyes.The warm colours also convey the feel or warmth and happiness the couple feel for each other.  All these codes add up to enable the audience to acknowledge and accept the intense feelings the couple have for each other. 

A typical convention for many music videos which incorporate narrative would be to being with the narrative being separated from the song, with maybe lightly played music in the background. This makes the audience focus on the story rather than the song which gives off and creates a more cinematic video, which then adds to the separation of the two worlds...narrative and artist. This is also enhanced by the high quality filming the producer has chosen to use and the fact that actors are used instead of the band themselves. In order to create a distinct separation between the narrative and the artist the director has used non diagetic music, with the bands music playing internally under the speech of the actors. By doing this the producer is slowly introducing the artist into the video so there is a connection rather than a sudden change in music.

Introduction...

As an A2 Media Studies student I am entitled to research, plan and create a music video. To support my music video I must alongside create 2 of either Cd album cover, magazine advertisement or website. This project will require time, I will need to research into many things such as; music genres, target audiences, conventions of music videos, codes of music videos, conventions and codes of album artwork, marketing strategies. I must recognise narrative that are involved in music video's and the reference they have to either the song, the artist or society today.
For the first part of the course I will be doing independent studies, however part of the way through I will be designated to a group with whom I will create my music video. This will require me to have good communication skills and time management. 
Throughout my project I will update my blog regularly, with essay's, analysis', and eventually filming updates. Alongside this blog will be a group blog which will be linked to my main blog. The group blog is a place for all the members of my group to put their ideas and update as a group working together.
I hope to create a strong music video that would succeed in the music industry, I also hope to gain valuable experience in working towards a deadline, in a group and with new equipment.