Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Filming Day One:
Today we began filiming for our Music Video, 'London Calling'. We shot the beginning and the end shot of the polticians waking up in the morning and lastly going to bed at night. Our actors were Harry Chick and Tom Dignam and they played David Cameron and Nick Clegg. We successful shot the two shots we needed and also added in a shot of the two politicians making one another tea in the morning. The day of filming went very well and we managed to get all the shots done that we needed to to. All three of us worked well as a team and ensured that we had all props needed in order to shoot successfully. We are planning to shoot on Sunday when we will be shooting the majority of our film in London at all the key landmarks. Here are some photographs from our first day filming:
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Week 10 Meeting:
This week will complete our animatic storyboard. As well as this we are going to film the bedroom scenes at my house. We are doing this because we want to complete the filming that isn't set in London as then on Sunday we can film hopefully all of our scenes in London.
Filming Preparation:
Just to ensure that we have a back up, we have printed off the masks again from the internet (we have bought some proper cardboard ones from the internet). We did this incase we lost one or one got broken. We would not be able to successfully film our video without these masks and because they are so important, we have done this.
Our animatic storyboard is almost complete. We have added lots more shots to it to make the pace faster and I have edited the shots into it. It has taken us quite a long time to complete it, however, we feel that it is important as it helps us to visualise how our final product will turn out.
Our animatic storyboard is almost complete. We have added lots more shots to it to make the pace faster and I have edited the shots into it. It has taken us quite a long time to complete it, however, we feel that it is important as it helps us to visualise how our final product will turn out.
Filming
Tomorrow (30/11/11) we plan to film the first scenes of our video. We have arranged to shoot the inside scenes; the bedroom beginning and end shots. We hope to have these finished by the end of the day, so we can then go out and film the rest of our video in London, and can begin editing our first set of footage.
Friday, 25 November 2011
Prop List
We will be using various props in our video, in addition to the costumes. These will be used to help exaggerate the mise-en-scene and also convey the concept and narrative of our video. The props we will be using are:
- plastic truncheons
- megaphone
- cup and saucer
- newpaper
- briefcases
- umbrellas
- fish and chips wrapped in newspaper
- various london props
- bags (topshop, river island, urban outfitters)
- masking tape
Whilst shooting in London various props may be found, e.g. telephone boxes, street lamps, street signs.
Costumes
Our music video relies somewhat on costumes to help the audience relate to the characters. We have decided to use both costumes and masks in our video, as this helps the concept of the video to be shown. Our costumes include:
Album Cover
This is the first draft for our proposed album cover artwork. We decided to keep it simple, using block capitals and plain font on a simple yet effective background. We used the union jack because it clearly fits into the theme of the album, including the title and single, and feel like this would be appropriate. The use of the union jack is effective as it stands out, and would catch the eye of many people, and it is a universal symbol that would entice many people. The bold colours also help the cover stand out, as well as the bold block capital letters in the center of the image.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Week 9 Meeting:
This week we are putting together out animated storyboard using Final Cut. As well as this we have created a shot list, detailing the shots we aim to use. This however is subject to change as things may not always go to plan when it comes to the day of filming. There are also bound to be more shots that we will use that we have not yet detailed on the list. We have also made a prop list which details all of the props we will need to use and take with on our filming days.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
Richmix, London:
As a media group, we were all given the opportunity to go to London for the day to a place called Richmix near Brick Lane where we would experience first hand information from music video directors and producers such as Liz Kessler and Corin Hardy. As well as this, we were also given a helpful talk by Pete Fraser, Chief examiner for OCR Media Studies.
Fraser gave us an insight into the history of music videos, starting from the 1920's right through to the current day. We were taught about the invention of scopitones, which are a form of Jukebox originating from France, made during WWII and the creation of MTV. I was particularly interested after learning that features such as the female gaze and voyeurism which we commonly see in today's music videos, were also featured in videos back as far as the 1940's, in particularly in one of Nat King Cole's videos.
We were also shown videos by acts such as The Beatles which were made to support the song when the band we unable to perform on programmes such as Top of The Pops.
We looked at videos through the decades of acts such as Madonna and Queen as well as the famous 'Thriller' video by Michael Jackson. Music videos became increasingly important in supporting the sale of a song. Acts such as Madness would create videos that would entertain their audience and their audience would look forward to the release of their new song just to see what they had done with the video. This was the case for many artists, and as videos became increasingly popular, more and more black artists began to feature on MTV, something that only Michael Jackson was able to do for a long while.
Black rap artists such as Jay Z and 50 cent were crucial in giving off a new type of music video. Their videos would regularly contain weapons, violence and females. Jay Z's '99 Problems' video was made using 900 cuts, a ground-breaking video achievement for the early 21st century. Despite being a rapper, Jay Z wished for the video to be shot in the way in which a rock music video would be shot and therefore roped in the help of Mark Romanek, more commonly known for directing videos by David Bowie and Michael Jackson. 50 Cent's video of 'Candy Shop' gave music video viewers a different type of video, featuring female models and dancers wearing little clothing, the video immediately featured voyeurism.
As well as this, we were also taught the importance of featuring Goodwin's Analysis in our essay and exam writing and noticing it's use in music videos.
We then received 2 talks by Kessler and Hardly in which they presented us with some of their work, with videos by acts such as Olly Murrs, The Horrors, Britney Spears and Dry The River. This gave us a fascinating first hand insight into the direction and production of music videos, the time they take, the money spent etc. I feel that this will benefit our group as we create our own video and we can take into consideration some of the factors we were told about.
As a media group, we had to think of an original video to the song 'No Rest' by Dry The River. The song was a slow yet powerful song to which we were only played the music of before going away to lunch to consider what we would do in our video if we were to make one to the song. Our group came up with a very complex and expensive idea which Kessler and Hardy decided would be unsuitable for the £5000 budget that the band had for the video. We were eventually shown the video which Hardy himself had directed. The video was fantastic and despite such a small budget, I believe that the video was extremely well suited to the song and was a great idea.
Overall, I believe that the day was very beneficial to us as A2 media studies students. We were given an opportunity that not many other students were given which will help us immensely in completing our coursework and doing our exam in June.
Fraser gave us an insight into the history of music videos, starting from the 1920's right through to the current day. We were taught about the invention of scopitones, which are a form of Jukebox originating from France, made during WWII and the creation of MTV. I was particularly interested after learning that features such as the female gaze and voyeurism which we commonly see in today's music videos, were also featured in videos back as far as the 1940's, in particularly in one of Nat King Cole's videos.
We were also shown videos by acts such as The Beatles which were made to support the song when the band we unable to perform on programmes such as Top of The Pops.
We looked at videos through the decades of acts such as Madonna and Queen as well as the famous 'Thriller' video by Michael Jackson. Music videos became increasingly important in supporting the sale of a song. Acts such as Madness would create videos that would entertain their audience and their audience would look forward to the release of their new song just to see what they had done with the video. This was the case for many artists, and as videos became increasingly popular, more and more black artists began to feature on MTV, something that only Michael Jackson was able to do for a long while.
Black rap artists such as Jay Z and 50 cent were crucial in giving off a new type of music video. Their videos would regularly contain weapons, violence and females. Jay Z's '99 Problems' video was made using 900 cuts, a ground-breaking video achievement for the early 21st century. Despite being a rapper, Jay Z wished for the video to be shot in the way in which a rock music video would be shot and therefore roped in the help of Mark Romanek, more commonly known for directing videos by David Bowie and Michael Jackson. 50 Cent's video of 'Candy Shop' gave music video viewers a different type of video, featuring female models and dancers wearing little clothing, the video immediately featured voyeurism.
As well as this, we were also taught the importance of featuring Goodwin's Analysis in our essay and exam writing and noticing it's use in music videos.
We then received 2 talks by Kessler and Hardly in which they presented us with some of their work, with videos by acts such as Olly Murrs, The Horrors, Britney Spears and Dry The River. This gave us a fascinating first hand insight into the direction and production of music videos, the time they take, the money spent etc. I feel that this will benefit our group as we create our own video and we can take into consideration some of the factors we were told about.
As a media group, we had to think of an original video to the song 'No Rest' by Dry The River. The song was a slow yet powerful song to which we were only played the music of before going away to lunch to consider what we would do in our video if we were to make one to the song. Our group came up with a very complex and expensive idea which Kessler and Hardy decided would be unsuitable for the £5000 budget that the band had for the video. We were eventually shown the video which Hardy himself had directed. The video was fantastic and despite such a small budget, I believe that the video was extremely well suited to the song and was a great idea.
Overall, I believe that the day was very beneficial to us as A2 media studies students. We were given an opportunity that not many other students were given which will help us immensely in completing our coursework and doing our exam in June.
Prop list:
For our video we will need to use various props to create the ideas that we have in mind. Here is a list of all of the props we aim to use:
- Newspaper
- Mens suits
- Masks (David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Milliband)
- Cups and saucers
- 'I love London' t shirts
- Toy truncheons
- Megaphone
- Bags (Topshop, River Island and Urban Outfitters)
- Masking tape
- Permanent marker
- Cardboard cut out of a smiley face
Filming:
We have chosen roles to play in the production of our music video. Lucy is the editor, Ellie Scott will be filming and Ellie Glickman will be the producer. By having these roles we believe it will be easier for us all as we will know what we must do in order to smoothly and successfully create our video. We aim to start filming next Wednesday, where we will be trying out some different shots at Lucy's house. There are only 2 or 3 shots that need to be filmed in this location which are at the start and finish of the video. However, we want to make the best impression possible with these two shots as they will be the first thing that the viewer sees as well as the last, therefore they are vitally important to attracting viewers and getting them to remember our video. Next weekend we hope to go to London (providing the weather is good) and film the shots that will make up the bulk of our video. We are aware however that we may need to do more than one trip to London, however, we aim to do as much as possible on this day as if we do need to do other filming days in London, we need to be careful of the lighting (if the weather is different on this day it will spoil the video). So therefore, our aim is to get to London extremely early in the morning when it isn't as busy, and finish filming in the evening.
RickMix Trip:
Last week, all media A-Level classes went on a trip to Liverpool Street to study music videos with a company called RichMix. The lectures taught us all about the various music videos that have been produced and how they have developed over time. We looked at videos from the 1930's, such as 'A Colour Box' by Len Lye, Nat King Cole videos from the 1940's and the development on factors that we see everyday in modern videos such as Voyeurism and the Female Gaze. We then looked into the era when music videos and artists became very popular within both Britain and America, artists such as the Beatles, Elvis and Queen were featured.
We then learnt about the 1980's and how female artists as well as black artists began to appear on the market and became very popular, we looked predominately at Madonna and then went on to look at 50 Cent and his videos. Artists and music videos were mainly becoming popular due to the introduction of MTV in 1981 in which made music videos both easy to access and watch. Along with the beginning of MTV, we also looked into the introduction of more controversial videos, examples included 50 Cents 'Candy Shop' and Jay Z's '99 Problems'.
As a group we then analysed many music videos and related them to Paul Goodwin's famous six step analysis in which we had previously learnt in class.
For our afternoon session, each school had to come up with an individual idea for a music video, the video had to be for the song 'No Rest' by 'Dry the River' and the production had to cost under £5000. Our school came up with the idea of having three main characters with a desire to fight for something they love and do not want to lose. This idea was very suitable as the lyrics of the song mentioned the want to keep something and how depressed they would be if they lost this thing, however due to the fact that the video included three people within various locations, it was too expensive to fit within the brief given to us.
Overall, the trip was both very entertaining and really helped me with the topic of music videos, to add to this, it has also given me good tips on what to include and remember when completing my coursework, just simple tips such as making sure a lot of time is taken to film the video as this is when timing problems could occur.
We then learnt about the 1980's and how female artists as well as black artists began to appear on the market and became very popular, we looked predominately at Madonna and then went on to look at 50 Cent and his videos. Artists and music videos were mainly becoming popular due to the introduction of MTV in 1981 in which made music videos both easy to access and watch. Along with the beginning of MTV, we also looked into the introduction of more controversial videos, examples included 50 Cents 'Candy Shop' and Jay Z's '99 Problems'.
As a group we then analysed many music videos and related them to Paul Goodwin's famous six step analysis in which we had previously learnt in class.
For our afternoon session, each school had to come up with an individual idea for a music video, the video had to be for the song 'No Rest' by 'Dry the River' and the production had to cost under £5000. Our school came up with the idea of having three main characters with a desire to fight for something they love and do not want to lose. This idea was very suitable as the lyrics of the song mentioned the want to keep something and how depressed they would be if they lost this thing, however due to the fact that the video included three people within various locations, it was too expensive to fit within the brief given to us.
Overall, the trip was both very entertaining and really helped me with the topic of music videos, to add to this, it has also given me good tips on what to include and remember when completing my coursework, just simple tips such as making sure a lot of time is taken to film the video as this is when timing problems could occur.
Mark Romanek Essay:
Mark Romanek:
Mark Romanek is an American director whose work includes: music videos, commercials and also feature films. Overall, he has been extremely successful and has won 19 MTV Video music awards and has also won 3 Grammy awards. Mark Romanek has a specific style which is present in the following five videos: ‘Hurt’ by Johnny Cash, ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails, ‘Criminal’ by Fiona Apple, ‘Scream’ by Michael and Janet Jackson and ’99 Problems’ by Jay Z. His videos are particularly known for having high concept mise-en-scene and due to the fact that he has an interest in old photography, many of his music videos follow a black and white or sepia affect. To add to this, Romanek’s videos commonly include surrealism and imagery to create certain affects wanted by the artist. The fact that Romanek has various features that he commonly uses within the majority of his videos shows how Romanek, as an artist, follows the ‘Auteur theory’. The ‘Auteur theory’ explains how directors have a specific style, vision and influence in which they like to include within their different pieces of work.
The video for ‘Hurt’ by Johnny Cash was released in 2003; Romanek within the video has purposely tried to capture the essence of Cash within both his youth and his life at the time, at an older age. The video is primarily performance based as Cash is continuously seen throughout the video singing and playing the piano. To add to this, the video also contains a narrative theme as it includes several clips of Johnny’s memories when he was young and clips of his life within 2003, at the age of 71. The video has a very dark feel and is shot predominantly in black and white, a feature often used by Romanek within his work. Within this video, Johnny Cash is very closely focused on, this is due to the fact that the video itself focuses on his life and shows Cash reminiscing on both the good and bad points within his life. A feature that Romanek typically uses within his videos is the extensive use of mise-en-scene, within ‘Hurt’ the setting of the video is very distinctive with several plates of food, lots of glasses and goblets and it is set in a very traditional and Victorian style mansion. Additionally, due to the fact that the song focuses on the ups and downs within Johnny Cash’s life, the visuals closely match the lyrics as Cash is shown acting both happy and sad and various photographs from different parts of his life are shown within the video relating to the lyrics.
Another of Mark Romanek’s videos is called ‘Closer’ by a bizarre band called Nine Inch Nails, this particular video is concept based as it is simply full of very strange and disturbed images and settings throughout the whole of the video. This video, similar to Johnny Cash’s video is also has a very dark theme and has been filmed with a sepia affect, to furthermore give the video a murky and morbid feel. This video also includes a high concept of mise-en-scene; the video continuously includes several disturbing and unpleasant objects such as, a heart, bugs, animal bones and animals being tortured. Yet another feature constantly used by Romanek within his videos is the focus on the artist, almost constantly within the video the band/artist is seen constantly at both long view and close up angles.
‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails, closely relates to another of Romanek’s videos by Fiona Apple called ‘Criminal’. This music video also follows a very sinister theme this is due to the song being about feeling lost and being confused, these emotions are shown within the video by Fiona Apple herself. Fiona performs within the music video, making the video primarily performance based; however, she also acts within the video expressing the feelings of discomfort and bewilderment and follows a narrative. Similarly to ‘Closer’, ‘Criminal’ focuses closely, within the video on specific objects again showing Romanek’s attraction to the substantial use of mise-en-scene. The objects focused on are a camera and a teddy and also there are lots of other characters that feature within this video, again similar to ‘Closer’. Voyeurism is another factor used within this video, the artist, at various different points within the video, is seen through screens to get a different aspect and angle of the artist performing.
The penultimate video of Mark Romanek’s work that I am analysing is called ‘Scream’ by Michael and Janet Jackson, this particular video is among one of the most expensive music videos ever made, and it cost approximately $7 billion to produce. This video is concept based, as it does not follow a narrative but it does also include some performance from the two artists throughout. As the two artists perform throughout, the music video does closely focus of the brother and sister constantly within the video. The video follows a space theme and Romanek has used cinematography to create the several affects used within the video, this video, alike many of Romanek’s other creations also is black and white themed. Similarly to ‘Closer’ voyeurism is also used within ‘Scream’, in particular Michael is focused on predominately within the screens.
The last video is ’99 problems’ by Jay Z, this is one of Mark Romanek’s most famous pieces of work and both he and Jay Z worked very closely together to create the video. The video is mainly performance based as Jay Z is continuously focused on rapping within Brooklyn in New York, where the video is set, it is also narrative based as many lyrics are acted out by Jay z and fellow characters within the video. The video has very similar cinematography affect to ‘Scream’ as it is black and white themed with very clear cut camera work used, mainly to display the grimy backdrop of Brooklyn in which Jay Z desperately wanted to include.
It is very clear from looking at several of Mark Romanek’s music videos that he does follow the ‘Auteur theory’ and does include numerous factors within every one of his videos. Certain affects such as Voyeurism, mise-en-scene, imagery, surrealism and coloured affects are always used by Mark Romanek. The fact that Romanek uses his own personal influences and creations within his work definitely makes his work differentiate from other director’s music videos and emphasise his own personal style. Romanek, as a director, will want to gain a personal style so that audiences can differentiate his work from other music video producers, making him a famous and recognisable face of the industry.
Editing:
At the moment, we are creating an animated storyboard. We are using the drawings that we made on post-it notes and have photographed them and put them on the computer. We have loaded them on to Final Cut and are putting them into order to make an animated storyboard. By doing this it will give us a clear layout of the order that our video will go in, which will help us when we have completely finished filming our video and are at the editing stage.
Friday, 18 November 2011
Filming: Shot List
- Shot of the two characters in bed, drinking tea, reading newspaper, mid shot
- Characters walking in to train station, mid to long shot
- Low shot of feet walking
- Characters on the train, mid tracking shot
- Walking out of Oxford Street station, long shot, then zooming in to station sign
- Panning shot of characters in traffic, characters are stationary whilst camera is moving, mid shot
- Mid shot of characters walking into Topshop, then walking out with a bag
- Mid shot of characters walking into River Island, then walking out with a bag
- Mid shot of characters walking into Urban Outfitters, then walking out with a bag
- Close up of characters waiting at bus stop
- Close up shot of characters walking onto a bus
- Close up, zooming out shot of characters walking off bus
- Mid shot of characters sitting on wall by the river Thames, parliament in the background, drinking tea and chatting/ shot of characters in front of house of parliament
- Mid shot of Trafalgar Square, characters sword fighting and moving from left to right across the shot
- Shot of characters standing together, two of them motioning the other to leave, he walks off alone, close up shot
- Shot of characters sitting on wall by the Thames, laughing and pointing at parliament
- Close up shot of face, tape across their mouth and 'London Calling' being scribbled across it (stop motion)
- Long shot of characters standing in front of London Eye
- Shot of Buckingham Palace, close up on guards and tourists
- Mid shot of character with megaphone, shouting into it, the words 'London Calling' coming out in writing
- Close up of face with a giant cardboard cut out smile
- Long shot of protestors outside St Pauls, panning around the crowds
- Nuclear power plant shot (archive.com)
- Tracking shot of characters walking down to the beach by the Thames
- Close up shot of characters in separate phone boxes
- Zooming in shot of the sky/sun
- Mid shot of characters building sandcastles
- Long shot of cars/engines moving across the shot (left to right)
Week 8 Meeting:
Within week 8 we completed our story boards, now we have around 25-30 shots that we are going to include within our video. After we finished our storyboard we took photographs of each shot and uploaded the onto Final Cut express in order to make the shots into an animation. This is going to be a difficult task, yet it will make our shots look realistic and give us an insight into what our final video will look like.
Monday, 7 November 2011
Week 7 Meeting:
Within week 7 our group started our storyboards, drawing every shot in detail, showing both the camera movement and the angle of the shot. So far, we have around 10-15 shots for our film. Starting a storyboard has really helped our group as it has enabled us to see how and what are end video is going to look like. To add to this, it has helped us put our shots in order as we were not entirely sure what order our shots were going to be within our video.
Friday, 4 November 2011
Director Essay: Michel Gondry
Michel Gondry is an established director; from music videos to documentaries to feature films. His directorial style focuses greatly on exaggeration and how mise-en-scene can be used to create effect. Gondry's unique style and vision are shown through his work, particularly his music videos. His creativity has stemmed a very long career and has proven him to be an 'auteur' of his craft, who has a specific style which is included in his work.
The video for 'The Hardest Button To Button' by The White Stripes displays Gondry's fantastic use of stop motion animation. This is used to create a specific effect which is used in many of Gondry's videos, but is most famously used in this one. The video is highly performance based, featuring heavily on the band, who are the focus of the animation. Gondry contrasts the basic backgrounds with the constantly moving band to make them stand out. In theory the concept of this video is extremely basic, but Gondry uses special effects to make it creative and enigmatic. As well as the auteur theory being clearly shown, Gondry's video also displays Andrew Goodwin's analysis and Richard Dyer's 'Star Theory' by showing many close ups and focusing on the performance of the band. 'The Hardest Button To Button' is one of the most famous music videos of all time, and the song and video concept is parodied in an episode of The Simpsons, showing how Gondry's unique vision has created an intertextual link.
Another one of Gondry's videos that uses visual effects is 'Let Forever Be' by The Chemical Brothers. The video follows a young girl as she performs her daily duties and juxtaposes between reality and her dream world. The dream world is shown through a series of choreographed sequences, another one of Gondry's directorial styles. The simple shots are transformed and multiplied to make a high level of verisimilitude. Another way this is shown is through exaggerated mise-en-scene, a technique that is featured in many of Michel Gondry's videos.
'Everlong' By Foo Fighters also shows Gondry using imagery to contrast dreams and reality. The concept of the video follows a variety of dream sequences, again choreographed, that portray a high level of verisimilitude. As well as being conceptual, the video has a performance aspect and the band are featured heavily throughout, relating to Goodwin's and Dyer's theories. Gondry also uses black and white in contrast with colour to convey the difference between dreams and reality. He also relies heavily on exaggerated mise-en-scene, as seen in many of his other videos, to convey conceptual ideas. Many props and costumes are used in this video to amplify the concept of a dream.
Gondry uses mise-en-scene as an art form in his videos. This can also be seen in the video for 'Mad World' by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews. Again, Gondry takes a very simple concept and makes it interesting by using exaggeration and creativity. Shot from a birds eye view, the video shows people making images from their bodies and moving to create a story. This simple yet effective art form is one of Gondry's unique ways of engaging an audience. No special shots or effects are used at all in this video. We also see brief glimpses of the artists, again complying with the Richard Dyer 'Star Theory', as well as some performance of the song. Gondry's technique of using people to create images became extremely popular, and has been recreated since, such as on adverts (talktalk phone and broadband).
From analysing these four videos, it is clear that Michel Gondry has a very unique style. His heavy focus on mise-on-scene show how he conveys narratives in a creative way, as well as his fond use of stop motion animation and special effects. These techniques prove him to be an 'auteur' in his own right, following the 'Auteur Theory' where an artist can create their own vision and style which they adapt and use in their work. Gondry can be seen as extremely creative with a lot of artistic flare and a pioneer of animation. His reputation as an esteemed director and artist make his work immediately recognisable.
Thursday, 3 November 2011
Hype Williams:
American music video director Hype Williams is most commonly known for his work with black hip hop artists such as Kanye West, Beyonce and LL Cool J. During his career which has spanned 20 years so far, Williams has established several visual styles which feature amongst the majority of his videos.
In the video “Gold Digger” by Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, one of Williams’s typical styles which feature all of the artists performing in the video is reflected immediately. This style continues throughout the video where both Foxx and West are regularly cross cut between each other to present each artist performing. The genre of music is typically associated with women. Women are strongly glorified in many of Williams’s videos, particularly in this one. The interspersing of the footage of the classic pin up girl image and the footage show the viewer how the men see the women. Laura Mulvey’s concept of the ‘Male Gaze’ which puts the viewer in the position of the male as the camera particularly focuses on women’s curves is most definitely expressed in this video. The use of the ‘male gaze’ also aims to give off the idea that the male has power over the female being gazed at. Frequent cutting between different women puts across the idea that the performers of the song can ‘have’ any of these women that they want.
Another video that features this concept is that of Pharrell Williams’s “Angel”. This video once again frequently cuts between images of different women and the artist performing. Hype Williams’s visual style really begins to surface as we recognise the way he expresses his adoration of women through his directing work. Again, it can be mentioned that the use of the ‘male gaze’ theory is featured in the video as the women are wearing provocative or barely little clothing, similarly to West’s “Gold Digger” video. Another similar feature between the two videos is that of the use of the widescreen letterbox around the screen. Both videos are played within a frame which compresses the video, keeping the original quality but giving a different style to the video. This is effective as the audience will recognise part of Hype Williams’s style due to this small feature. The lyrics of both of these songs are contradicting each other however, West’s song criticises women for being ‘gold diggers’ whereas Williams admires women for being ‘angels’, however, the style of video remains the same. Andrew Goodwin’s analysis supports the way that these videos demonstrate genre characteristics, where the stereotypical hip hop video style is exhibited.
A style which again features amongst many of Williams’s video is the continuous close ups of the artist whilst they perform. Goodwin’s music video analysis claims that the demands from the record label will mean that there is a strong requirement for close ups of the artist in order to create a visual style as does Richard Dyer’s ‘Star Theory’. The ‘star theory’ aims to produce a relationship between the audience, industry and the star to produce a unique selling point. By doing this it is also a clever way of advertising and promoting the artist itself. Both of the above videos frequently include close up shots, as does Drakes “Forever” video. This song features other major hip hop artists including Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem. The video comprises of regular close ups of each artist during their verse, however, often the shots are done from a side view to emphasise the surrounding environment (in particular in Lil Wayne’s verse at 4:01 where we see that he is quite clearly in a bar with women, again highlighting the stereotypical black hip hop lifestyle). Relating back to Goodwin’s analysis, at 3:56, the lyrics form a relationship with the visuals, “life is a rollercoaster then it drops” where the video cuts to a basketball player dropping a ball into a hoop.
Williams does not include any type of particular mise-en-scene in his works, instead uses other visual styles to become memorable to the audience. Women are dressed in little clothing in several of his videos and the men are dressed reasonably smartly, however this does not suggest a certain style of costume that Williams uses in his videos, instead it is just due to the type of lyrics used in the song. The lighting varies between each of his videos, some using key lighting and others using backlighting. However, the use of natural lighting during the clips of basketball in Drakes “Forever” video in comparison to the low key lighting used during the clips of the artists contradict each other immensely which could have been done to show reality compared with idealism.
Overall, from analysing several of Williams’s most recent videos we can see a style developing which shows hip hop stars glorify women. This can also be seen in some of his earlier work, such as the video of “No Diggity” by Blackstreet, again a hip hop song which includes the ‘male gaze’ theory at points throughout the video (0:52, 1:11 and 3:50) where the camera rolls upwards, grasping the image of a woman’s body. Another video which supports this is Montell Jordans “This Is How We Do It” where at 0:22, the male gaze theory is once again recognisable.
From looking at some of Williams older work, it is clear to see how his style has developed and changed during his career. His earlier work includes a vaster amount of choreography in both male and female videos in comparison to more recent videos which mainly feature on just the artist and images of women for male videos. This could be because in the 1990’s, videos were becoming more and more popular, and it was more exciting for the viewer to watch a video which featured dancing than just performance of the artist. But, as time has developed, the audience of music videos is getting younger and therefore the teenage population aren’t as interested in this type of video, but more interested in the sexual references made through the videos of more recent work. Another video which features heavy choreography is the TLC video “No Scrubs”. More commonly, a female group are likely to use more structured choreography than males, which is supported by the video of “Videophone” by Beyonce and Lady Gaga where choreography is used, common of Beyonce’s videos.
In conclusion, the videos that have been looked at here show the style that Williams has developed over his career. We can recognise as an audience member that Williams specifically works with black hip hop artists, mostly males in which during the video he focuses around the female body. Also, the ‘male gaze’ is more frequently than not used in his work, typical of black males who idolise women with curves. By using this commonly in his videos, it also stereotypes his work into a particular style which is easy to distinguish by the audience.
In the video “Gold Digger” by Kanye West and Jamie Foxx, one of Williams’s typical styles which feature all of the artists performing in the video is reflected immediately. This style continues throughout the video where both Foxx and West are regularly cross cut between each other to present each artist performing. The genre of music is typically associated with women. Women are strongly glorified in many of Williams’s videos, particularly in this one. The interspersing of the footage of the classic pin up girl image and the footage show the viewer how the men see the women. Laura Mulvey’s concept of the ‘Male Gaze’ which puts the viewer in the position of the male as the camera particularly focuses on women’s curves is most definitely expressed in this video. The use of the ‘male gaze’ also aims to give off the idea that the male has power over the female being gazed at. Frequent cutting between different women puts across the idea that the performers of the song can ‘have’ any of these women that they want.
Another video that features this concept is that of Pharrell Williams’s “Angel”. This video once again frequently cuts between images of different women and the artist performing. Hype Williams’s visual style really begins to surface as we recognise the way he expresses his adoration of women through his directing work. Again, it can be mentioned that the use of the ‘male gaze’ theory is featured in the video as the women are wearing provocative or barely little clothing, similarly to West’s “Gold Digger” video. Another similar feature between the two videos is that of the use of the widescreen letterbox around the screen. Both videos are played within a frame which compresses the video, keeping the original quality but giving a different style to the video. This is effective as the audience will recognise part of Hype Williams’s style due to this small feature. The lyrics of both of these songs are contradicting each other however, West’s song criticises women for being ‘gold diggers’ whereas Williams admires women for being ‘angels’, however, the style of video remains the same. Andrew Goodwin’s analysis supports the way that these videos demonstrate genre characteristics, where the stereotypical hip hop video style is exhibited.
A style which again features amongst many of Williams’s video is the continuous close ups of the artist whilst they perform. Goodwin’s music video analysis claims that the demands from the record label will mean that there is a strong requirement for close ups of the artist in order to create a visual style as does Richard Dyer’s ‘Star Theory’. The ‘star theory’ aims to produce a relationship between the audience, industry and the star to produce a unique selling point. By doing this it is also a clever way of advertising and promoting the artist itself. Both of the above videos frequently include close up shots, as does Drakes “Forever” video. This song features other major hip hop artists including Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Eminem. The video comprises of regular close ups of each artist during their verse, however, often the shots are done from a side view to emphasise the surrounding environment (in particular in Lil Wayne’s verse at 4:01 where we see that he is quite clearly in a bar with women, again highlighting the stereotypical black hip hop lifestyle). Relating back to Goodwin’s analysis, at 3:56, the lyrics form a relationship with the visuals, “life is a rollercoaster then it drops” where the video cuts to a basketball player dropping a ball into a hoop.
Williams does not include any type of particular mise-en-scene in his works, instead uses other visual styles to become memorable to the audience. Women are dressed in little clothing in several of his videos and the men are dressed reasonably smartly, however this does not suggest a certain style of costume that Williams uses in his videos, instead it is just due to the type of lyrics used in the song. The lighting varies between each of his videos, some using key lighting and others using backlighting. However, the use of natural lighting during the clips of basketball in Drakes “Forever” video in comparison to the low key lighting used during the clips of the artists contradict each other immensely which could have been done to show reality compared with idealism.
Overall, from analysing several of Williams’s most recent videos we can see a style developing which shows hip hop stars glorify women. This can also be seen in some of his earlier work, such as the video of “No Diggity” by Blackstreet, again a hip hop song which includes the ‘male gaze’ theory at points throughout the video (0:52, 1:11 and 3:50) where the camera rolls upwards, grasping the image of a woman’s body. Another video which supports this is Montell Jordans “This Is How We Do It” where at 0:22, the male gaze theory is once again recognisable.
From looking at some of Williams older work, it is clear to see how his style has developed and changed during his career. His earlier work includes a vaster amount of choreography in both male and female videos in comparison to more recent videos which mainly feature on just the artist and images of women for male videos. This could be because in the 1990’s, videos were becoming more and more popular, and it was more exciting for the viewer to watch a video which featured dancing than just performance of the artist. But, as time has developed, the audience of music videos is getting younger and therefore the teenage population aren’t as interested in this type of video, but more interested in the sexual references made through the videos of more recent work. Another video which features heavy choreography is the TLC video “No Scrubs”. More commonly, a female group are likely to use more structured choreography than males, which is supported by the video of “Videophone” by Beyonce and Lady Gaga where choreography is used, common of Beyonce’s videos.
In conclusion, the videos that have been looked at here show the style that Williams has developed over his career. We can recognise as an audience member that Williams specifically works with black hip hop artists, mostly males in which during the video he focuses around the female body. Also, the ‘male gaze’ is more frequently than not used in his work, typical of black males who idolise women with curves. By using this commonly in his videos, it also stereotypes his work into a particular style which is easy to distinguish by the audience.
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
Questionairre Charts:
Here are our Questionnaire answers that I have changed into a pie chart format. We gained very good feedback overall and are very pleased with what we received.
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