For our 1 day lip-sync project we were given a song by the band Abba and had to create a lip-synced music video for it.
In our group we had the song "winner takes it all" so we began with thinking of how to listen to the song because we didnt have enough time to learn the lyrics. We put the song on an ipod and used a wireless ipod dock speaker system so we could listen as we filmed. Afterwards we came up with the base idea of a person going through their day whilst being followed by an unknown character who is singing the song to them. Once we had this idea we built upon it by writing a scene for each section of the song. We began by writing a different scene for each verse but due to time restrictions we had to use the same scene for larger parts of the song. When we had finished filming we then put the project into finalcutpro. The hardest part was editing as we had to get the various clips we had shot to be cut down and go in time with the song. Finally we compressed the video and burnt it onto a disc.
We ran into a few problems during the shooting as one of our group wasn't in college on that day and the other had a doctors appointment which meant it was harder to make a better quality video. As well as this we had a problem with the imacs meaning we also had less time to edit and compress are video.
I think that we did quite well with our video, the lip-syncing was very good and there was sort of a narrative. However if we had more time and there wasn't problems with the crew we could have made it a lot more polished and proffesional.
Tuesday 5 January 2010
Purpose of music videos
Music videos serve many purposes, for promotion, to increase income, to get people to recognize the song easier amongst other things.
Over the years music videos have evolved highly from the ground breaking videos of the 60s to todays high-tech blockbuster style videos. Music videos were first created to give bands a break from touring, bands like the Beatles had to constantly tour around the world due to their high acclaim, and with the advance in technology of the television they saw it as an opportunity to appear around the world without having to travel. An example of this is "Strawberry Fields" which is a very simple video, it was aired around the world and the Beatles popularity increased without them having to leave their homes.These short film style videos sparked a revoulution and more and more people began creating them which led in to the 70s with performers like David Bowie, Queen and many more creating videos to be shown around the world for their music and as their wasn't a huge amount of artists creating these they could gain more recognition and airtime. But it was to evolve more in the 80s when the channel MTV was launched in 1981 which brought music in to a whole new era. At first there wasn't many videos to air, other than British acts like 'The Cure' and others which created huge exposure for the British music scene with their songs being heard globally. But artists began to realise that the best way to gain acknowledgment was to get their music shown on MTV. Music videos then began to be more complex and cinematic with Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' as a prime example, it was a 14 minute mind blowing piece with use of movie style make-up and Mj's trademark dance scenes, it was even given a premiere on TV after watershed and millions tuned in to watch it; this was the epitamy of the music video revolution. From then on they have become a must have for any artist to be known, they have become pivotal in an artists success.
Promotion is main factor in music videos. Promotion is needed to boost an artists popularity or even make an artist become known. And since the revolution of the music video business it has become one of the best ways for promotional uses. But for different levels of artist you need different styles of promotion. If you are a well established artist then you will have the help of your record label to put out your work like sending your latest video to the music channels on TV which is global exposure, also it can be posted on the internet on sites like YouTube. If you are an unknown artist or just starting to gain exposure then the internet is probably the best way because you can post your video on to a website for free and through word of mouth your video could be viewed throughout the world. As well as this there are sites like MySpace where you can have your music on your page and many now famous artists came through this route such as Lily Allen and Kate Nash to name a few. Also it can be used for promoting someone’s album, if an album is close to release and artist usually releases their best track like a teaser with a music video which makes people want to go out and buy the single or the album. An alternate style of this promotion is for films, if an artist has their song as a part of a movie soundtrack they will usually make a video which has clips from or is related to the movie and this not only promotes the artist but also the film, a great example of this would be the Brian Adams song "Everything I Do" from the Robin Hood film which contained clips from the film so everyone would associate the song with Robin Hood. (unfortunatly embedding is disabled for this video)
Contemporary music video research
Purposes of research:
Research is used to find out facts, statistics or opinions about a chosen subject. There are two types of research; the first is primary which is when you go out and find out the facts about your subject yourself, for example interviewing people, carrying out questionnaires or experiencing to find out about this. The other type is secondary research which is when you gain information from someone else's research, such as looking on wikipedia, reading books and other sources.
‘Bad Romance’ released on 25th October 2009 is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It is the lead single from her second studio album, The Fame Monster. Directed by Francis Lawrence has directed for such artists as Aerosmith, Jay-Z, Gwen Stefani and many more, as well as being director on the highly acclaimed film “I Am Legend” starring Will Smith.
Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’ video is typical of her oddball, random and theatrical performance style. This is shown clearly throughout the video. Gaga uses her odd-ball theatrical presence to its full extent to shock and fascinate the viewers. Although she is considered a pop artist her unique style of music and visuals are not the stereotypical representation of a pop star.
The video is very much concept based with hints of narrative depicting the music industry. The conceptual ideas of the video are shown through use of symbolism and visual metaphors mixed with sheer randomness. ‘Bad Romance’ describes the dark side of the music industry, by symbolically depicting Gaga as a sex slave, albeit a willing victim. An example of this is the movement of her dances which are very stiff and robotic as if she is being controlled (0:50), which represents that she is a puppet doing what is necessary to fulfil her desire of fame. This idea is continued through her being scantily dressed and thrown around, almost bullied. However, there is a juxtaposing message when she appears with no make-up and crying (1:47) showing a more human side, showing her vulnerability and possibly sadness at the lengths she has to go to achieve her dream. Another use of this vulnerability is people ripping off her clothes as she covers herself as if she was naked in front of a group of men sitting down watching this whilst drinking, which is showing she feels exposed.
The first scene has all performers in pose and static symbolising the nature of the music industry having to pose or show a facade for the public. The second scene begins in darkness inside a foggy looking room with light slowly moving through a window with the camera panning across coffins followed by light fading to dark and vice versa on each coffin before the main lights coming on and creature like women in costume crawling out(0:20-0:38). Another effect the director uses very well is the use of quick flashing transitions to the beat of the music (3:27). To convey the sense of strangeness in the video there is various scenes when Gaga has been edited so her eyes are oversized which fits in the scenes where she is made to look like she is going insane, which is also reflected in the scenes when she is being forcibly restrained as if she is a mental patient.
At face value, the song lyrics seem to be about her wanting to have a romance with a kind of psychopath, but the video reveals that she is expressing the lengths she would go to for fame.
The song is probably aimed at 14-25 year olds as even though it is quite a dark song at heart the pop beat makes it more of a mainstream youth type of track.
Justin Timberlake – Cry Me a River (Directed by Francis Lawrence)
‘Cry Me a River’ is the second single from Justin Timberlake’s solo debut album Justified. Released on December 17, 2002, the single, which features guest vocals and production by Timbaland & Scott Storch, won Timberlake a Grammy Award for ‘Best Male Pop Vocal Performance’ in 2004. The song title comes from ‘Cry Me a River’ written in 1953 by Arthur Hamilton and sung by Julie London in the Jayne Mansfield movie ‘The Girl Can't Help It’.
‘Cry Me a River’ is a typical Justin Timberlake video with many close-ups of his face miming the lyrics. This is done to reach his intended audience of young females. However the song of heartbreak is a role reversal as the stereotype is the man’s betrayal through infidelity whereas in this case it is the female. The video is narrative based and links totally to the story.
Even though this is the same director as ‘Bad Romance’ the difference in style is vast. Narrative is the key to this video as it tells the story of a boyfriend scorned as he breaks into his cheating ex’s house and records himself with another women in her room finally playing it on repeat for the ex to discover.
The scene is cold and dark, it is raining outside and Justin, Timbaland (the producer) and a woman are sitting in a car. The people who live there drive off and as the operatic vocal is sung the tinted window rolls down and the beat drops as the window is fully opened revealing Justin who begins to mime to the song (0:23-0:27); there are uses of transitions to the beat throughout the song. The director uses the symbolic use of water through the rain and the shower to represent the tears quoted in the lyrics. The mood of the scene very much reflects the mood of the story, it is very gloomy and the colours used are dull. The pace of the video also reflects the mood of the music being very slow and measured.
Although it is a story of heartbreak they have still included the element of dance which appears random to the storyline but typical of Timberlake’s videos thus further appealing to his main target audience(1:50-2:24).
The director’s use of close-ups is used to great effect as it conveys Justin’s emotions towards the events. At first his face is smug as he enters the house, dancing around before sleeping with another women in her bedroom, however when she arrives home and he begins to watch her, his face turns to sadness showing that even though they are over he still has feelings for her.
(The video doesn't usually contain the lyrics but was the only one I could find that would let me post on to my blog
Music video director research
Music director:
Mark Romanek (bon September 18, 1959) is an award-winning American music video director who has also moved into directing theatrical films. After a few years writing screenplays, Romanek decided to focus on music videos and signed on with Satellite Films, a boutique division of Steve Golin's Propaganda Films. He has worked with such artists as Jay-Z, Nine Inch Nails, Madonna, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and many more.
My favourite Romanek video is “Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Can’t Stop” The song was the Chilli Peppers' eighth number one Billboard Modern Rock Hit, and peaked at #57 on the Billboard Hot 100. I love the video because it is so random, it is inspired by the “one minute sculptures” of Erwin Wurm who has been developing these sculptures since the late 80s. And the ideas used are so simple but you still find them fun and interesting to watch even if it’s just the lead singer standing with water bottles in between his arms and legs because it’s different and strange which makes it more memorable. It starts with a camera swooping through a yellow tube and as it reaches the end the head of the lead singer Anthony Kiedis looking like his screaming wearing glasses, which then leads to the band running down a dark hall with lighting packs attached to their backs leading to various random acts like having their head popping out of the top of a tent and wearing a purple hippo mask to name a few. I think that this video works really well because people associate the song with the strange video which in turn leads people to remember the tune.
Viewer feedback:
YouTube feedback:
eagleMJA – “such a cool video and great songs....i lvoe hopw rhcp can kind of rap while havign a rock corus and a great intro!”
apua2000 – “This is the funniest music video I've ever seen -truly&honestly- and a favorit song too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry to be pathetic, but PERFECT”
hungrywombat123 – “this is just pure awesomeness”
Amazon feedback from a book about Romaneks work:
“I've been a fan of Mark's before I even knew who he was, because all of my favorite videos were directed by him. This beautiful book is wonderful in that it displays many of the breathtaking images experienced in the dream-like environments he so masterfully creates. The book, however, doesn't make him any less elusive and mysterious, because the few pages of text don't elaborate much on him - but I guess - what can you expect, it's a book of video stills. After breathing in each page, you're left unfulfilled. You want more images, more pictures, more Mark! This is an absolute must buy for any fans of the art of music videos, Mark Romanek, and Milla Jovovich :)The fabric cover/binding is beautiful and the picture is perfect eye candy. I'm ready for the Mark Romanek Video Archive !”
“it's no suprise that romanek has werked with madonna several times, since they are both consummate rip-off artists - i mean "appropriators." if you like his videos, check out the brothers quay to see where he stole all his ideas. not that i think that invalidates his werk...well ok it does a little, but it's still fun to look at. "closer" is one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasures. BUT...it takes looking at a bunch of horribly digitized stills to understand how important it is to see his werk in motion as it was conceived and executed. it would be cool if they'd release a dvd collection of his videos - and then you could freeze-frame and get out your canon and make your own "video music stills." seriously. in that case you'd also be able to select your own favorite stills, cuz another problem i have with this book is that it leaves out some of the most interesting shots from the videos while including a lot of redundant filler.”
“There was much abuzz for music video and film fans when highly respected director Mark Romanek announced the release of a collection of stills from his videos. I, myself, checked Amazon for a release date every day as soon as I heard it was going to be published. The day came and Romanek's book arrived in the mail. The packaging was even impressive, with odd dimensions and a rough green fabric to coat the book's covers. On the front page was the unforgettable still of Madonna in her "Bedtime Stories" video. As I read through the fascinating foreword by Mark Alice Durant, I turned the page and was greeted by a still from David Bowie's "Jump, They Say". I then realized the burden of a book that seemed too good to be true. The title of the book doesn't kid when it says "Music Video Stills". The pictures are slightly blurred from actually being captured off a screen, so as that the pixels of the picture are thick and in horizontal lines. On most occasions, this minor defect doesn't affect the reader's viewing pleasure, but it is noticeable. In any case, the book remains a fine collection, sporting key snapshots from all of Romanek's well-known and unknown videos. Highlights of the book include Nine Inch Nails' "Closer", Michael Jackson's "Scream", Nine Inch Nails' "The Perfect Drug", Madonna's "Bedtime Story", and Janet Jackson's "Got 'Til It's Gone". Others covered are videos by Lenny Kravitz, G. Love & Special Sauce, David Bowie, En Vogue, Keith Richards, and Iggy Pop. Fans of music videos, cinematography, or Romanek's work in general will love this book and it is a recommended buy if you can stand picture quality that isn't 100% crystal clear. The book is also recommended for fans of realist (a la Andreas Gursky) and portrait photography. Despite the blur, the book is a showcase of a cinematogrphical mastermind's diverse work and I'm proud to place it on my bookshelf.”
Myspace comments:
“The Directors Label series highlights the work of the filmmakers who have helped to re-define music videos and filmmaking over the last decade. Mark Romanek has directed some of the most memorable music videos of all time. From the monochrome voyeurism of Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream" to the poignant and haunting image of Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt," as well as Beck, David Bowie, Keith Richards, R.E.M., Lenny Kravitz and Madonna to name but a few. These videos have received numerous awards, including over 20 MTV VMAs, three Grammys, a Country Music Association award, and three Billboard Music Awards. Two of his music videos have even become part of the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art and in 1997 MTV made him the first director to be honored with their Video Vanguard lifetime achievement award. This DVD also features special documentaries, rare director's cuts, commentaries from pretty much everyone involved and a special film Romanekian, which features Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Robin Williams giving their unique perspectives on Mark's work. He is currently working on directing several film projects following the success of his debut feature One Hour Photo, which starred Williams.”
The feedback is mixed, some people saying they are huge fans of the work whereas others are criticising the work he has done. Unfortunatly I couldn't find many comments directly linked to his videos I could find comments about a book he had released which included stills from his career.I however think his work is very innovative and different and am a fan of his directing style.
Bibliography
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwkJfkl-clw 17th January
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Romanek 17th January
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can't_Stop_(song) 17th January
http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Romanek-Music-Video-Stills/dp/1892041081 2nd Febuary
http://groups.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=groups.groupprofile&groupID=100022575 2nd Febuary
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