Unit 29 - Questionnaire

Unit 29 - Questionnaire 

1. Do you like rap music?

2. Do you think our music video suit the lyrics?

3. What is your opinion of our song?

4. would you recommend our music video to a friend?

5. What you change anything about our music video?

6. What did you like about it?

7. Do you have any suggestions on how to improve it? If yes please specify why.

8. Do you think thus music video is suitable for our target audience?

9. What do you think about our location? Would you change it? If yes please specify why? Where?

Unit 29 - Music video pitch and feedback

Unit 29 - Transcribing lyrics

Transcribing lyrics 


Who are they?

A band group called Adventure land 

http://www.unsigned.com/adventureland


Genre 

Pop, Rock



Name of song

'Put your money where your mouth is'

Lyrics 

Keep me warm with your body
Put your hands around my neck
Keep me close when you want it
Hit the lights above your bed
Take me now
Take me where 
Girl it's just you and me
Put my hands where your heart, 
is beating 


So take what you want 
Oh 
Take what you need 
Hey
C'mon honey, 
Put your money where your mouth is 


Take what you want
Oh
Take what you need 
Hey
I got money c'mon


When you leave in the morning, 
You can kiss my lips goodbye
But for now keep it rated,
Like we're watching movies that play late at night
Like a wild hurricane,
Is ripping right through your hair
Throw your clothes on the floor, 
and in the air 


So take what you want
Oh
Take what you need
Hey
C'mon honey put your money where your mouth is


Take what you want
Oh
Take what you need 
Hey
I got money c'mon


They might say oh,
Put on a show
Baby I'm ready so don't take it slow
No need for sings
You're doin' fine

Show me your best trick and I'll show you mine
They might say oh,
Put on a show 
Baby I'm ready so don't take it slow
No need for signs 
You're doin' fine
Show me your best trick and I'll show you mine


So take what you want
Oh
Take what you need
Hey
C'mon honey put your money where your mouth is


Take what you want
Oh
Take what you need 
Hey
I got money c'mon 


So take what you want
Oh
Take what you need
Hey
C'mon honey put your money where your mouth is


Take what you want
Oh
Take what you need
Hey
I got money c'mon 

Money where your mouth is


Take what you want 
Oh
Take what you need 
Hey
C'mon honey put your money where your mouth is


Take what you want
Oh
Take what you need
Hey
C'mon honey put your money where your mouth is


Take what you want 
Oh
Take what you need
Hey
I got money c'mon


Take what you want
Oh 
Take what you need
Hey
C'mon honey put your money where your mouth is


Take what you want 
Oh
Take what you need 
Hey
I got money c'mon

Analysis of lyrics 

The theme of the song is having a good time. This is song is an upbeat and happy song. When listening to this song it gets people into it and want to go out and have a good time if that's with friends or with their boyfriend/girlfriend. 


The imagery I get from this song is a young teen couple going out and having fun together. I like to think they are on a day out together taking pictures and doing silly things for one another. This is because the song is so upbeat that it wouldn't be a dancing song but a song to play when having a good time. 


Target audience 

My target audience would be for 15 - 21 year old male and females. The band songs can relate to both people as they i feel the song is about relationship which both genders can relate too. 



Analyse the tempo

The song is medium pace but it can sometimes speed up when getting to the chorus. The song doesn't go too fast nor does it go too slow which is a good thing as it allows people who listen to the song to get into it and enjoy the lyrics. Whereas, if it were slow pace it wouldn't be as interesting for people which I find gets people really into the song. 




How I will apply this to my music video

I would apply the different scenes of the happy couple into my music video where I would show them at different locations together at Southbank holding hands, laughing and sometimes dancing. 

Unit 29 - Production log 4

Production log 4

Today me and my group had discussed whose idea we want to do. We had talked about the pros and cons of each music video idea. We couldn't do my idea as I had been turned down by my location and we felt it would be difficult to find another location and if we did we may not get the permission. My group mate Mercedes decided she did not want to do hers after some discussion with the group. It was between Habon and Ariana and we had liked both of their songs and ideas. We liked Habon's song but not much the video due to the location. Habon wanted to do it just in a house and even though it's a good idea it would be quite boring to just do the music video in one location. Ariana's video idea had some aspects we liked. After some deeper discussion with each other we had and going through every idea and talking about the pros and cons we have decided to go with my classmates Ariana's idea. This is because after talking about her idea we all were involved a lot and contributing ideas that we would really like to do. Because of this we have a strong idea on what we want to do for our music video idea. We have two potential actors to play our main man and one we have spoken too who has agreed. The other is somebody to consider if the we are casting cannot film. We also have ideas on what props we want to use, how we people to dress, the camera languages we will be using, the location of the video and how we want the video look like. 

Unit 29 - Production log 3

This week I presented my music video idea to the class where I explained to them my visuals, graphics, target audience, production schedule and permission from the band/location etc. I believe my music video pitch covered mostly everything I would want to do with my music video if it were to be picked by my group. I think my pitch was ok however I was a bit nervous as I did not really explain things much and kept on saying words like 'um'. However, even though that had happened I felt as they I was able to convey my message to my peers and they understood what I wanted to do. My peers mostly asked about the location due to it being a public place and can be difficult as it's south bank which attracts a lot of tourists. However, I had assured them that I knew the area well and knew the best days to go if I were given permission. After everyone's pitch was made my teacher had told the class that we will be deciding in groups whose pitch we like best. 

Unit 29 - Production log 2

Today I have finished my presentation. By sometime next week I will present my music video idea to my peers. It will be a short presentation just briefly explaining things such as what music videos helped me with my idea, the camera language I'm going to use who my cast and crew will be etc. After I have explained my idea to the class I will then receive feedback from them by getting asked questions on what they liked and disliked about the video. 

Unit 29 - Production log 1

Last week I had finally found my unsigned artists on unsigned.com I will later present to my media class. After some difficulty of listening to various unsigned artists and genres I finally found a band called 'Adventureland.' They are an Australian band that play pop, rock music. I had listened to all three of their songs and decided to use their song 'put your money where your mouth is.' I have started my presentation and I plan to finish it soon as I will have to be presenting it to my class. 

Unit 29 - Richard Dyer's 'star theory'

Richard Dyer's star theory

Richard dyer's star theory tells us what makes a star, how their star personality is created, which is either something they do themselves or has been created for them by the record label they are signed too, to help that artists/band gain more recognition from the audience.  



Stars as constructions 

This is when starts are moulded by record labels to be different versions of themselves or being changing them completely. This is done so that star can appeal to a certain target audience. This can sometimes benefit a star as there are so many of them out there, this lets them have their own look and own way on how people will identify this star, as it helps them to differentiate these stars and see if they like them or not as they are able to create a personality for them. However, not all the time is this good because this takes away who they are and changes them to somebody they are not just so people can like them. Usually when there is a new artist/band they are constructions they conform to so they audience can keep coming back. For example, girl bands. They are skinny, pretty, giggly and girly. This is a construction girl bands become so they can attract an audience usually a younger audience. Little mix are a good example because they all conform to what a girl band usually is like. 

Stars as personalities  

In order for a star to become popular and success with their music they need to be able to connect with their fans on a personal level and also admire this person as they listen to their music. This is usually because if an artist is connecting with their audience then they less fans they will have. An example of a star is Adele. Her songs are about love. They vary from suffering from heartbreak, happiness to moving on and breakup. These songs help her to connect with her audience in a deeper love as many people go through all these stages when in love which helps them to relate to her. She is famous for her songs 'Somebody like you.' and 'Hello,' which the audience can connect too as they if they listen to her songs some people can relate them. For example, in 'Somebody like you.' she says 'Sometimes it lasts in love and sometimes it hurts instead.' This is a line some people would be able to relate too if have been hurt in a relationship. I also know that this song was actually written by her and is about one of her exes that it was dedicated too. Usually some songs are written by people and people will sing it but this song was something she wrote from the heart which makes it more powerful and appealing because she's writing from experience. 

Not only is it because of her songs that help to make her have a connection with her audience but because she wasn't born into fame. She made her way up which helps motivate her audience that they can also do it and be like her as Adele is a well known artist. 

Another example of Adele connecting with her fans is because of her personality is real. She hasn't put on a facade to make people like her. She is herself and hasn't changed herself for people to like her, which in my opinion is something good to have in an artist. I've said this because also of her north London english accent. It's not the most appealing accent and usually stars will practice to get rid of theirs. However, even though being signed to a record label Adele didn't lose her accent or her personality as she sticks to herself, gaining more fans while also not changing herself. 







Stars as products 

Stars/bands are able to make more money by having their fans buy the merchandise that are sold to them. This works both ways as they make more money when selling these items and the fans are able to buy something that relates to them. Justine Bieber is a good example as the majority of his fans are girls so there will be a lot of merchandise that relates to them so they will buy anything that has something to do with him. For example, he would release merchandise such as, perfumes, posters, cups and clothes etc. Its anything girls will get their hands on that is Justine Bieber related. This gets the fans more wild as they own something that belongs to Justine Bieber and would make them return in the future to buy more merchandise.



Stars as embodiment's of ideologies and cultures

This when artists start a fashion trend or cultural discourse. This is something that happens quite often in our society where a star/band will make a change in our society and their fandom's (followers) will make this popular if they like it. If a lot of people are into what this artist/band have done it will become a trend where then more people who particularly listen to that artist will also become involved expanding it to more people because of the way they influence the audience. It has been something that artists have done for a long time but can become more popular quicker due to social media. 


An example, of this is Drake a well known Canadian rapper who back in 2011  released a song called 'The motto.' He said a phrase that started to trend a lot and had many young people repeating it. He made the term “YOLO,” an acronym for “you only live once." very popular.  He had said the lyrics 'Now she want a photo / You already know though / You only live once ‒ that’s the motto ni**a YOLO." He doesn't own the word but after he had it many people started copying it and were using the acronym. He isn't the owner and didn't come up with the acronym but he made it popular for young teens who started to say the words back in 2011 as a way to do something you wouldn't normally do. 

Unit 29 - Good and bad music video techniques

Lip syncing 


This is known as movement of the lips as the he people in the music video are simply moving their lips to mimic the lyrics to create the illusion that they are singing the song when they actually aren't. A good example of this is 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams.Using lip syncing in a song can make the artist look more professional while at the same time not moving their lips. In this song lip syncing is used get the audience watching excited and sing along with this song. This is because happy is such a cheery song and throughout the music video we see celebrities and even normal people as this allows better connection with their viewers. The song is fast paced and shows a variety of people lip syncing and not focusing too much on one person to make the viewer bored.  The natural lighting also goes well with the video as it sunny out making the video realistic but also bringing the happiness to live because it's a sunny day.



A bad example of lip syncing is Nickelback 'Rockstar'. Unlike Pharrell Williams happy with the people singing the song correctly and look enthusiastic about it this song doesn't really have that. Some of the people that are lip syncing along do not look like they much effort into their singing. It also sometimes looks like a jumbled mess which would make the music video look sloppy and not that good. Usually when lip syncing the people that are being filmed should be energetic and into the song. However most people singing are slow and aren't that excited taking away the excitement of the song as they don't look that bothered. 





Cutting to the beat


Cutting to the beat is when a shot is when the music video is done in time to the beat of the music video. A good example of this is a song by Calvin Harris and Example called 'We'll be coming back'. The music video is telling a story,and it cuts to the beat it makes the music video more effective because if the song is going fast and the editing is fast then people will know that something important is going on in the music video and because of this it will appeal to more people just because it has been cut to the beat. This is good as it shows each scene cutting to the beat so its in time with the music video making it roll smoothly and look good. This also helps to create an energized mood as it would get people watching the music video more into the song. In electro songs cutting to the beat is very important because this is what will get the audience pumped but will also make the video look good as its always on time. Cutting the shots in a music video to this beat makes it more impactful on the audience and helps the video come off as being more dramatic and exciting. A shot occurs when the beat drops to create impact. 

A bad example of cutting to the beat is 'Rock that body' by the black eyed peas. While the music video is very entertaining and would get the audience into it the cutting to the beat is not shown. Using cutting to the beat in this music video would make the song look more good and professional. Cutting to the beat for this music video could make it better as it can people into the music video as it makes it more exciting when watching the video. This brings down the video as it could have been more tidy also which doesn't really give the video a good impact therefore letting it down. 

Green screen/ chroma key 


This is the use of a green or blue screen and is often used to create effects. These effects can be anything an artist wants it to be as they can do anything they want to do. Using a green screen or chroma key allows the artist to do anything with their imagination as they can bring anything to life. This is often done as it can save the artist a lot of money as they wouldn't be needing much props or pay for locations. This is because they can set the music video anywhere and have whatever background they desire to make a music video unique and original. An example, of a chroma key is 'Opposites attract' by Paula Abdul. The artist brought a cartoon cat character to life which is used at 1:40 when the artist is taken into the animated world. The song is about opposites attracting and Paula Abdul brings the cartoon cat to life by also making him sing with her. Having this cartoon character makes it enjoyable for adults and kids as it has such a fun theme towards it as during 2:36 she starts to tap dance with the cartoon character. 




A bad example of green screen is 'Bound 2' By Kayne West. You can clearly see that everything you are watching in this music video is fake. The first 30 seconds of the opening of the music video is very good which would interest people however as the music video progresses it starts to become dull and boring. The motorbike Kayne is on at 0:40 we can hardly see but can already tell is fake, along with the background. This does not look professional and just looks sloppy which is very surprising as Kayne West is a well known rapper and has a lot of more to do what he wants with a music video but went for something that looks like no effort was made. Also the music video is very slow paced and boring making people who watched this music video come off instantly or even fast forward. There isn't much happening in music video as it just goes from Kayne to and his wife Kim on the bike making the audience become easily bored. 




Camera language 

Camera language is when different camera positions can help tell your story. They are shot from above or below, as well as from eye level and are filmed from different positions around the subject as well. An example of good camera language Pans, tilts, crabs and tracking shots can add excitement to a music video. Various shot types could also create a meaning or tone for the audience. An example for camera movements shot types is Nelly's 'Hey Porsche'. This video contains a lot of helicopter shots high angle of the car driving down the road. This creates a tone of excitement for the audience. This gets them more into the music video as its just not focusing on one camera angle and is just doing different ones. 






A bad example of camera language is 'Never gonna give you up' by Rick Astley's. The camera is all over the place and it makes the music video looks messy.It also looks like not much thought has been put into the video. There are unnecessary shots as at 0:52 there's a shot of the bartender dancing which is not relevant to the song. Also the woman dancing at 0:19 is also not relevant as she doesn't do much but look back at the camera. While the song is catchy and good the music video is the opposite as its just different shots of him dancing side to side which after a while will make the audience bored of what they are watching. 



Special effects 

An example of good special effects is Taylor Swift 'Bad blood'. Throughout the song we see various special effects such as when Taylor dents the car at 0:41. From the first 30 seconds of watching the music video you would already be hooked. A guy is thrown onto the table and we see Taylor doing all these good fighting moves.  It's entertaining and we also want to know what Taylor and Selena Gomez are fighting about. When Taylor gets pushed of it would also make the audience surprised as the start of the music video would make people think that they were on the same side. The at 1:27 a girl puts a dent into the locker which also makes the scene look realistic as if she was that strong. All these special effects give the music video a cinematic feel. The special effects used were done well as it was made out like it was believable which would keep the audience entertained throughout the music video.








An example of bad special effects is 'Jigga what, Jigga who' by Jay-Z. This is because the use of the special effects being used in the song are unnecessary and rather than making the song look good it just looks rubbish and not very entertaining to watch. The special effects do not go with the song and are also are also repeated a lot which would make people watching the music video boring.The special effects are also repeated a lot  Most of the time its just flashing strobe lights. At 0:38 the effect on Jay-Z does not look good either. You would expect much more from Jay-Z as he was a very popular rapper and you would think that he would put much effort into his videos. Most of the time Jay-Z is also standing around not doing much. This shows people not much creativity has been put into the video. 


Number of cuts 

This is when an abrupt, but usually trivial film transition from one sequence to another. A good example of number of cuts is 'Ni**as in Paris' by Jay-Z and Kayne West. This music video uses a lot of cuts in the video and makes the video exciting for people to watch. By watching this video we very into the song as it's very fast pace and getting them crazy like the audience we are seeing. The atmosphere of the video is also energetic as from the start we see the audience dancing and having fun at the concert. This video as because it makes it moire fun to watch rather than a video that's slow as the people watching it the video are also having a good time. 



An example of bad cuts is 'Love don't live here no more' by Modanna. This music video does not have any cuts which would make the video boring for the people watching it. There's not much to see as all we see is Modanna sitting and singing most of time.The camera language for this video is very slow paced through out the whole video such as at 0:20 it makes the audience wanting the video to pick up the pace and tempo more. The video is also very slow pace and which after a while would make people watching this stop. The music video is also not very lively and is slow pace with not much too see causing the audience to become bored.

Unit 29 - Styles

Performance 

A live performance is when an artist/band are performing live on a music video. Sometimes it can be the whole music video or it will just be bits of the live music video which can help to engage people watching the music video. An example of this 'Work' live performed by Rihanna and Drake. This type of style is used so the audience can feel more involved with the artist/band as they are able to interact with each other. The crowd get excited for the artist/band and this helps to get people who are home also excited as they hear all the cheering and it makes them feel excited about what is happening. Having a live performance is also good as multiple cameras are used which lets people get a better view of the artist and they can also buy merchandise as people who attend a live performance will buy a lot of merchandise for their favourite artist/band. As you can see in the music video it can be exiting for the audience as sometimes a person who is featured on the music video can surprise the audience and come on live which happened in this music video when Drake turned up and surprised the audience making them all go crazy and excited. 

Another live performance is 'Someone like you' by Adele which is a live person. This is also a good thing about live performance as sometimes the singers surprise their fans with another artist who features on their song making the crowd go wild. Also it allows the artist/band to even sometimes bring their fans on stage which is a good interaction. A lot of long shots are used so we can see the artist dancing better.  When having live performances it can be enjoyable for both the artist and the audience as this allows the artists/band to interact with their fans which the fans would obviously love but also sometimes when they sing the fans join as done in this video which lets the audience feel more engaged with the song and artist/band but also makes the artist/band happy as their fans know the lyrics of the song and are singing along which makes it fun for both parties.


Narrative 

A narrative music video will tell a story through a serious of footages. Usually the story line is linked to the lyrics so the audience watching can understand what is happening the in music video. 

An example of a narrative music video is same love by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. Narrative music videos are like a short film as they tell a story but it is being narrated by the artist/band singing. Sometimes the song can be personal and relatable to them and in this case it is as the music video follows a young black boy of struggling of coming out gay. Narrative stories usually get personal and allows the audience to identify with what is happening and some men and women who are going through the same issues can be able to relate to this song. The song shows us his struggles from being born to a young teenage feeling left out, to being gay and homophobia he and his boyfriend would face when together to later his father not accepting him and then to his wedding and then being old with his husband in an hospital bed. This is a powerful song which overall just says love is love. 



Another example of narrative is 'part of me' by Katy Perry. In the music video Katy Perry catches her boyfriend cheating on her and she leaves. Its a good song that shows strength that it means don't let anyone bring you down. Because narrative can be personal this can help people who have been cheated listen to this song and feel better about what happened as the audience can relate to what happened to them and overcome their struggle like Katy Perry did in the song. This can target both male and female as both genders can feel heartbroken after a heartbreak and make themselves stronger after it has happened. It can also be 15 - 30 year old's as this can be the appropriate age for this song. 




Conceptual 


A concept based music video is a music video which has no structured narrative and were the lyrics do not match what is happening in the music video at all. The music video would usually visual effects. An example of this is 'wildest dreams' by Taylor Swift. The music video shows Taylor Swift and a man in Africa filming for a romance movie were they play lovers in the movie but when off camera they are at each others throats. After further research into the song I found out that "Wildest Dreams" is about a relationship doomed to end. But the actress Taylor Swift plays is not ready to let go of the relationship. It shows us that not only is the actor she's with attractive but he's also masculine and assertive which she believes the perfect man.The lyrics explain that while they are still together now the actress Taylor Swift knows the end of the relationship and hopes that this man won't completely forget her. As the lyrics says "Say you’ll remember me standing in a nice dress, Staring at the sunset, babe / Red lips and rosy cheeks" which means she wants him to remember their relationship when they finally finish filming. 


Another example of conceptually music videos is Tinie Tempah's 'Pass out'. The choreography, song title and setting of this music video do not relate to song 'pass out'.  The song's lyrics however do relate as when Tinie Tempah says 'we can do this until we pass out' and  'until we hit the ground and pass out' the lyrics are referring to a person falling unconscious or 'passing out' due to excessive partying.The song 'pass out' would be appropriate for ages 15 - 25 as they can get into this song. 




Surreal 

A surreal music video lets people into the artists world and give insight into their creative mindset.These type of music video can let the artist/band show their fans their creative side which can be interesting for the fans when watching the music video. An example of this is 'Style' By Taylor Swift which is about a relationship that did not work out. The music video is surreal because it shows us a lot of nature and the couple trying to work out their relationship. Taylor Swift in the music video shows that she believes they are perfectly matched they like each others "style" and they look good/work well together.



Another example of a surreal music is Katy Perry's 'E.T' which is an example of a surreal music video as it has a lot of imagery and stock footage used which appears to have no rhyme or reason which makes a creative statement. The music video is a dreamlike state where the real world does not exist. The music video also shows the world in a waste playing an old tune then later goes to Katy Perry signing as an alien where she turns to a human with alien like makeup going through space. It later shows her land on earth in a new outfit were she sees an albino man as a robot and then goes Katy Perry kisses the helmet  were the robot turns into an actual man. It then goes to Kayne West floating in space as he raps then shows Katy Perry picking up the glasses and the bottom of her dress floats away were it shows goat legs and she leaves with the albino man. This is a weird music video that would not happen in real life which makes it surreal but the music video is also interesting for people to watch.

Animation 


This is a music video which can either show an animation of the artist/band or an animation of a person for the purpose of the music video. It does not show any real people on animations. An example of an animation music video is 'What I did for love' By David Guetta and Emeli Sandé which is about , is a cartoon about interspecies love. It is about a love between a very oversized cartoon chimp and a woman which shows us what the ape would do for love for the human woman as what the ape does for love is fall in love outside of his own species and defy the laws of nature by doing so and nobody can believe 'what he did for love' as he fights a shark and goes to war for the woman.It also intrigues the audience with its artistic style. It can also benefit the artist as they can get a wider audience range because of the animation they used in their music video.

Another example of animation is 'Do I wanna know' by the Arctic Monkeys. This is a music video which viewers can watch and get into as the animation is well put together and makes the music video look good and is not sloppy. This music video lets the band Arctic Monekys show off their creativity and that the animation used matches well with the video as they can do whatever they want in the music video and it will look good whereas if the music video was perfumed without animation it wouldn't look as good. Animation music videos can be popular as an artist/band can do anything when it comes to music video as long as it cheap to use also. 


Interpretive  

This video is an interpretive video as the video uses the lyrics to create plot and style of the video. An example of this is the Lonely Island ' Im On a boat'. This music video sings the people on a boat and the music video showing the audience they are on a boat. A lot of interpretive imagery is used in the music video, for example in the song he sings, 'Ive got my swim trunks and my flippy floppies' and then it shows him sat down waving his flip flops. This lyrics and the song will tell you whats happening and we will see what they are doing in this music video as they are being told what is happening and are seeing what is happening. 



Another example is 'Pretty hurts' by Beyonce. The lyrics being sung are shown in the music video which deals with societies expectations of what beauty is and eating disorders. It shows Beyonce having to put herself to societies standard of what pretty is which shows us it can be struggling for girls as Beyonce represents girls who have a struggle with how they look as they are told they need to look a certain way to be beautiful. Even though its not  real and Beyonce is not real it shows us what most women feel the pressure. However the lyrics and the song show us a powerful message that you don't need to be what society says is beautiful to be beautiful. I would say this music video at primarily females and would say the age range would be 13 - 25 years old as these are ages were girls start to become insecure about what they look like.