An example of a pop music video looking through the male gaze,supporting Laura Mulveys theory.

The male gaze laura mulvey from natashahodges

Roland Barthes codes theory
Roland Barthes occupation was a french literary theorist,philosopher,critic,and a semiotician.A semiotican is a study of symbolic meanings and cultral signs .He was born on 12th november1915 and he died at a age of 65.

Within his theory he suggested that "A galaxy of signifiers ,not a structure of signifieds:it has no begining ;it is reversable and we gain access to it by several entrances,no of which can be authoritivly declared the main one ."

By this qoute he is saying "large amount of signs ,that we have to decode in order to acess it by this we are creating our own interpritation but this may differ depending on our state of mind at the timof decipering."

A metaphorical way of interpriting is theory is that "the text is a ball of thread and we are the detangerlers"

He narrowed the action of the text into 5 sections, these are:

The Hermeneutic code otherwise known as the voice of truth this is when within the text it avoids telling the truth or revealing facts to creat a era of mystery.It is often used within murder mysteriesis .

The Enigmal code or known as the emprical voice this is when tension is being build up and the audience is sitting in suspense while awaiting what is next.

The semantic code is also know as the voice of the person.It picks out a element in the text that suggests a particular often aditional meaning by away of connotation.Eg a red door is associated with danger.

The symbolic code has exactly the same principles as the semantic code apart from it is  on a more indepth and wider scale.It organises semantic meanings into broader sets of meaning.eg:"love is the oppiste of selfishness.

Roland Barthes last section how the text can be interprited is the cultural code.This is the voice of the scene as it looks at audiences and looks at their wider cultural knowledge. The majority of a certain culture within the scene and the way that they are presented  and their ideoligy.

Here is a one  minute snip of the official music video "Britney spears - Hit me baby one more time".we have been given the task of recreating this minute within our media team.To do this we need to schedule when people out side of the media team are free such as drama students and dancers that we could possibly use. We need to organise costumes and any props that we might need.Also we need to explore the shot types used in the video to make our recreation more authentic and as close to the original as possible.

my music video analysis

http://www.slideshare.net/natashahodges/the-conventions-of-music-genres

These are all examples of music videos that have been amplified to accentuate the intensity and meaning behind the lyrics.If we take a look at "wrecking ball" for example the tittle is made visual by a large wrecking ball destroying walls that could represent the destruction of barriers and emotions. Also Miley Cyrus is showing allot of nudity in the video it is arguable that this is magnifying how venerable she is feeling when her walls came crashing down.

 

Another video that I have picked to demonstrate Andrews amplifying  style of music videos is" My first kiss" I picked this video as it is very suggestive as there is multiple close up shots of peoples lips miming the lyrics this is emphasising on the kiss and could even be suggesting the build up to the kiss .Also the peoples lips are in bold colours exaggerating the intention and focus of the song.The transitions are sharp and fast creating the illusion of adrenaline and excitement that a person would experience before their first kiss.

 

 

All of these music videos have narrative content within them.For example "why'd  do you only call me when your high"is very dominating in showing the effect that the drugs are having on his mind and body.By using  editing effects such as blurring and ghosting,Also the text messages are displayed so the viewer can understand the story at a higher level.Other illustrative music videos show their narrative through imagery such as "robbers"as the meaning behind the song is shown through the images presented within the music video linking in with the lyrics.

Moderat "Bad Kingdom" This video was something I came across by accident as I was searching the Internet.It came to my attention as it creates a imagery of corruption and greed through hand drawn pictures.However I would class it as a disjuncture music video type as there is allot going on in the video so it is hard to understand the meaning behind the imagery and itself as it gets lost in one large collection of images.

An examples of disjuncture videos : These three videos all demonstraight Andrew  Goodwin’s theory of "disjuncture" As in the "Bruno mars" video he uses monkeys this does not relate to the meaning of the song  at all it is just a gimmick he has used to make his music video more captivating to the audience .Looking at the  "OK GO" music video it just shows how a series of events can lead to one thing to another and gives the video a unique twist .Then the" Ed sheeran" music video consists of a dancer freestyling to the song although some of the movements are suggestive ,it is not encompassing or accompanying  the lyrics of the song.

 

His theory splits music videos into three types. These are  called illustrative, disjuncture and amplify. Illustrative is when the visuals link in to the meaning of the song to help the listener understand the artists intention. The term Disjuncture is then when they visuals do not work in harmony with the lyrics but create their own story that might not make sense or relate to the song. This is just often the artist’s unique take on the song, it helps the artist stand out from the crowd. Then the last component in his theory is amplify this is when the visuals exaggerate the meaning of the song to stress its importance to the audience.

Andrew Goodwin’s theory also goes into detail about a performer building up their iconography through performance videos focusing on the artist to promote them through close up shots and staged shots showing them singing and playing their instruments. He calls this star persona the bigger and better a stars persona is the more interest people will take in them.

Here is a example of the "Beatles" song "Day Tripper" notice how they use the music video to build on their star persona .

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Andrew Goodwin came up with the music video theory:

 

He said that there are many codes and conventions to a music video, one of them being "thought beats”. This is when the speed of the cuts go in time with the beats of the music. Its aim is to exaggerate the pace of the song. For example If you had a fast song such as "scream and shout" by will.i.am ft. Brittney you see that the transitions are in sync with the pace of the music.

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Also if you look at the song "jar of hearts" By "Christina perri" you will notice that the transitions are much slower as the pace of the song is much more relaxed. Another thing that I noticed that supports Andrew Goodwin’s theory of conventions is that the transitions are much more angelic and softer within a slower more heart felt video and often consist of fades to cross over the scenes. In comparison a fast pace music video has sharp choppy cuts to create excitement and a thrill.

 

Here is "Gotye" conceptual music video called "Hearts a mess" It consists of his face on some creator like character and then him collecting more of them on the way. I thought that maybe these could be the heartbroken people and the spider a black widow like how he has used the animation as it gives a real serial effect almost in the style of "Tim Burton".

"Ed Sheeran" created a song called "You need me, I don’t need you" The video consists of a man signing the lyrics of the song. The focus is of the man using sign language although the movements are linked to the lyrics it is not giving the viewer a understanding of the meaning behind the lyrics.

This video shows strong elements of a conceptual music video as the interpretation of the lyrics is through a girl dancing however it does not explain what the song is about and people interpret the meaning behind the video in their own way. It could be that the dance movement is not related to the lyrics or maybe some movements are but others just showcasing the skill of the dancer. The music video is called “chandelier” by “Sia”

 

 This music video is conceptual as it doesn’t show a performance neither does it show a narrative so as it doesn’t fit in with either of these types of music videos it is classed as conceptual. The video does relate to the song but not in a way that all viewers will understand as it is not presenting the story line but the sound waves that are being used to create the track. “Do I wanna know" by the "Arctic Monkeys" Notice how the lines are different colours this is representing the different vocals and instrument’s for example the white line is the main singer with the blue lines being the backing singers also the guitarists are different colours and the drummer is yellow.

Another type of music videos is when a video does not directly relate to the lyrics. This means it’s just the artists take on their work. It can be done for a number of reasons to be different and cause a hype around their video bringing in more viewers. Or simply because the artist has found something interesting and wants to use it to promote their work. These music videos are known as being conceptual.

This music video is a very famous narrative video called "Thriller" by "Michael Jackson" The series of scenes inform the viewer that the young couple have been to the movies to watch a horror film. However a unsuspected turn takes when the girls imagination begins to run wild as the dead become undead and Michael becomes a werewolf. The girl is chased to a house when Michael snaps her out of it and offers to take her home. Just when we think it’s all over Michael turns to the camera and we see his monstrous side again ,leaving the viewer to decide weaver it was just in fact the girls imagination or something more obscene.

This music video tells a story of two people falling in love over a course of time. It is by the "Arctic monkeys" with the tittle being "stop the world because I want to get off with you" I like how the shots flicker between him and her getting ready and trying to impress him. The video is narrative as it is very informative of what the song is trying to portray and gives the viewer a knowledge of what season it is.

The song "give me love" by "Ed sheeran" is sentimental song about a persons need to be loved by another. The video is narrative as it shows through a series of scenes, that lonely girl is given the power of cupid and is allowed to create love for other human beings. Until in the end it all becomes too much for her and she takes her own life. The transitions are in up keeping with the beat of the song and or often soft and fade in and out to tell the narrative story. There is also allot of symbolism within the music video for example the two small dolls holding each other is just there to emphasis the girl’s loneliness.

research

"Coldplays"song "magic" is an narrative type of music video as the images imitate the lyrics of the song. The images give us a better understanding of the track as we learn that the man that is in love with the assistant and is a magician  linking in with the tittle of the song "magic"We then learn that he uses magic to break up a abusive relationship that his assistant is involved in.This is shown to the viewer through extreme close up shots of bruises on the assistants arm and text explaining things further.Also I like how the video is done in black and white as it immediately gives the connotations that it is set in the past

When I looked into narrative types of music videos, I found that there main purpose was to help tell and give a visual accompaniment to the message or story the artist was trying to get across. They would contain visual images that linked directly to the lyrics and sentiment of the song. This allows the viewer to interpret the lyrics and images to form their own understanding of the song.Here are some examples I found in my research.

This music video is a perfect example of a performance video, The song is called "did you hear the rain" performed by "George Ezra" The video purely focuses on the artist we know this because of the basic setting of a dusty room and the simple spot white lighting. By creating this serial atmosphere it means that no attention is being taken away from the artist. Also if you look at all the cuts and transitions they only go to a close up shot showing the artist’s emotion to a mid-shot of his profile, again this is selling himself within the industry. I like the blurred effect used in the transitions as it give the effect that he is feeling disorientated and keeps the video interesting.

This music video by "fun"- "we are young" has allot going on it from smashing bottles to flying teddy bears. I found this a good example of a performance video as although all that chaos is going on in the background the camera always returns its focus to the band members. It gives the illusion to me that they are fighting for the cameras attention within it all. Again it contained wide and close up shots to represent the band in a good light.

This music video was created by the “white stripes” and has the tittle "seven nation army". The band have decided to create a performance music video to show off their musical skill and to promote them further in the music industry. I like how they have used bold colours and image overlays to make the performance video more attractive to the audience.

This video is called "Dark Storm" by a band called our last night. Although it does have some narrative aspects to it such as the quote from the film "remember me" and the slick sharps cuts to the girl. However it mainly focuses on showing off the bands performance skill level by using techniques such as zooming in and creating close up shots to add an edgy intensity atmosphere to their performance making them more interesting to watch. Also I have noticed the now and again the camera shoots from an upwards angle representing the band as of high status in the music industry.

The music industry has three main types of music videos performance, narrative and conceptual. Each of them play a very important part by emphasising on different performance aspects whether it is telling a story alongside an artist or just showing the artists musical muse by making something different or stand out from the crowd. When a video is made to be a performance type its main focus is to promote the artist or band. You have close up shots of the musicians playing their instruments and singing to show off their talent, The majority of the air time will be focused on them. Here are some examples of performance videos.

Here is a diagram I found on wikipedia demonstrating the use of the 180_degree rule, it shows clearly that the camera never crosses the axi of the1st or second person in the frame.

 It acts as guideline of creating a realistic and authentic on-screen spatial relationship.Bringing the characters ,objects and scene together. The line that I taped down is called the axis  its job is to ensure that it reconnects the characters in with the scene.By sticking to the rule  the first character should be in the frame of the right of the second character always in left frame.

In my media classes we have began to explore certain rules that you have to follow when creating a short clip or music video.I found that the most important rule that must be followed at all times is the180 degree rule.This rule states that that you must not rotate the camera over 180 degrees because if you do it gives a unrealistic view of the scene  you are filming as a person cannot rotate their head the full 360 degrees.To help me when I filmed I placed a line of tape half way across the area I was working in to remind my self that the camera angle must not pan across the line.