Stooshe - 'Black Heart' music video.
History: The 'Black Heart' music video was released in 2012.
Context:
Artist: Stooshe are a British girl group from London who released their debut album, London with the Lights On, on 27 May 2013. The group - consisting of members Alexandra Buggs, Karis Anderson and Courtney Rumbold, were signed to Warner Music Group in August 2011 and they released their first promotional single, "Betty Woz Gone", in October 2011.
Ownership: The band are owned by Warner.
Concept: The video involves the three girls trying to persuade each other that a man isn't right for them and that he has a 'Black Heart' however, they still love him and find are finding it very hard to let him go.
Theme: The theme in this video is love. However this conflicts with the name of the song which is 'Black Heart' as a black heart is referred to people who have no regards for other peoples feelings.
Location: The location is unknown. At the start of the video, you see cameras and the band putting makeup on them which suggests that it's not actually a music video and they are just expressing themselves. However, further in to the video it seems very unrealistic and artificial as the room is mainly all pink.
Direction: The major camera angles used in this video are close ups, midshots, wideshots and canted shots. These shots are filmed slowly and move smoothly which matches with the timing of the music. The lighting makes the video seem bright and colourful. There is lighting used differently throughout the video; for example at the start there is a mirror with lights all around which reflects on the bands' faces.
Editing: There are many edits in this video. The main editing transition used is a cut. This is used to show different points in the story and also to help us understand what part is the story and what part is just the band singing. They are used carefully and slowly which makes the video seem quite relaxed and slow paced.
Art direction/styling: The costumes used aren't 'proper' costumes. The band are just wearing usual clothes and their makeup also seems to appear 'usual' like they are going out. The set seems very artificial as we see cameras and like a show mirror used. Also we see a room which is basically all pink and doesn't make the setting seem very realistic.
Representation: The women are representing themselves as the 'better' people and are basically representing men as having 'black hearts' which is sort of stereotyping men to appear cold and uncaring.
Target audience: The target audience for this video is aimed at girls aged 16-25.
Thursday, 20 June 2013
Research and history of the music video
The first ever music video created is Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen in 1975. When the song was released in the UK in 1975 the band were on tour abroad and couldn't make it to Top Of The Pops each week when it reached no.1. No-one imagined the record would be so successful. The first ever music video that was published on MTV was Video Killed The Radio Star in 1981. However, music videos wasn't taken very seriously until Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' video was released which was in 1983.
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In the modern era, music videos have been hugely developed. This has been down to the video recoding and editing processes. High-quality colour videotape recorders and portable video cameras now have help to enable many pop acts to produce promotional videos quickly and cheaply in comparison to the relatively high costs of using film.
Friday, 14 June 2013
Music video research - A Day To Remember
A Day To Remember - "I'm made out of wax Larry, what are you made of?" music video.
History: The video was released on the 30th of September 2011. The song is from the bands top rated album 'Homesick'.
Context:
Artist: A Day to Remember were formed in 2003 and mix emo, hardcore, and metal into a blend affectionately referred to by their fans as "pop mosh." Hailing from Ocala, FL, vocalist Jeremy McKinnon, guitarists Neil Westfall and Tom Denney, bassist Joshua Woodard, and drummer Bobby Scruggs financed their first EP themselves, then signed with Indianola Records for the release of their full-length And Their Name Was Treason in spring 2005. The record went on to sell over 8,000 copies through word of mouth alone, and a year later the guys were signed to Chicago powerhouse Victory Records. Work quickly began on their label debut; For Those Who Have Heart appeared in January 2007, featuring new drummer Alex Shelnutt. Homesick, the band's sophomore release, arrived in October 2009. After Homesick, Tom Denney left the band (although he remained a part of the writing process) while Kevin Skaff (from Four Letter Lie) assumed the guitar duties. The group's fourth studio album, What Separates Me from You, was released the following year.
Ownership: A Day To Remember record labels are Victory Records and Indianola Records. Victory Records is a privately held corporation. It also operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several smaller independent record labels. Victory Records has deals with major music distributors, which include Best Buy, Amazon, Trans World, Hot Topic and more. Music by bands signed to Victory Records can be purchased on iTunes; a few Victory albums have also been released on the Australian iTunes and has also been known to have troubled relationships with many of their artists, including Streetlight Manifesto, Thursday,Hawthorne Heights, and A Day to Remember.
Indianola Records is an independent record label that mainly focuses on hardcore and metal. It was founded in 1999 with the release of Life Before's "Reflections on Tomorrow". The label quickly gained worldwide recognition in 2001 with the release of Evergreen Terrace's Losing All Hope Is Freedom and subsequent releases. Indianola is run by its two active owners, John Giddens and Matt Shelton.
Concept: In the song, McKinnon examines the wreckage of a broken relationship. Most of the lyrics are addressed to the anonymous ex-girlfriend; the song switches between accusations, threats, and even more apologetic lines without ever explicitly describing what went on in the relationship. It's a strongly emotional work that leaves a lot of room for the listener's imagination to fill in the blanks.
Theme: There is no central theme. The video just shows the band playing baseball as well as singing. The baseball game doesn't really have much to do with the actual meaning of the song.
Location: The video was shot in a baseball park in the Florida, USA.
Direction: The lighting used in is mainly just the natural light apart from a few seconds in the video which is then lit up by floodlights as it seems to be night time. The sort of angles that are used are mainly wide shots as it is showing the whole band and baseball team playing (and singing). Also close ups, midshots, canted and birdseye shots are frequently used. In the video, these shots help the video to seem fast paced and quick.
Editing: There is only one editing transition used in this video which is a cut. This transition really helps to make the video fast paced which goes along in time with the moving and also matches with the genre which is heavy rock/metal.
Art direction/ styling: In the video, you can notice that it just looks very natural and realistic to what you would see in normal everyday life for example, a group of people playing baseball. What the band are wearing is a T-shirt which has an A Day To Remember logo on the front and with their names printed on the back and are not wearing any makeup. The 'set' is a natural setting which is a baseball park apart from a part in the video where you see all of the bands' instruments set up like what you would see on a stage at a concert. The props used are mainly baseball equipment and posters. Usually in rock videos, you rarely see animation used and special effects because they try to make them as real as possible and this is what A Day To Remember have done in this music video.
Post production/special effects: Usually in rock videos, you rarely see animation used and special effects because they try to make them as real as possible and in this video A Day To Remember haven't added them either.
Representation: The band are representing themselves as immature and aggressive in the video. The children that are used in the video are also made to seem the same age and as we can tell it's like a baseball match between adults and children but we are not supposed to see any difference between age because of the behaviour of the band.
Target audience: The video is aimed at mainly young people from around 16-30 and this is shown through the lyrics and meaning of the song.
History: The video was released on the 30th of September 2011. The song is from the bands top rated album 'Homesick'.
Context:
Artist: A Day to Remember were formed in 2003 and mix emo, hardcore, and metal into a blend affectionately referred to by their fans as "pop mosh." Hailing from Ocala, FL, vocalist Jeremy McKinnon, guitarists Neil Westfall and Tom Denney, bassist Joshua Woodard, and drummer Bobby Scruggs financed their first EP themselves, then signed with Indianola Records for the release of their full-length And Their Name Was Treason in spring 2005. The record went on to sell over 8,000 copies through word of mouth alone, and a year later the guys were signed to Chicago powerhouse Victory Records. Work quickly began on their label debut; For Those Who Have Heart appeared in January 2007, featuring new drummer Alex Shelnutt. Homesick, the band's sophomore release, arrived in October 2009. After Homesick, Tom Denney left the band (although he remained a part of the writing process) while Kevin Skaff (from Four Letter Lie) assumed the guitar duties. The group's fourth studio album, What Separates Me from You, was released the following year.
Ownership: A Day To Remember record labels are Victory Records and Indianola Records. Victory Records is a privately held corporation. It also operates a music publishing company called "Another Victory, Inc." and is the distributor of several smaller independent record labels. Victory Records has deals with major music distributors, which include Best Buy, Amazon, Trans World, Hot Topic and more. Music by bands signed to Victory Records can be purchased on iTunes; a few Victory albums have also been released on the Australian iTunes and has also been known to have troubled relationships with many of their artists, including Streetlight Manifesto, Thursday,Hawthorne Heights, and A Day to Remember.
Indianola Records is an independent record label that mainly focuses on hardcore and metal. It was founded in 1999 with the release of Life Before's "Reflections on Tomorrow". The label quickly gained worldwide recognition in 2001 with the release of Evergreen Terrace's Losing All Hope Is Freedom and subsequent releases. Indianola is run by its two active owners, John Giddens and Matt Shelton.
Concept: In the song, McKinnon examines the wreckage of a broken relationship. Most of the lyrics are addressed to the anonymous ex-girlfriend; the song switches between accusations, threats, and even more apologetic lines without ever explicitly describing what went on in the relationship. It's a strongly emotional work that leaves a lot of room for the listener's imagination to fill in the blanks.
Theme: There is no central theme. The video just shows the band playing baseball as well as singing. The baseball game doesn't really have much to do with the actual meaning of the song.
Location: The video was shot in a baseball park in the Florida, USA.
Direction: The lighting used in is mainly just the natural light apart from a few seconds in the video which is then lit up by floodlights as it seems to be night time. The sort of angles that are used are mainly wide shots as it is showing the whole band and baseball team playing (and singing). Also close ups, midshots, canted and birdseye shots are frequently used. In the video, these shots help the video to seem fast paced and quick.
Editing: There is only one editing transition used in this video which is a cut. This transition really helps to make the video fast paced which goes along in time with the moving and also matches with the genre which is heavy rock/metal.
Art direction/ styling: In the video, you can notice that it just looks very natural and realistic to what you would see in normal everyday life for example, a group of people playing baseball. What the band are wearing is a T-shirt which has an A Day To Remember logo on the front and with their names printed on the back and are not wearing any makeup. The 'set' is a natural setting which is a baseball park apart from a part in the video where you see all of the bands' instruments set up like what you would see on a stage at a concert. The props used are mainly baseball equipment and posters. Usually in rock videos, you rarely see animation used and special effects because they try to make them as real as possible and this is what A Day To Remember have done in this music video.
Post production/special effects: Usually in rock videos, you rarely see animation used and special effects because they try to make them as real as possible and in this video A Day To Remember haven't added them either.
Representation: The band are representing themselves as immature and aggressive in the video. The children that are used in the video are also made to seem the same age and as we can tell it's like a baseball match between adults and children but we are not supposed to see any difference between age because of the behaviour of the band.
Target audience: The video is aimed at mainly young people from around 16-30 and this is shown through the lyrics and meaning of the song.
Male Gaze
The concept of Gaze is one that deals with how an audience views the people presented.
from a feminist perspective, you can be seen in three ways -
from a feminist perspective, you can be seen in three ways -
- How men look at women
- How women look at themselves
- How women look at other women
- In an R&B video, women are seen as sexual objects viewed by men. They can be dressed provocatiely so men are drawn to them. However, other women might see them as 'slutty' due to the way they dress and their behaviour to men in the music videos. Some women may feel happy with themselves in the way they have dressed and are behaving however other women may feel too underdressed.
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