Summer project

1) Research: music videos

You need to write a 150-word close-textual analysis of SIX music videos that will inform your production work. The music videos you analyse are up to you but focus on a different aspect of media language for each one (see guidance below).  

Music Video 1: Narrative

How is narrative used in the music video and what impact does this have on the audience? Can you apply any narrative theories to the story in the music video?

The great escape - Boys like girls

The narrative is the backbone to the music video and links heavily with the lyrics of the song, this is clearly denoted from the lyrics that imply the need to escape a small town and heavily emphasises the importance of youth and knowing what's best for oneself as seen by the main cast of the music video who leave their mundane normal lives to travel the road and go to a concert which impacts the audience as they are perceiving these people as living how they want to and creates empathy and even being relatable to a sense especially to younger audiences who may feel like they are always being told what they should do and where they should be. Furthermore Barthes enigma and action codes come into play as we can see that from the enigma being the thought of why each of these individuals leave their day to day lives after receiving a message on their phones being resolved by the action of a road trip genre type of narrative.

Music Video 2: Camerawork (shots, angles, movement)

Look for particular camera shots and movement - remember that movement is a critical convention of most music videos and camerawork can contribute to this. 

Teenagers - MCR

At the very beginning of the music video the camera shot is very clearly handheld as seen by the wobble and places the band at the centre while also making it clear that this is recorded with the clapboard to signal them to start. Moreover there is an emphasis on the cheerleaders sitting in the back with medium shots and the band members all from lower angles in contrast to the lead singer who gets very minimal attention in the beginning. There is a long shot of the stage on which the band is performing establishing the high school setting. Then there are more handheld shots and constant shots of a chained door with a lock on it being bashed, and as the main chorus starts the camera cuts back to the doors bursting open with a high angle of all the people running through. The camera continues with medium long to medium shots of the lead singer with a deliberate  low angle almost at all times except for when the camera is facing the audience of the performance where it is eye level and a medium closeup. There is also a shot from behind the lead singer that shows the audience members finally standing up and creates an almost eerie concept as after the audience sits down to the time before the chorus starts the blank expressions of the audience members could make the viewer a little uncomfortable by their expressionless faces as captured by the panning across the crowds.

Music Video 3: Mise-en-scene

What do you notice about the use of mise-en-scene to create meanings for the audience? Use CLAMPS to help you here and think in particular about how mise-en-scene is used to communicate the genre of music and the personality or brand identity of the band/artist.

I write sins not tragedies - Panic! at the disco

The music video has the actors place within what looks like an old church that is connected to another building which creates an atmosphere of something being not right and unconventional by the setting. Furthermore all the actors except the groom and bride are dressed up in quite whacky clothing with make up that resembles clowns possibly hinting to the un-seriousness or masquerade-like wedding that it actually is. Also the lighting seems to be high key with natural lighting coming through the windows which could be inferred as it being a plain old day with nothing special going on further suggesting the lack of sanctity in the marriage or ceremony. The actors themselves also start dancing around and blowing glitter into the room further implying that there is no respect for the lies that have just been revealed but could also suggest that everyone but the groom already knew that the bride had not been faithful.  

Music Video 4: Editing

For editing, analyse pace, transitions, the number of shots and juxtaposition. How does the music video create pace and excitement - or does it create a different effect for the audience?  

Shake it - Metro station

The editing within the music video starts off with a fast pace cutting between different locations and groups of people within the first five seconds of the video establishing its fast pace but also compliments the pace of the music as well. The large amount of straight cuts between the different locations can also feel overwhelming and possibly even meant to confuse the viewer as a lot is going on create excitement through sheer number of shots every few seconds. The lyrics and shots are clearly linked through the chorus being where the main amount of action can be seen through break dancing but also through the back and forth between the lead singer and the performances of the actors doing the dancing as it creates a contrast between the two. There is a deliberate decision made to keep the music non-diegetic for the viewers allowing for the music to retain its intensity while I also believe the exposure of the video has been raised to create a more striking image when they are dancing on the stage. 

Music Video 5: Conventions

Think back to our Introduction to Music Video and our work on Andrew Goodwin's theory on music video conventions as part of the Ghost Town CSP. How many key conventions of music video can you find in your fifth music video example?

Call me maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

This music video clearly demonstrates the features of Andrew Goodwin's theory on music video conventions such as the pop genre reflecting the narrative of romantic relationships suggested by the lead singers lyrics on asking for attention from the main love interest through calling her while also attempting to constantly grab his attention. Furthermore the lyrics clearly emphasise this through the lyrics 'call me maybe' and 'I missed you so bad' which clearly create the imagery of yearning for a relationship as shown in the music video itself again with the lead trying to grab his attention and get him to call her. There are also a lot of shots of Carly Rae Jepsen emphasising the demand of the record label for her to be the centre of the music video and continues to show conventions of music video through objectification of the lead herself when she cleans the car in a 'seductive' way to try and gain the main interests attention. Finally there is also intertextuality that I believe may be referencing titanic or the genre of romance after she falls unconscious. 

Music Video 6: Visual effects, intertextuality or product placement

Choose a video that has interesting visual effects or intertextuality and analyse the effect this creates and how it is constructed. Alternatively, you could look at product placement here and see how a band or artist has incorporated a brand or product into their video. 

Eminem - Houdini

The very first few seconds of the video is a reference to his older work 'without me' featuring its themes and dr dre and the very fact that the song revolves over the differences between Eminem (Marshall Mathers) and his other persona slim shady is intertextuality within itself. Intertextuality is shown shortly after this again through the visual representation of the modern day with VR but also the comic strip of people saying 'guess who's back' as it again references without Me's themes even bringing in celebrities like snoop dog and what appears to be the pope. There is also a reference to bud light a beer company. Then Eminem dresses up as robin from batman and enters a car with dr dre further showing the intertextuality and being almost a parody of his own song mentioned before. The video features a Lambo Huracan evo and the constant use of visual effects to create a comic style is used to draw in the audience to the meaning of the lyrics.

2) Planning: music video treatment

A treatment is like a script for a music video - it tells the band or artist exactly what will happen in the video and the kind of style or effect the video will have. You'll need choose what song you are going to use at this point - remember, you can use an existing artist's work but it needs to be appropriate for the brief. 

For this aspect of your summer project, write a basic treatment that gives your reader a good idea of what your three-minute video will look like. The most important thing is to keep in mind the brief - the music video must feature the artist or band (likely to be a performance element) plus a focus on footwear for the sponsorship deal specified in the brief. 

Treatment:

Green day - Wake me up when September ends - Original Artist + Song

ClueS (will abbreviate to CS for treatment) - Artist

Warm tones: Orange, yellow

2 shots, low angle, past vs present

Scene 1: The camera is on a close up of the pavement curb as 'CS' steps up revealing shoe brand. Then the camera moves anticlockwise and up to meet the face of 'CS' and cuts to a medium shot of him walking towards a bridge. Camera cuts to a side view and as 'CS' walks, the time changes and man is introduced walking alongside 'CS' towards the bridge.

Scene 2: Montage of both actors having fun in their youth, swings, running around, shopping cart riding in a parking lot, walking down a path laughing. Cut to close up of 'CS' laughing and man laughing separately with tears running down faces in slow motion. A bell can be seen ringing before the next scene.

Scene 3: Back and forth between present and past as fun continues. Return to bridge where 'CS' now back in the present will arrive to a certain point of the bridge and stop to give a fist bump to his right at which point the camera goes to the past and man is there to return the fist bump and ends with the music fading out allowing us to hear the actors with 'CS' saying "that was fun, wanna do it again sometime?" man replies "yeah, sure" and both proceed to exit off frame laughing.

3) Statement of Intent

Write the first draft for your genuine 500-word Statement of Intent. This will be submitted to the exam board alongside your media products and is worth 10 marks of the overall 60 marks available.

The original AQA brief is here: NEA Student Booklet - Brief 4.

We also strongly recommend you look at our Statement of Intent questions to consider document too (you'll need to log in with your Greenford Google account to read this). 

This is just your first draft of the statement so try and keep it under 500 words if you can. That will leave a bit of room to add later when you do your next draft.

Statement of intent draft:

For my music video I have decided to use Wake me up when September ends by Green day and have created the original artist ClueS for the brief who will be sponsored by the shoe brand converse which will be featured in my music magazine called Discordant Youth. In my music video I will use more than 2 locations with shots at the start that establish the footwear sponsorship but that also vary in shot type and movement throughout my video. My use of past vs present will allow for the creation of meaning in conjunction with editing to create a VHS style while high key and low key lighting will be used to contrast the happiness from uncomfortable reality. The genre of alternative emo rock will be used to appeal to a mainstream audience through the videos connotations of youth as it will bring nostalgia to older audiences but will also be relatable to younger viewers going through a transition from being a kid to adulthood. The brand identity will be established through the artists logo fading in and then out at the start of the video and will ultimately display the conventions of Alt/ indie rock through the narrative, simple costume and editing that matches the tempo of the music. My video will aim to appeal to audiences through personal identification with the content and intent behind the video while also aim to challenge the viewpoints in society that we all just move on and grow up after being young but that it is in fact hard on everyone. 

For the magazine I will use the front cover to promote my artist with selling lines and a main cover image that will target a mainstream music audience through colour schemes and buzz words that emphasise the relevance of alt emo rock in todays music. I will use low and high angles within my photoshoots for the magazine to create the imagery of how overwhelming it can be to go through youth and the expectations those have younger and older than you further challenging the stereotype that once you become a legal adult you are ready for the world in front of you. I will also have an interview within the magazine that promotes the music tour and album through the questions asked while also giving attention to the footwear sponsorship and its implication for growing the brands identity. The magazine will provide the gratification of diversion in exclusive content through magazine photoshoots for fans of the artist while also providing surveillance through providing information of the background, life and thoughts of the artist and how they ended up in his position of creating music. 'Fuelled by Ramen' would be the record label and the magazine would be published by wasted talent LTD as both have the features of wanting to innovate, inspire and connect with a global influential youth audience in an authentic way which supports my magazines whole premise of supporting and highlighting youth in todays society.

4) Ignite presentation

Prepare a 5-minute, 20-slide presentation using the Ignite format in which you present your coursework project. In effect, this is your statement of intent in presentation format. You must cover:

Your music video and music magazine concept: your new original artist, genre, song and music video treatment. Then, your print brief: music magazine title, double page feature, additional page, photo shoot etc.

Media language: how you will use music video conventions and music magazine conventions - e.g. camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene to create meanings for your audience. 

Media representations: how you will use or subvert stereotypes in your music video and music magazine; applications of representation theory; social and cultural contexts - how your coursework will reflect contemporary media culture and society.

Media audiences: your target audience demographics and psychographics; audience pleasures - why they would enjoy your music video and magazine; audience theory if relevant.

Media industries and digital convergence: the potential record company that would promote your band or artist; the publisher for your music magazine; the brand identity for your artist; how fans would engage with your products etc.

Your Ignite presentation will be marked out of 30 on the following criteria (each worth a possible 5 marks):

1) Research (through the presentation AND your blog - make sure it is posted before you present) 

2) Coursework concept

3) Language: terminology and theory

4) Representations / social and cultural contexts

5) Audience and Industry / digital convergence

6) Presentation delivery