Conventions of Indie Rock

Indie Rock Conventions

Digipak Conventions

Conventions of a DIGIPAK

• Front Panel - Artist name (bigger text than the title), album title, close-up of the artists face, parental advisory, capture the genre, direct appeal to the target audience.

• Back Panel - Song titles, barcode, copyright information, information about the record label, website, continuing the theme of the front cover.

• Spine - Name of artist, name of the album, record label, reference number, font/colour scheme continues the theme.

• Interior Panels - Detailed credits, lyrics, continuing the theme of the rest of the album, a message, images of the artist or setting, CD tray has image behind it, spread an image across two panels on the inside. 

The Work of a Director - Mark Romanek

Mark Romanek

Star Image - Miley Cyrus

Star Image - Miley Cyrus

Andrew Goodwin uses the term ‘Star Image’ and refers to the ‘image’ an artist will portray themselves as in order to appeal to their target audience.  Goodwin stated ‘the creation of character identities for stars provides a point of identification for the audience, which is especially important when lyrics lack depth.’ This highlights the way in which an artist is represented as being crucial. Furthermore, the star image is the best way for an artist to reinforce their new persona, which is often shown through close ups in their videos. Miley Cyrus is a perfect example of how an artists star image can be radicalised over time and the impact their star image can have on their success. I have divided Miley’s star images into three categories:

Sweet and innocent Miley:

In this video which was released in 2008 whilst Miley was starring in Disney Channel's Hannah Montana, we can see that she is presented as being a better role model to her TV audience. The clothing she wears is a unique style however, it is suitable for the children who idolise her. Therefore, she has to appear to be a sweet young girl so that parents will be happy for their children to be watching her programmes. 
Dancing Miley:



'Party In The USA' was released in 2009 and this is where Miley started to relax and find herself. Her video now included more provocative dancing in comparison to '7 Things' and she now has more dancing girls who are dressed in a more revealing way as is she. It was soon after this that Miley stopped filming Hannah Montana and therefore she didn't feel as though she had to be someone her audience wants her to be. 

Sexual Miley:

My final comparison is this video which was released in 2013. In this video, we can see a drastic difference in her clothing which has turned into not wearing very much as well as her provocative dancing which we can see in this picture where she's on all fours and sticking out her bottom to show her sexual attitude. 

As we can see, there has been a huge change in Miley Cyrus' star image in just 5 years of fame. She has now become more sexual and  provocative which is definitely inappropriate for young children. As Goodwin said that an artist will portray themselves in a way that will appeal to their target audience. In this case, Miley was young herself in 2008 and therefore her target audience was people her age who watched her programme. Recently, her image changed as her target audience changed due to her growing up and maturing as a person. She has developed her image and made herself appeal to people more of her age group now. 

Star Image - Britney Spears

Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears was born December 2, 1981. She is an American recording artist and entertainer. 

She has worked in many genres such as dance-pop, electropop and pop. 

This is Britney Spears when she was a young girl. We can see her sweet and innocent image has substantially changed as Britney developed into a teenager. As her fame progressed from her hit single 'Hit me baby one more time' Britney began to realise what she should do to attract a wider audience. This led to her changing her style from a young innocent girl trying to make it in the music industry to a seductive young woman looking to attract a different audience and make more album sales. 

 Britney's costumes had a rapid change as she began to wear more revealing outfits which show off half of her body in order to catch the eye of the male audience. The images released of her in her underwear also gathered a wider audience as men are the targets of her videos as she's matured because she clearly finds it easy to act in a sexual and provocative manner on camera. It appears to come naturally to Britney as she has been doing it for many years now.

As Britney Spears had her children, her image changed again to a more motherly figure otherwise she would have made a bad reputation for herself and would have lost her female audience. Over the last few years Britney Spears went in and out of rehab as she dabbled in drugs after having had such a successful career. The fame and money meant she could have anything she wanted which is why she was not really happy. This led to her shaving all her hair off which was a complete change and also made her lose a lot of her audience as she was being judged for her behaviour. 

Some examples of Britney Spears' music videos are:

In this video we can see Britney with her in pony tails to exemplify her innocence and her age. There is also the image of her dancing more sexually and she has her stomach on show which could be seen as her trying to be like other female artists which very popular in order to be a success herself. She is shown to be performing in her video and there are many close-ups of the artist throughout the video to draw attention to her and make the record company sell more albums as the audience will have a stronger connection to Britney through these close-ups. The setting being in a school highlights her age, as well as the school uniform. Britney Spears has developed as an artist since her first video to now because of the audience she is trying to appeal to. She turned into a more sexual artist through changing her style of clothing, hair and puts a lot more makeup on now. 

The Possible 'Female Gaze'

Is There a Female Gaze?

The ‘male gaze’ is obvious in many different types of music videos. It is now so common that it is almost an expected feature. In my previous post I mentioned and analysed the features of the male gaze, however, I am now considering whether or not there is also a female gaze as a contradiction to the male gaze. Women are constantly being the object of voyeurism in music videos, however it appears that they are not the only ones. Men are being used in music videos to support the new concept of the ‘female gaze’. An example of how the male gaze exists within music videos is in the video 'Stupid Love' by Jason Derulo. 

The way in which the female character is laughing at what Jason is saying signifies her enamour of him. She is clearly happy just being round him and this attraction which is made very obvious with the way the camera is angled to show her reaction to him, allows the target audience to feel like they want a relationship like that with a man. 

Similarly, in this image, we can see her pose is implying how engrossed she is in what he is singing to her. She feels lost in what he's saying. It's as if she's in her own bubble with him and her gazing at him is used to show the affection she wants to show him. The fact he is looking away shows her releasing her emotions without him knowing. 

This pose highlights his strength which could be interpreted as something women want in a man. Therefore, it would attract the female audience to watch the video just for the images of the artist as women want a strong man to love and protect them and make them feel safe. 

The image of Jason Derulo being shown topless in this scene emphasises the female gaze as the director was aware the target audience would be engaged whilst watching this part of the video as he is seen as exposing himself in order to appeal to the women watching. 

The male is the subject of the female gaze and although he is presented sexually, it's in an intimate and affectionate way. This symbolises how women see men as more then just sexual objects which is expressed through the female gaze.

The 'Male Gaze' Theory - Laura Mulvey

The Male Gaze

The term 'Male Gaze' was constructed by Laura Mulvey, a British feminist film theorist in 1975. She believes that film audiences are forced to 'view' characters from the perspective of a heterosexual male. This makes women appear as objects to men.

Some of the key features of the male gaze include the camera lingering on the curves of the female body or when the female body is being sexualised even when it is irrelevant to what is going on in the scene or advertisement.   

Some examples of videos which use the Male Gaze are:

In this video we can see Megan Fox being objectified by her clothing being quite revealing which will appeal to heterosexual males as well as the position she is put in, as the male character is seen to like her. The camera shots here emphasise that the audience should be focusing on her body when there are shots showing her body from her legs to her face. The way as she walks away he is looking at her, this puts the audience in the position of the male character so everyone is forced to look at her. 

 Another example of a video which uses the Male Gaze is:

This video also objectifies women as Nicki Minaj is shown in her bikini which highlights the Male Gaze because me are being forced to look at the women in a sexual manner. The close ups of the women's bodies are the main focus throughout the video, therefore this supports Laura Mulvey's theory.

These images show Nicki Minaj as being confident with her body by the poses she does in order to make herself stand out and emphasises the Male Gaze however, she is creating a certain image for herself which will make females not attracted to her even though the intention is to draw in the male audience.

The long shot of the women all standing together with hardly any clothes on highlights their intentions to the audience as they are performing extremely confidently and looking at the camera shows their expression towards what they are doing. The stretching of their legs here is another sexual image which will reel in the heterosexual males.

This image of Nicki Minaj standing by herself in her bikini allows the audience to engage with her and feel like they can look at her body as she is exposing herself freely. The extra women in the background are also exposing themselves but not to the same degree and their sexual poses emphasises the nature of the video and its purpose. 

Carol Vernallis' Theory

Vernallis' Theory

Vernallis' theory centres around 4 key concepts whcih all relate to the construction of a music video. 

Narrative:

Vernallis says that the video is a visual response to the music. She also believes there may not always be a clear resolution at the end. Another opinion of hers is that the structure of the video may appear disjointed. 

Editing:

She thinks that the editing may match the musical phrases or the beat, also she says that the video may break the rules of continuity editing. This could be used with jump cuts, breaks of the 180 degree rule and extreme changes in pace. 

Camera Movement and framing:

Vernallis believes that extreme shots are very common as well as close-ups and establishing shots as they show the different extremes of the video. The camera may move on the lyrics or move in time with the music. 

Diegesis:

The diegesis may be revealed quite slowly and actions are not necessarily completed. Vernallis says that there may be gaps in the audiences understanding of the diegesis and there may be many repetitions. 

Collage of CD Covers/Digi Packs

Genres of Music Videos

Video Genres

Gag Videos:

A gag video relies on visual tricks and effects. They can be shot live, also known as executing the visual effects "in camera" such as using dolls that look like the band for the performance rather than the band itself, or using special prosthetics to visually alter the artist or lead actor in the videos. The visual tricks can be post production effects, such as giving the artist an unrealistically long tongue, or setting the video in a location impossible to real life, such as outer space. 

Performance Videos:

Performance videos feature the artist or band performing and often take place in various locations with the performers wearing something different in each shot. 

Concept Videos:

Concept videos have neither the artist nor band performing, or many times appearing in the videos. These videos portray only stories or images, never performances. 

Narrative Videos:

Narrative videos are story videos with a clear beginning, middle and end, which is intercut with footage of the artist or band performing. The artist may or may not be the a character in the story. 

Dance Videos:

A dance video features choreographed dancing. 

Animated Videos:

An animated video features animated images which the artist or band may or may not be depicted. 

A Party or Club Video:

A party or club video features scenes that take place in a dance club or at a party. 

A Film-Clip Video:

A film-clip video is used when a song is features in a movie soundtrack. The video will contain clips from the film that are intercut with the music video.

Conventions of a Music Video

Conventions

Camera Movement: (Illusion of speed)

• Pans
• Handheld
• Whip pan
• Crane shots
• Tilts
• Tracking
• Circling
• Fast 

Editing:

• Fades
• Jump cuts
• Wipes
• Dissolves
• Narrative continuity is avoided
• Cut to the beat
• Fast pace/montage editing

Camera Shots:

• Close ups of the artists face 
• Extreme close ups of mouth and eyes
• Close ups of instruments
• Mid shots of singers
• Long shots of whole group

Mise-en-scene: Overall concept/colour scheme

• Unusual costumes (colourful)
• Unusual props 
• Cars
• Hair
• Expressive lighting
• Multiple locations - linked to the genre

Sound:

• Song is usually foregrounded but not always
• Occasional diegetic sound

Other:

• Voyeurism 
• Incongruous elements 
• Iconography
• Intertextuality
• Climbing in and out of the screen

Special Effects

Types of Videos

1. Narrative 
2. Performance
3. Concept

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

I found a couple of slideshares online which really identify the key features of his theory.

Andrew Goodwin has identified a number of key features which distinguish the music video as a form:
- There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
- There is a relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
- Genres are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography
- Record companies will demand a lot of close-ups of the main artist or vocalist. Videos allow artists to present and modify their 'Star Image' to the public.
- Voyeurism is present in many music videos, especially in the treatment of females, but also in terms of systems of looking. Some examples are screens within screens, cameras, mirrors, etc.
- There are likely to be intertextual references, either to other music videos or to films and TV texts; these provide further gratification and pleasure for the viewers/fans.

Andrew Goodwin uses the term ‘Star Image’ and refers to the ‘image’ an artist will portray themselves as in order to appeal to their target audience.  Goodwin stated ‘the creation of character identities for stars provides a point of identification for the audience, which is especially important when lyrics lack depth.’ This highlights the way in which an artist is represented as being crucial. Furthermore, the star image is the best way for an artist to reinforce their new persona, which is often shown through close ups in their videos. Miley Cyrus is a perfect example of how an artists star image can be radicalised over time and the impact their star image can have on their success. I have divided Miley’s star images into three categories:

Sweet and innocent Miley:

In this video which was released in 2008 whilst Miley was starring in Disney Channel's Hannah Montana, we can see that she is presented as being a better role model to her TV audience. The clothing she wears is a unique style however, it is suitable for the children who idolise her. Therefore, she has to appear to be a sweet young girl so that parents will be happy for their children to be watching her programmes. 
Dancing Miley:



'Party In The USA' was released in 2009 and this is where Miley started to relax and find herself. Her video now included more provocative dancing in comparison to '7 Things' and she now has more dancing girls who are dressed in a more revealing way as is she. It was soon after this that Miley stopped filming Hannah Montana and therefore she didn't feel as though she had to be someone her audience wants her to be. 

Sexual Miley:

My final comparison is this video which was released in 2013. In this video, we can see a drastic difference in her clothing which has turned into not wearing very much as well as her provocative dancing which we can see in this picture where she's on all fours and sticking out her bottom to show her sexual attitude. 

As we can see, there has been a huge change in Miley Cyrus' star image in just 5 years of fame. She has now become more sexual and  provocative which is definitely inappropriate for young children. As Goodwin said that an artist will portray themselves in a way that will appeal to their target audience. In this case, Miley was young herself in 2008 and therefore her target audience was people her age who watched her programme. Recently, her image changed as her target audience changed due to her growing up and maturing as a person. She has developed her image and made herself appeal to people more of her age group now. 

Previous A2 Music Videos

Previous A2 Music Videos - Analysis

To start off the course, I thought I would watch and analyse some of the music videos from last years students in order to develop my own ideas for my music video. Also, this will help me to understand what is expected of me this year.

I started by looking at this video:

I like this video because it really connects with the audience because of the relationship presented through the narrative which is built through the lighting and mise-en-scene. I think the use of close-ups really helps to develop the narrative and makes the audience more engaged.

This example highlights the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as a lot of what is said matches the image on screen. For example, 'These eyes that I'm staring at' then the image is off her eyes. This is repeated throughout the video which supports Goodwin's theory of lyrics matching visuals.

There is good use of lighting in this video to emphasise the emotion between the characters as well as the change in background when the main male character is singing on his own. I also really liked the slow motion images to make it fit in well with the lyrics as well as the special effects which give a hazy effect to link in with the drugs we see on the table. I think this was a really well put together video however, it could be considered slightly too literal to the lyrics. I prefer videos to be left slightly to my imagination.

The next Music Video I looked at from a previous student was this:

I thought this video was extremely well put together. I loved the change in speed to create an unsettling mood which worked really well with the colours in the miss-en-scene too. The reds and blacks help build the narrative as they are generally seen as quite dark or devilish colours.

There is a repeated close-up of the main characters lips which also matches in with the colour red. This shows the lip sync is well done and also, there is a slight relationship between the lyrics and the visuals when it said 'Go back and tie it' then it showed the hands being tied up. I thought the reversal of that was really neat and cleverly done as it rewinds the footage.

The lighting is generally quite dark too which also reflects on the narrative however, there is a light shining at certain parts when there is a white piece of clothing being flown around the woman which creates a kind of silhouette which is really effective and keeps the audience enticed throughout. This creates the image of the main character being watched because of the perspective we are looking at her from. It looks as if she's on a stage but I really like the effect this gives.

I then watched this video: http://player.vimeo.com/video/47925628?byline=0&portrait=0

This talks about how over the years music videos have become a lot less important to many people and therefore, not as much money is being spent on making them because they are so easily made now with modern technology. I think that although this is true, somehow professionally made Music Videos always appear a lot better. They seem to have better narratives, better lighting and are able to produce it to a high standard and of good quality, Homemade Music Videos can also produce good quality ones however, you can still see the difference between the two in my eyes.
Making these Videos requires a lot of money for it to look decent but people only have small budgets.  I think it's great that young people can make their own videos and practice if they are aspiring directors as it's a great starting point. It is extremely difficult to create a high standard video with such a low budget whilst still be creative enough to engage an audience.