Here is a list of the key words and definitions of media that I have learnt so far in the course.
Denotation: What is literally in the picture.
Connotation: different interpretations associaed with the picture.
Position Signs: Camera's position in relation to the audience.
Dress Codes: Meanings conveyed through clothing choices.
Vocabulary: Choice of words.
Composition: How content is planned and placed.
Sight Lines: Where they are looking and why?
Symbols: A picture with a meaning beyond the literal, e.g flag shows patriotism.
Font: Size and appearence of lettering.
Metaphor: A verbal image, ,aking an association with the object and something else, to deepen perception of the object.
Framing: What's included/ excluded to balance the shot.
Archetypes: Typical versions of a sort of person.
Cropping: Cutting of sides to strenghten framing.
Pun: Plays on multiple meaning of words.
Design: Overall artwork and graphics, album covers are highly designed.
Lighting: High/Low key and High/Low contrast.
Layout: Appearence of page, positions of text/images.
Colours: Why they are being used.
Phonemes: Deliberate misspelling
Treatment signs: Detail of image (Camera, Editing, Mise-en-scene and Sound) and why it's significant.
Indexes: An image that communicates a meaning with a causual link, e.g sweat ishows heat.
Sex Appeal: To whom and why?
Content Signs: Mise-en-scene and its significants.
Exhibitionism: The artist wanting the audience to look at them.
Voyeurism: The artist is not 'always aware' of being looked at.
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Analysis of a Digipack
What is a Digipack?
A digipack is the physical copy of the album, which includes the front cover, the disc cover, the inlay, the spine, the back cover, the legal jargon and occasionally a booklet of some sort. A lot of digipacks include extras, normally a bonus track or a video of the main song in the album. Some have behind the scene footage, freebies and messages from the artist
How can a Digipack Complement the Video?
Complement: To go together well.
A lot of digipacks are used to complement the video of the main song in the album. In a lot of cases the digipack cover uses the same mise-en-scene as the video, which immediately means the audience associate the videos with the cover. Some digipacks use bonus DVDs to to show how the video is made to complement the video. Normally if the video has a lot of graphics then the digipack will try to use the same fonts and colours. A few digipacks have a booklet where they include some of the songs' lyrics and they also show the names of the creators of the video.
Here is the legal jargon on the back cover of Tuface Idabia- The Unstoppable. This is a common sight on the back cover of a digipack.
Below is the back cover of eminem's album Relapse. A syou can see, there are 'bonus tracks' when you buy the digipack.
A digipack is the physical copy of the album, which includes the front cover, the disc cover, the inlay, the spine, the back cover, the legal jargon and occasionally a booklet of some sort. A lot of digipacks include extras, normally a bonus track or a video of the main song in the album. Some have behind the scene footage, freebies and messages from the artist
How can a Digipack Complement the Video?
Complement: To go together well.
A lot of digipacks are used to complement the video of the main song in the album. In a lot of cases the digipack cover uses the same mise-en-scene as the video, which immediately means the audience associate the videos with the cover. Some digipacks use bonus DVDs to to show how the video is made to complement the video. Normally if the video has a lot of graphics then the digipack will try to use the same fonts and colours. A few digipacks have a booklet where they include some of the songs' lyrics and they also show the names of the creators of the video.
Here is the legal jargon on the back cover of Tuface Idabia- The Unstoppable. This is a common sight on the back cover of a digipack.
Below is the back cover of eminem's album Relapse. A syou can see, there are 'bonus tracks' when you buy the digipack.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Investigation Questions
We asked fans of accoustic/ indie music some questions to find out what it is that attracts the audience to this genre.
Joshua Rading
Joseph Arthur
Obadiah Parker
With the first question we asked them, who are your favourite artists? Below are the most common results:
Ed Sheeran
Frank Turner
Razorlight
Kasabian
RadioheadFrank Turner
Razorlight
Kasabian
Joshua Rading
Joseph Arthur
Obadiah Parker
What do you expect to see in an acoustic/indie video ?
They expect to see a sad, long haired young man. They also enjoy simple scenes
What is your favourite music video of this genre ?
Verve- Bittersweet symphony
Radiohead - Street spirit
Ed Sheeran - A team
Frank Turner - Queens
Radiohead - Street spirit
Ed Sheeran - A team
Frank Turner - Queens
Dead
Would you expect to see a performance or narrative or both ?
Narrative, Both
What sort of location would you expect it to be filmed in ?
City, Forest
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
The Making of a Music Video
There are any steps involved in the creation of a music video. We will be following them when creating our own for our A2 Coursework. Below are the typical steps used when creating a music video.
Step 1
The song has been recorded and the music video is ready to be made.
Step 2
Now the director needs to be chosen to direct the video.
Step 3
The production's budget needs to be decided, along with deadlines.
Step 4
Now the storyboard needs to be developed and the locations chosen.
Step 5
Staff and cast a selected and employed for the all roles in production and filming etc.
Step 6
Sets are set up on location and ready to be filmed on.
Step 7
Filming commences.
Step 8
Editing begins. The scenes are put together, the editors need to consider cutting rate, transitons and shots for this part of production.
Step 9
Finishing touches are made to the editing process, a distributer is assigned and the music video is ready to go out on TV and to be viewed online.
Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Finishing touches are made to the editing process, a distributer is assigned and the music video is ready to go out on TV and to be viewed online.
Monday, 19 September 2011
Research on the Indie/Acoustic Genre
Frank Turner.
We have picked a song that is written and played by our friend Miles. It is acoustic indie so we are now starting to looking into artist that are similar to his nature. Frank Turner aged 29 and from Meonstoke Winchester he's one of the most recognised acoustic artists around, he originally started out playing in the band Million Dead until the band split in 2005 and all the member went there separate ways.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mQMVHhxTtLc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is Frank Turner - Photosynthesis it is him playing at a school and playing in a dark room but the main story is him playing in front of kids and then letting them have a little go to help him make a music video. The lyrics link in well with the video as its all about growing up and the story within the video is school kids learning and playing with instruments. The chorus in the song is 'I wont sit down, I wont shut up, most of all i wont grow up' which represents kids very well as they don't stop moving and making noises so the lyrics relate with the video. Towards the end of the song the is a verse 'I'll play, you sing, the prefect way for the evening to begin' in the video he gets all the kids sat down or stood up in a photo picture and as he plays they sing which also is a brilliant relation between the lyrics and the video.
Camera work within the video there are a lot of long shots to show everything that is going on as lots of the school kids are included. There are lots of close up on Franks, the children's faces and the instruments these close ups are done on the children's faces to show how sweet they are as the song is a very happy sing along song. The close ups on the instruments to show the variety of things the children get to play around with and finally the close ups on Franks faces are done to show him singing the song and having a good time. There are other shots but mainly long shots and close ups.
The cuts are very soft and quite slow as they need to match the pace of the song which is quite up tempo for an acoustic songs but its not over the top it has some slow parts in but to gain audience appeal to this sort of song as its quite a jolly song they need to have the cuts quite soft and not rushed.
So for our video we need to make sure our cuts are not to quick and if we can relate the lyrics to the video as well as Frank has done here I believe our video will be very successful.
Explain the methods you used to attract your audience in your AS coursework.
With our AS coursework we were required to make a small 2 minute introduction to a thriller film. To do this we had to attract the audience through the use of camera, sound, editing and mise-en-scene techniques.
First of all, looking at the mise-en-scene of the clip (anything that can be seen in each shot) we had to have a particular theme that our target audience would find interesting. We had three scenes in the clip and all of which needed quite different props to work. For example, with the scene of the boy in the room we needed to make him look vulnerable, young and alone. To do this we used props like his plain white clothes and a small bedroom to show that he wasn’t living a life of luxury. Also, another technique, the actor was looking vulnerably out of the open window which create the impression of him being bored and alone.
In another scene, this time of the two men walking, we wanted them to seem the total opposite; dominant and important. To do this we used props like black suits and a briefcase to imply that they were important people. Also with these men, we thought it would be a good idea to have them walking to show that they were going somewhere important.
Also, with mise-en-scene we tried to make the other man in our shot, who’s sitting in the back of a van, look like a rogue agent with his shirt top button undone. This is a common theme in this sort of film, for example in James Bond, when he’s on his missions he sometimes wears clothes in that sort of style. Furthermore, we thought that it would be important for him to have a laptop so that the audience could see that he was an agent as he had high tech gadgets.
Looking at another technique of mise-en-scene, we found that the contrast of lighting in two of the scenes, the man sitting down and the boy in the room, was a significant way in highlighting the fact that one was innocent and the other was more mysterious. Darkness is a common theme in thriller films and it helps the audience fell like something bad is happening. In this scene it helps to show that the man is hiding or on the run, a typical incident in thriller films.
Through camera, we realised through looking at other thriller film openings that the shot composition plays an important role in maintaining the mystery that thriller films often have. We tried to use shot composition in our thriller, in the scene where the men in suits are walking, by making sure their heads weren not in the shot which helped maintain the mystery. We also found that this was a good idea because these characters personality and recognisably were not important, as we wanted them to look like they had no character and they were just doing the job in hand.
When we were researching common camera techniques used in thriller films we noticed that it was a common them to use close-ups to show the important objects in the film, that links the whole mystery together. For example, we had close-ups on the two men’s tattoos and also the symbol on the piece of paper. They were all the same symbols and we decided to use this so that the audience would be interested in this symbol.
When looking at editing techniques that are often used in thriller films, we found that in the kind of circumstance that we wanted to portray, a fast cutting rate with fading transitions in and out of the credits were important to keep up the speed of the clip.
We also used a fading transaction combined with a sound bridge at the end of the clip which was combined with dialogue to create a cliffhanger, leaving the audience wanting to know what the agent is talking about when saying ‘go on my mark...... go’. We found that this increased the intensity of the mystery and found that having ambient sounds in the background helped lead to the climax of the opening.
We had a backing track playing throughout the clip and we choose to have one that had a fast beat to maintain the speed of our transactions and the cutting rate. We found it was important because it create a sense of a chase and as if something important was happening.
First of all, looking at the mise-en-scene of the clip (anything that can be seen in each shot) we had to have a particular theme that our target audience would find interesting. We had three scenes in the clip and all of which needed quite different props to work. For example, with the scene of the boy in the room we needed to make him look vulnerable, young and alone. To do this we used props like his plain white clothes and a small bedroom to show that he wasn’t living a life of luxury. Also, another technique, the actor was looking vulnerably out of the open window which create the impression of him being bored and alone.
In another scene, this time of the two men walking, we wanted them to seem the total opposite; dominant and important. To do this we used props like black suits and a briefcase to imply that they were important people. Also with these men, we thought it would be a good idea to have them walking to show that they were going somewhere important.
Also, with mise-en-scene we tried to make the other man in our shot, who’s sitting in the back of a van, look like a rogue agent with his shirt top button undone. This is a common theme in this sort of film, for example in James Bond, when he’s on his missions he sometimes wears clothes in that sort of style. Furthermore, we thought that it would be important for him to have a laptop so that the audience could see that he was an agent as he had high tech gadgets.
Looking at another technique of mise-en-scene, we found that the contrast of lighting in two of the scenes, the man sitting down and the boy in the room, was a significant way in highlighting the fact that one was innocent and the other was more mysterious. Darkness is a common theme in thriller films and it helps the audience fell like something bad is happening. In this scene it helps to show that the man is hiding or on the run, a typical incident in thriller films.
Through camera, we realised through looking at other thriller film openings that the shot composition plays an important role in maintaining the mystery that thriller films often have. We tried to use shot composition in our thriller, in the scene where the men in suits are walking, by making sure their heads weren not in the shot which helped maintain the mystery. We also found that this was a good idea because these characters personality and recognisably were not important, as we wanted them to look like they had no character and they were just doing the job in hand.
When we were researching common camera techniques used in thriller films we noticed that it was a common them to use close-ups to show the important objects in the film, that links the whole mystery together. For example, we had close-ups on the two men’s tattoos and also the symbol on the piece of paper. They were all the same symbols and we decided to use this so that the audience would be interested in this symbol.
When looking at editing techniques that are often used in thriller films, we found that in the kind of circumstance that we wanted to portray, a fast cutting rate with fading transitions in and out of the credits were important to keep up the speed of the clip.
We also used a fading transaction combined with a sound bridge at the end of the clip which was combined with dialogue to create a cliffhanger, leaving the audience wanting to know what the agent is talking about when saying ‘go on my mark...... go’. We found that this increased the intensity of the mystery and found that having ambient sounds in the background helped lead to the climax of the opening.
We had a backing track playing throughout the clip and we choose to have one that had a fast beat to maintain the speed of our transactions and the cutting rate. We found it was important because it create a sense of a chase and as if something important was happening.
Music Video Theory Research
Explain clearly what a digipack is
A Digipack is a physical product which includes: A front cover, back cover, cd, inlay there is also extras included in a digipack this helps the audience get more intouch with the artist for example An extra DVD that includes a interview with the artist and also live performances there could also be a booklet that gives more information on the artist.
Give an example of how intertextuality could be used in the marketing of your digipack
An example of intertextuality we could use in marketing our video is that our artist could use Facebook or Blackberry Messenger on his phone during the video. The audience we are targetting is in the 16-25 age bracket which means they are interested in technology.
Give an example of how intertextuality could be used in the marketing of your video
An example of intertextuality we could use in our digipack is the blackberry barcode, a large percentage of our tragte market have blackberry phones, this also attracts our target audience as they can scan the barcode using their phones and instantaneously get extra information about the artist.
What did Goodwin say were the 3 possible relationships between lyrics and visuals in a music video ?
Goodwin states that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals these include:
Illustrating, Contradicting and Amplifying.
Give an example of how you could develop star image for your artist using star iconography
Our genre is the Indie-Acoustic genre a icon of the genre is a acoustic guitar therefore we will feature a acoustic guitar in our video as the audience expects to see this icon in our video as this is what they are used to.
What demands does the record company make on the video and why ?
The record company wants the music and genre to be categoriseable, they do not want to offend the target audience, they also want the artist to stay in the same category i.e if the artist appeals to a female audience don't give away that the artist is married or in a relationship.
What usually features in a video in addition to narrative and why ?
Features in the video that are usually usedin addition to narrative are: The performance, there are also complex fragments in a non-linear order this leaves the audience wanting to see more of the artist.
How could you use the elements of 6 and 7 in your digipack and how would it complement the video ?
6 - The artist needs to stay within the genre to maintain target audience.
7 - we need to keep the audience captivated the target audience needs to enjoy watching the video.
What 'extras' could be in the digipack in addition to video and music tracks ?
Extras we could use in the digipack are: Blackberry barcode as this links to our target audience. We could also include a mini biography so the audience gets to know the artist more.We can also include behind the scenes of the video and the artist on tour. An additional video on how the music video was made can also be included to captivate the audience.
A Digipack is a physical product which includes: A front cover, back cover, cd, inlay there is also extras included in a digipack this helps the audience get more intouch with the artist for example An extra DVD that includes a interview with the artist and also live performances there could also be a booklet that gives more information on the artist.
Give an example of how intertextuality could be used in the marketing of your digipack
An example of intertextuality we could use in marketing our video is that our artist could use Facebook or Blackberry Messenger on his phone during the video. The audience we are targetting is in the 16-25 age bracket which means they are interested in technology.
Give an example of how intertextuality could be used in the marketing of your video
An example of intertextuality we could use in our digipack is the blackberry barcode, a large percentage of our tragte market have blackberry phones, this also attracts our target audience as they can scan the barcode using their phones and instantaneously get extra information about the artist.
What did Goodwin say were the 3 possible relationships between lyrics and visuals in a music video ?
Goodwin states that there is a relationship between lyrics and visuals these include:
Illustrating, Contradicting and Amplifying.
Give an example of how you could develop star image for your artist using star iconography
Our genre is the Indie-Acoustic genre a icon of the genre is a acoustic guitar therefore we will feature a acoustic guitar in our video as the audience expects to see this icon in our video as this is what they are used to.
What demands does the record company make on the video and why ?
The record company wants the music and genre to be categoriseable, they do not want to offend the target audience, they also want the artist to stay in the same category i.e if the artist appeals to a female audience don't give away that the artist is married or in a relationship.
What usually features in a video in addition to narrative and why ?
Features in the video that are usually usedin addition to narrative are: The performance, there are also complex fragments in a non-linear order this leaves the audience wanting to see more of the artist.
How could you use the elements of 6 and 7 in your digipack and how would it complement the video ?
6 - The artist needs to stay within the genre to maintain target audience.
7 - we need to keep the audience captivated the target audience needs to enjoy watching the video.
What 'extras' could be in the digipack in addition to video and music tracks ?
Extras we could use in the digipack are: Blackberry barcode as this links to our target audience. We could also include a mini biography so the audience gets to know the artist more.We can also include behind the scenes of the video and the artist on tour. An additional video on how the music video was made can also be included to captivate the audience.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Prezzi For Camera Conventions In Music Videos
Camera Conventions on Prezi
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Thursday, 15 September 2011
Key Words
In recent lessons we have been looking at the key words tat will be used throughout the year. Here I will look at an album cover and find examples and use all of the key words we have been looking at.
Position Signs: Where the camera's positioned in relation to subject and viewer. In this example the camera is head on looking at the artist and showing nearly his whole body which enables the viewer to see the artist and the urban city background.
Dress Code: Meanings conveyed through clothing options. The artist here is wearing some typical urban styled clothing and by doing this the audience will consider him to have an urban style of music.
Pun: Playing on multiple meanings of words. In this image the titttle of the album is 'Wretchrospective' which is a play on the word 'retrospective' and the artist's name.
Icon: Resemblance an image has to something. On this album cover the christian cross on his chain is an icon of christianity. This is used because it is a typical symbol of 'gangsters'.
Design: The overall artwork and use of graphics. In this image there is a lot of artwork in the background of a city and a bird and it's all in a grafiti style. This enforces his urban roots and the bird makes him seem a bit more wild.
Sight Lines: Where they are looking and why. He is looking away from the camera almost in a defensive way as if he doesn't want to make eye contact, which is common in this style of music.
Symbols: A picture with a meaning beyond the obvious. In this case a I would say that the cross is a symbol of him being from the 'streets'.
Layout: Appearence of page including the positioning of texts and images. In this example the artist is very much the centre of attention with the titttle being the centre of attention as it's a phoneme. His name is
Position Signs: Where the camera's positioned in relation to subject and viewer. In this example the camera is head on looking at the artist and showing nearly his whole body which enables the viewer to see the artist and the urban city background.
Dress Code: Meanings conveyed through clothing options. The artist here is wearing some typical urban styled clothing and by doing this the audience will consider him to have an urban style of music.
Pun: Playing on multiple meanings of words. In this image the titttle of the album is 'Wretchrospective' which is a play on the word 'retrospective' and the artist's name.
Icon: Resemblance an image has to something. On this album cover the christian cross on his chain is an icon of christianity. This is used because it is a typical symbol of 'gangsters'.
Design: The overall artwork and use of graphics. In this image there is a lot of artwork in the background of a city and a bird and it's all in a grafiti style. This enforces his urban roots and the bird makes him seem a bit more wild.
Sight Lines: Where they are looking and why. He is looking away from the camera almost in a defensive way as if he doesn't want to make eye contact, which is common in this style of music.
Symbols: A picture with a meaning beyond the obvious. In this case a I would say that the cross is a symbol of him being from the 'streets'.
Layout: Appearence of page including the positioning of texts and images. In this example the artist is very much the centre of attention with the titttle being the centre of attention as it's a phoneme. His name is
Monday, 12 September 2011
Research and Understanding- Three Music Artists
Artists- Lil Wayne, The Pussycat Dolls and James Blunt
I have chosen to look at these three artists because they each have different styles and work in different genres. Lil Wayne focuses on Hip Hop and Gansta Rap, whereas the Pussycat Dolls are more Pop, R&B and Dance Pop, and James Blunt is classed as Folk-rock/Soft Rock and has more of an acoustic vibe.
How is Lil Wayne Represented?
In Lil Wayne's video John Lil Wayne uses as many typical Hip Hop values and stereotypes as he can. Throughout the video you can constantly see that his whole body is covered in tattoos and that he has piercings and tattoos on his face too. These show that he is being represented as a 'gangsta' as a lot of criminals that have been to prison have tattoos and that is what he's showing.
We also see him wearing a huge diamond chain around his neck with an NY symbol which is commonly linked with rappers and other artists in this genre. He wears a baseball cap too, which is an item of clothing that most urban artists wear. He wears a headband that says the word 'Chaos' which instinctively makes the audience think of him as a destructive person. He also has golden teeth which shows wealth, which is a common link to all other artists in this genre.
Th lyrics in this song are very explicit and he uses words that are used a lot in Rap and Hip Hop like 'motherfucker' and 'nigga'. He also refers to guns in this son, speaking of them as if he uses them all of the time, which is another common theme in this genre. A lot of rappers are religious and Lil Wayne displays this theme too when he does the symbol with his hands for praying.
Looking at the mise-en-scen of this video you can see that the rooms are all dark and smokey which suggest that he has a dark personality. If everything was bright and pink the whole persona of him being a 'gangsta' would have been lost. Also, there are lots of close-up shots on females that aren't wearing much clothes and what they are wearing have lots of little metal spikes which are associated with sex.
Also, throughout the video Lil Wayne is the only person in the shot and he is the centre of attention, emphasized by a spotlight pointing directly on him.
There are lots of thing on the floor and falling from the ceiling which are a sign of destruction throughout the video, which imply that Lil Wayne has destroyed it and destruction is a theme that again creates the image of him being a bad person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fumBcKC6RE&ob=av2e
I have chosen to look at these three artists because they each have different styles and work in different genres. Lil Wayne focuses on Hip Hop and Gansta Rap, whereas the Pussycat Dolls are more Pop, R&B and Dance Pop, and James Blunt is classed as Folk-rock/Soft Rock and has more of an acoustic vibe.
How is Lil Wayne Represented?
In Lil Wayne's video John Lil Wayne uses as many typical Hip Hop values and stereotypes as he can. Throughout the video you can constantly see that his whole body is covered in tattoos and that he has piercings and tattoos on his face too. These show that he is being represented as a 'gangsta' as a lot of criminals that have been to prison have tattoos and that is what he's showing.
We also see him wearing a huge diamond chain around his neck with an NY symbol which is commonly linked with rappers and other artists in this genre. He wears a baseball cap too, which is an item of clothing that most urban artists wear. He wears a headband that says the word 'Chaos' which instinctively makes the audience think of him as a destructive person. He also has golden teeth which shows wealth, which is a common link to all other artists in this genre.
Th lyrics in this song are very explicit and he uses words that are used a lot in Rap and Hip Hop like 'motherfucker' and 'nigga'. He also refers to guns in this son, speaking of them as if he uses them all of the time, which is another common theme in this genre. A lot of rappers are religious and Lil Wayne displays this theme too when he does the symbol with his hands for praying.
Looking at the mise-en-scen of this video you can see that the rooms are all dark and smokey which suggest that he has a dark personality. If everything was bright and pink the whole persona of him being a 'gangsta' would have been lost. Also, there are lots of close-up shots on females that aren't wearing much clothes and what they are wearing have lots of little metal spikes which are associated with sex.
Also, throughout the video Lil Wayne is the only person in the shot and he is the centre of attention, emphasized by a spotlight pointing directly on him.
There are lots of thing on the floor and falling from the ceiling which are a sign of destruction throughout the video, which imply that Lil Wayne has destroyed it and destruction is a theme that again creates the image of him being a bad person.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fumBcKC6RE&ob=av2e
Wednesday, 7 September 2011
Research and Understanding- Three Music Artists
Artists- Lil Wayne, Beyoncé and James Blunt
I have chosen to look at these three artists because they each have different styles and work in different genres. Lil Wayne focuses on Hip Hop and Gansta Rap, whereas Beyoncé's more Pop, R&B and Hip-Hop, and James Blunt is classed as Folk-rock/Soft Rock and has more of an acoustic vibe.
How is Lil Wayne represented?
In Lil Wayne's video John, Lil Wayne uses as many typical Hip Hop values and stereotypes as he can. Throughout the video you can constantly see that his whole body is covered in tattoos and that he has piercings and tattoos on his face too. These show that he is being represented as a 'gangsta' as a lot of criminals that have been to prison have tattoos and that is what he's showing.
We also see him wearing a huge diamond chain around his neck with an NY symbol which is commonly linked with rappers and other artists in this genre. He wears a baseball cap too, which is an item of clothing that most urban artists wear. He wears a headband that says the word 'Chaos' which instinctively makes the audience think of him as a destructive person. He also has golden teeth which shows wealth, which is a common link to all other artists in this genre.
Th lyrics in this song are very explicit and he uses words that are used a lot in Rap and Hip Hop like 'motherfucker' and 'nigga'. He also refers to guns in this son, speaking of them as if he uses them all of the time, which is another common theme in this genre. A lot of rappers are religious and Lil Wayne displays this theme too when he does the symbol with his hands for praying.
Looking at the mise-en-scen of this video you can see that the rooms are all dark and smokey which suggest that he has a dark personality. If everything was bright and pink the whole persona of him being a 'gangsta' would have been lost. Also, there are lots of close-up shots on females that aren't wearing much clothes and what they are wearing have lots of little metal spikes which are associated with sex.
Also, throughout the video Lil Wayne is the only person in the shot and he is the centre of attention, emphasized by a spotlight pointing directly on him.
There are lots of thing on the floor and falling from the ceiling which are a sign of destruction throughout the video, which imply that Lil Wayne has destroyed it and destruction is a theme that again creates the image of him being a bad person.
Looking on the right at the picture of one of his album covers you can see that he is trying to use all of those themes again. Here we see his face tattoos up close and you can see that he is wearing a baseball cam and a big diamond earing. These things are typical Hip-Hop artists' themes.
How is Beyoncé represented?
Throughout her career Beyoncé has altered her look and tried to present herself in different genres. She started off as a Hip-Hop artist and then developed into more of a pop queen.
The picture on the right shows Beyoncé on the cover on one of her earlier albums. Here she is showing lots of typical R&B themes, with things like her glittering outfit that reveals a lot of her body. She's using this because it shows her sex appeal, plus her hips look like they're in motion and her eyeline's straight at the camera as she is the main focus and it's as though she is looking at you. Her name and the album name has been pushed to the bottom so that it doesn't take centre of attention as she is the main attraction as a new artist.
On the right is a picture of one of her more recent single covers. Here she is going for the more beautiful pop queen look but she still keeps some urban qualities with the picture being in black and white. She seems more Pop in this cover because she is at a beach which implies that she is living in paradise, her hair's got that slicked back look of being wet and her face has more attention as the clothes she is wearing cover up her body. As well as this, her hand's covering her lips and the other arm is in an arms crossed position which is defensive and shows her innocence.
In Beyoncé's music video Single Ladies she goes for an R&B style song.Yet again she goes for a black and white look which emphasises her urban culture. She also wears clothes that are quite revealing which increases her sex appeal. Her dance moves are very defensive which is common in R&B and also she has backing singers and is not the centre of attention.
How is James Blunt represented?
James Blunt is represented as an accoustic soft rock artist and he has quite an independant look. His album displays this with his face almost blending in the background and being unrecognisable with the symbols and his name being more prominant. This creates the impression that he wants to be known for his music and not his image. The colours are also a bit funky which shows his links to indie and the symbols he has seem to be totally random.
The image on the right is one of his lateralbum covers. Again his face is unrecognisable and his name is the most prominant thing on the cover. He's gone for another indie look again with the montage making out his face which is interesting and clever but hides his identity. It also shows that he has a good relationship with his fans as the montage is of them and they get to be on his album cover.
In James Blunt's Your Beautiful video he yet again has a very independant style. Although he's the centre of attention the audience ficuses on what he is doing rather than is eyes as he is getting undressed in the snow. The snow itself implies that he's a long way from home and lovesick as he's so far from the one he is singing about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oofSnsGkops&ob=av2e
I have chosen to look at these three artists because they each have different styles and work in different genres. Lil Wayne focuses on Hip Hop and Gansta Rap, whereas Beyoncé's more Pop, R&B and Hip-Hop, and James Blunt is classed as Folk-rock/Soft Rock and has more of an acoustic vibe.
How is Lil Wayne represented?
In Lil Wayne's video John, Lil Wayne uses as many typical Hip Hop values and stereotypes as he can. Throughout the video you can constantly see that his whole body is covered in tattoos and that he has piercings and tattoos on his face too. These show that he is being represented as a 'gangsta' as a lot of criminals that have been to prison have tattoos and that is what he's showing.
We also see him wearing a huge diamond chain around his neck with an NY symbol which is commonly linked with rappers and other artists in this genre. He wears a baseball cap too, which is an item of clothing that most urban artists wear. He wears a headband that says the word 'Chaos' which instinctively makes the audience think of him as a destructive person. He also has golden teeth which shows wealth, which is a common link to all other artists in this genre.
Th lyrics in this song are very explicit and he uses words that are used a lot in Rap and Hip Hop like 'motherfucker' and 'nigga'. He also refers to guns in this son, speaking of them as if he uses them all of the time, which is another common theme in this genre. A lot of rappers are religious and Lil Wayne displays this theme too when he does the symbol with his hands for praying.
Looking at the mise-en-scen of this video you can see that the rooms are all dark and smokey which suggest that he has a dark personality. If everything was bright and pink the whole persona of him being a 'gangsta' would have been lost. Also, there are lots of close-up shots on females that aren't wearing much clothes and what they are wearing have lots of little metal spikes which are associated with sex.
Also, throughout the video Lil Wayne is the only person in the shot and he is the centre of attention, emphasized by a spotlight pointing directly on him.
There are lots of thing on the floor and falling from the ceiling which are a sign of destruction throughout the video, which imply that Lil Wayne has destroyed it and destruction is a theme that again creates the image of him being a bad person.
Looking on the right at the picture of one of his album covers you can see that he is trying to use all of those themes again. Here we see his face tattoos up close and you can see that he is wearing a baseball cam and a big diamond earing. These things are typical Hip-Hop artists' themes.How is Beyoncé represented?
Throughout her career Beyoncé has altered her look and tried to present herself in different genres. She started off as a Hip-Hop artist and then developed into more of a pop queen.
The picture on the right shows Beyoncé on the cover on one of her earlier albums. Here she is showing lots of typical R&B themes, with things like her glittering outfit that reveals a lot of her body. She's using this because it shows her sex appeal, plus her hips look like they're in motion and her eyeline's straight at the camera as she is the main focus and it's as though she is looking at you. Her name and the album name has been pushed to the bottom so that it doesn't take centre of attention as she is the main attraction as a new artist.
On the right is a picture of one of her more recent single covers. Here she is going for the more beautiful pop queen look but she still keeps some urban qualities with the picture being in black and white. She seems more Pop in this cover because she is at a beach which implies that she is living in paradise, her hair's got that slicked back look of being wet and her face has more attention as the clothes she is wearing cover up her body. As well as this, her hand's covering her lips and the other arm is in an arms crossed position which is defensive and shows her innocence.
In Beyoncé's music video Single Ladies she goes for an R&B style song.Yet again she goes for a black and white look which emphasises her urban culture. She also wears clothes that are quite revealing which increases her sex appeal. Her dance moves are very defensive which is common in R&B and also she has backing singers and is not the centre of attention.
How is James Blunt represented?
In James Blunt's Your Beautiful video he yet again has a very independant style. Although he's the centre of attention the audience ficuses on what he is doing rather than is eyes as he is getting undressed in the snow. The snow itself implies that he's a long way from home and lovesick as he's so far from the one he is singing about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oofSnsGkops&ob=av2e
Our Where is the Love? Music Video
We filmed the first 20 seconds of our attempt of copying Where is the Lovs?'s video shot by shot...
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