Friday, 26 September 2014
Copyrighted/non copyrighted music
Copyright refers to the exclusive right of the author/creator of artistic property (such as books, movies, musical composition) to print, sell, copy, license, distribute, transform, record, perform or otherwise use that property. As soon as it is created and is in a tangible form (such as writing or taping) the work automatically has federal copyright protection. Any distributed/published work should be attached stating the word copyright with the name of the creator, and the date of copyright. Copyrights cover the following: literary, musical and dramatic works, periodicals, maps, works of art, art reproductions, sculptural works, technical drawings, photographs, prints , movies and other audiovisual works, Not subject to copyright are short phrases, titles, extemporaneous speeches or live unrecorded performances, common information, government publications, mere ideas, and seditious, obscene, libelous and fraudulent work. For any work created from 1978 to date a copyright is good for the author's life, plus 50 years, After that it falls into the public domain. Many, but not all, countries recognize international copyrights under the "Universal Copyright Convention".
Purpose of music promo video
The main purposes of a music promo video are:
Promotion/publicity
Make money- increase sales
Promote the artist/single/album
Persuade audience to buy- CD/download
Raise the audience awareness or the profile of the artist/group
Product Placement
Product placement is when a product is placed within video to promote the product. Good examples of this are:
Throughout the blurred lines video product placement for the brand Beats is used. During this video their newest portable speaker "the beats pill" is used in a variety different ways such as in a hot dog bun. This is creative use of product placement and makes the product look desirable.
Not Myself Tonight Christina Aguilera
In Christina Aguilera's music video for Not Myself she used the obvious product placement of her perfume. This is a smart form of self promotion as it works with her music video and helps promote her perfume.
Synergy
A music video only exists as only one strand of a multimedia campaign and is just one way in which a song is promoted. The music industry has a relationship with a number of different forms of media such as:
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There is often a clear sense of synergy across a number of platforms. For example film. Film is one of the most common forms of synergy within the music industry. Many artists who's songs feature on the soundtrack to a film often film a music video in the same location of the film or have clips of the film in it.
Promotion/publicity
Make money- increase sales
Promote the artist/single/album
Persuade audience to buy- CD/download
Raise the audience awareness or the profile of the artist/group
Product Placement
Product placement is when a product is placed within video to promote the product. Good examples of this are:
Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke
Synergy
A music video only exists as only one strand of a multimedia campaign and is just one way in which a song is promoted. The music industry has a relationship with a number of different forms of media such as:
- Radio
- TV
- Print Media
- Film
- New Media
A good example of synergy within the film and music industry is Wet Wet Wet and their version of"love is all around" which featured on the soundtrack to Four Weddings and a Funeral. Wet Wet Wet released this single before the film came out but it did not reach instant success. It was not until the film was released that sales rocketed. fueled by its appearance in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, the single remained at #1 for 15 consecutive weeks, the second longest stay at the top of that chart to date. This is a good example of synergy as people who watched the film would buy the single and people who brought the single or watched the video would go see the film thus boosting sales of for both.
A good example of film and music video synergy being effective is Bryan Adams music video to "Everything I Do" which was featured in the film "Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves". After featuring in this film it remained at #1 in the UK Charts for 16 consecutive weeks, which is the most weeks any song has ever been #1 consecutively. Part of this reason was because the song was featured in the film, so it meant that people who liked the film, also liked the song and spend money on both medias, making them both successful. A typical synergy of between a music video and a film consists of clips of the film appearing in the video.
Another example of film and music video synergy is Muse and their music video for Neutron Star Collision. This song featured in the film "Twilight saga: Eclipse. After its release the single became a top ten hit in Italy and it was also certified gold by Federation of the Italian Music Industry. It also peaked at #30 in the UK singles chart, which considering the band are not as mainstream as other popular artists, was a great achievement. The music video features many scenes from the film.
Tuesday, 23 September 2014
Don't Go Breaking My Heart
Equipment
In order to film this exercise we needed a camera, tripod a microphone and a dolly. The camera we used was a Sony HD handycam 8.9.
Whilst filming we managed to capture the lip synching from 11 different camera angles, each time playing the song in the background and had the singers sing along to make the lip syncing appear more realistic. As music videos need to have many camera angles and cuts we had to film over 11 whole takes.
Once we had finished filming this exercise we all had to then uploaded the footage along with the song to adobe premiere pro which is the editing software we are going to use to edit our final production. Although we worked as a group for the filming, we were all expected to each edit it on our own so that we could all gain a good understanding of how adobe premiere works. Once all videos were uploaded i then watched through the takes and removed any takes that i deemed as unusable. After i did this i layered the clips one at a time and made sure each one synced up exactly with the music.
This was a particularly difficult task as at times the lip syncing wasnt very clear and occasionally out of time but it was still workable. It just meant that more patience was needed when syncing everything together. Once everything was layered i then watched each layer and cut and removed any mistakes or anything that didn't look good. From this i was able to decrease the amount of footage i had thus simplifying the editing process. From here i then watched each layer and decided on which bits of each take to keep, deleting the unnecessary parts of each layer. This was a long process as we had 11 useable takes over all. Whilst editing i made sure to listen closely to the song so i could cut to the beat of the music which makes my video appear more effective and engaging. Once i was happy with the arrangement of the camera shots i then exported it and uploaded to youtube.
Low Angle Close Medium Shot
Wide Low Angle Left
Low Angle Left
Low Angle Right
Medium Shot
Close Up
High Angle
Medium Pan - 1:00 - 1:03
Improvements
Although i am pretty pleased with what i produced considering we were using a new editing software there are many things that need improving. If i were to re film id firstly change the location. Location wise we were pretty restricted as we did not have the time to go off site so we decided to use one of the study rooms. This was not a great location to choose as there was not enough space for us to film anything bigger than a medium shot. In conclusion if i were to redo this filming exercise i would try to include a wider variety of camera angles,choose a better location and make sure i place the artist in the center of the frame. Editing wise, i would make my cuts neater and the transitions between camera shots. Also at around 30 seconds in i forgot to remove a small clip which causes the video to jump.
Friday, 19 September 2014
Organic/synthetic music
Organic
Organic music refers to bands/artists where the music comes first. They make the type of music they want to make and then the record labels (if signed) try and sell the music to the correct market.
Organic music usually appeals to niche audiences however they can also appeal to a mass audience.
Good examples of organic music are:
A good example of this would be The Beatles. The Beatles were very passionate about their music and their sound. They became a global phenomenon and even managed to conquer America were after a successful appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles were so successful because at the time there was nothing like them, they were unique.
Synthetic
The term "synthetic" is modernly referred to as the "x factor" methodology as the record labels sit in the driving seat. Once a record label recognizes a gap in the market they then exploit it by the development of music and often the artist to fill the gap.When creating synthetic music money is the ultimate goal.
Good examples of synthetic music are:
The monkees
A good example of a synthetic band is The Monkees. After the Beatles worldwide success an american record label saw that there was a gap in the market for another band like the Beatles but an american version. The band were put together through auditions and did not know eachother prior; they were strangers. This band of strangers were not as musically talented as the Beatles and did not write their own music or play their own instruments. This shows that the Monkees were a synthetic band as money was the ultimate motivation and music was always put second.
One direction
A good modern day example of a synthetic band are One Direction. One Drection origionally all auditioned for X factor as solo acts but Simon Cowell recognised that there was a gap in the market for a young attractive boyband so he decided to form these solo acts in to a band.One Direction have acheived phenonimal success even though they did not win the x factor and are now the biggest successful boy band in the world. One Direction are a synthetic band as they were artificially created to earn money.
Organic music refers to bands/artists where the music comes first. They make the type of music they want to make and then the record labels (if signed) try and sell the music to the correct market.
Organic music usually appeals to niche audiences however they can also appeal to a mass audience.
Good examples of organic music are:
The Beatles
A good example of this would be The Beatles. The Beatles were very passionate about their music and their sound. They became a global phenomenon and even managed to conquer America were after a successful appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. The Beatles were so successful because at the time there was nothing like them, they were unique.
Twenty one Pilots
A good modern example of organic music would be Twenty One Pilots. Twenty One Pilots appeal to a small niche within the music industry. Its particularly hard to affiliate the band to a specific genre of music as they crossover into so many. However, many fans have labeled them "Schizophrenic pop" which is a unofficial subgenre of pop.The band formed in 2009 and have so far produced 3 albums, two of which were self produced when they were unsigned. Twenty One Pilots are a good example of organic music as they are not trying to appeal to a specific audience in order to make a profit; they are making unique music that only appeals to a small audience as to them its more about the music and doing something they enjoy rather than the success.
The term "synthetic" is modernly referred to as the "x factor" methodology as the record labels sit in the driving seat. Once a record label recognizes a gap in the market they then exploit it by the development of music and often the artist to fill the gap.When creating synthetic music money is the ultimate goal.
Good examples of synthetic music are:
The monkees
A good example of a synthetic band is The Monkees. After the Beatles worldwide success an american record label saw that there was a gap in the market for another band like the Beatles but an american version. The band were put together through auditions and did not know eachother prior; they were strangers. This band of strangers were not as musically talented as the Beatles and did not write their own music or play their own instruments. This shows that the Monkees were a synthetic band as money was the ultimate motivation and music was always put second.
One direction
A good modern day example of a synthetic band are One Direction. One Drection origionally all auditioned for X factor as solo acts but Simon Cowell recognised that there was a gap in the market for a young attractive boyband so he decided to form these solo acts in to a band.One Direction have acheived phenonimal success even though they did not win the x factor and are now the biggest successful boy band in the world. One Direction are a synthetic band as they were artificially created to earn money.
Friday, 5 September 2014
Record labels
The music industry is dominated by four multimedia companies.
These are:
Universal music group is the is the largest music corporation in the world. Although it originates all the way back to 1934 it first first appeared in 1996 when MCA Music Entertainment Group was renamed Universal Music Group. Its headquarters is located in Hollywood but they have offices across America and one in London.Universal own over 13 labels such as interscope records and island records.
Warner Bros records was established in 1958. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. Warner Bros is the parent company to many smaller record labels such as Machine Shop Recordings which was founded by founded by Linkin Park band members Brad Delson and Mike Shinoda.
EMI was was founded in 1957 as the record manufacturing and distribution arm of EMI in the UK. EMI Records owns many different divisions such as their country music division titled "EMI Records Nashville" which was opened in 2010.
The majority of majors are backed by conglomerates with stakes in other industries such as film, TV and electronics.
Major independents
Most "majors" own or licence a series of smaller subsiding companies in order to reach different kinds of audiences in different genres.
Columbia records was founded in 1888 as a subsidiary of the North American Phonograph Company until 1884. Columbia is the oldest brand name in sound. It was the first record company to produce recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers, instrumentalists, and bands. From 1961 to 1990, its recordings were released outside the U.S. and Canada on the CBS Records label (for Columbia Broadcasting System, its parent from 1938 to 1988) before adopting the Columbia name in most of the world.
Island Records is a record label that operates as a division of Universal Music Group. It was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was formerly based in the United Kingdom for many years until 1998.[2] Blackwell sold the label to PolyGram in 1989. Both Island, and another recent PolyGram acquisition, A&M, were at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island in particular having exerted a major influence on the progressive UK music scene in the early 1970s. The label operates as one of Universal Music's standalone labels since 2014, also handling Mercury Records. three Island label brands exist in the world: Island UK, Island US, and Island Australia. Partially due to the label's significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels, alongside Interscope Records and Republic Records.
SYCO Records is a British record label founded by Simon Cowell in 2002. It is a subsidiary of SYCO Entertainment. Syco Music has offices in London and Los Angeles and is home to several artists. Syco has the exclusive right to sign winners and finalists of The X Factor and Got Talent. Susan Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, has sold over 9 million copies, making it one of the best selling releases of the last decade and Syco's most successful release to date. Between 2004 and 2009, Il Divo achieved four multi-million selling albums and in 2007, Leona Lewis became one of the most successful talent show winners when her second single, "Bleeding Love", propelled the album Spirit to 9 million global sales. SYCO is also home to One Direction who are the biggest boy band in the world.
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RCA Records is an American flagship recording label (alongside Columbia Records and Epic Records) of Sony Music Entertainment (SME). RCA Records is the second-oldest recording company in US history. RCA's Canadian unit (formerly Berliner Gramophone Canada) is Sony's oldest label in Canada, as it was only one of two Canadian record companies no survive the Great Depression. RCA is the name of three different co-owned record labels. RCA Records is the pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B and country music label. RCA Victor is the label for blues music, world music, jazz, musicals, religious music and other musical genres which do not fit the pop music mold. RCA Red Seal (formerly known as RCA Victor Red Seal) is the renowned classical music label with a reissue sub-label called RCA Gold Seal.
Virgin Records was the start of Richard Branson's business empire. He created Virgin Records in 1972 and the company grew to become a worldwide music phenomenon with many platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo and Genesis signed to them. The company currently owns 6 subsidiary labels such as Charisma Records which Virgin purchased in 1983.
Independents
Independent record labels are small companies with little or no connection to the majors. They often concentrate on a small number of acts within specialist niches in the industry. Also many record labels start of small independents but often end up being purchased by majors.
Domino is a London based independent record label that was founded in 1993.
Domino records did not experience immediate success as it specifically released more established American rock and eccentric British music. This prevented the record label from growth at the time as the niche genres they produced were marginalised by the Brit pop era.However in more recent years the company has excelled and Domino is now one of the longest running and most successful independent record labels in the UK. The label currently have 55 artists signed with them including some high profile acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and the Kills.
Hopeless Records is a California based independent record label that was also founded in 1993. Hopeless generally signs artists who are considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, and alternative rock. When formed these genres of music were about to become more mainstream with bands such as Blink 182 and Green Day just stepping on to the scene. Hopeless is now home to 29 artists many of which are successful worldwide such as All Time Low, Neck Deep and We Are The In Crowd.
These are:
Universal music group is the is the largest music corporation in the world. Although it originates all the way back to 1934 it first first appeared in 1996 when MCA Music Entertainment Group was renamed Universal Music Group. Its headquarters is located in Hollywood but they have offices across America and one in London.Universal own over 13 labels such as interscope records and island records.
Sony music is an American music corporation that was founded in 1929 and is owned by Sony Corporation of America which is a subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony Corporation. Like universal records it also owns many labels such as Columbia records and RCA records.
Warner Bros records was established in 1958. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. Warner Bros is the parent company to many smaller record labels such as Machine Shop Recordings which was founded by founded by Linkin Park band members Brad Delson and Mike Shinoda.
EMI was was founded in 1957 as the record manufacturing and distribution arm of EMI in the UK. EMI Records owns many different divisions such as their country music division titled "EMI Records Nashville" which was opened in 2010.
Major independents
Most "majors" own or licence a series of smaller subsiding companies in order to reach different kinds of audiences in different genres.
Examples are:
Columbia records was founded in 1888 as a subsidiary of the North American Phonograph Company until 1884. Columbia is the oldest brand name in sound. It was the first record company to produce recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. Columbia Records went on to release records by an array of notable singers, instrumentalists, and bands. From 1961 to 1990, its recordings were released outside the U.S. and Canada on the CBS Records label (for Columbia Broadcasting System, its parent from 1938 to 1988) before adopting the Columbia name in most of the world.
Island Records is a record label that operates as a division of Universal Music Group. It was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was formerly based in the United Kingdom for many years until 1998.[2] Blackwell sold the label to PolyGram in 1989. Both Island, and another recent PolyGram acquisition, A&M, were at the time the largest independent record labels in history, with Island in particular having exerted a major influence on the progressive UK music scene in the early 1970s. The label operates as one of Universal Music's standalone labels since 2014, also handling Mercury Records. three Island label brands exist in the world: Island UK, Island US, and Island Australia. Partially due to the label's significant legacy, Island remains one of UMG's pre-eminent record labels, alongside Interscope Records and Republic Records.
SYCO Records is a British record label founded by Simon Cowell in 2002. It is a subsidiary of SYCO Entertainment. Syco Music has offices in London and Los Angeles and is home to several artists. Syco has the exclusive right to sign winners and finalists of The X Factor and Got Talent. Susan Boyle's debut album, I Dreamed a Dream, has sold over 9 million copies, making it one of the best selling releases of the last decade and Syco's most successful release to date. Between 2004 and 2009, Il Divo achieved four multi-million selling albums and in 2007, Leona Lewis became one of the most successful talent show winners when her second single, "Bleeding Love", propelled the album Spirit to 9 million global sales. SYCO is also home to One Direction who are the biggest boy band in the world.
RCA Records is an American flagship recording label (alongside Columbia Records and Epic Records) of Sony Music Entertainment (SME). RCA Records is the second-oldest recording company in US history. RCA's Canadian unit (formerly Berliner Gramophone Canada) is Sony's oldest label in Canada, as it was only one of two Canadian record companies no survive the Great Depression. RCA is the name of three different co-owned record labels. RCA Records is the pop, rock, hip-hop, R&B and country music label. RCA Victor is the label for blues music, world music, jazz, musicals, religious music and other musical genres which do not fit the pop music mold. RCA Red Seal (formerly known as RCA Victor Red Seal) is the renowned classical music label with a reissue sub-label called RCA Gold Seal.
Virgin Records was the start of Richard Branson's business empire. He created Virgin Records in 1972 and the company grew to become a worldwide music phenomenon with many platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo and Genesis signed to them. The company currently owns 6 subsidiary labels such as Charisma Records which Virgin purchased in 1983.
Independents
Examples are:
Domino is a London based independent record label that was founded in 1993.
Domino records did not experience immediate success as it specifically released more established American rock and eccentric British music. This prevented the record label from growth at the time as the niche genres they produced were marginalised by the Brit pop era.However in more recent years the company has excelled and Domino is now one of the longest running and most successful independent record labels in the UK. The label currently have 55 artists signed with them including some high profile acts such as Arctic Monkeys, Franz Ferdinand and the Kills.
Hopeless Records is a California based independent record label that was also founded in 1993. Hopeless generally signs artists who are considered punk rock, pop punk, post-hardcore, and alternative rock. When formed these genres of music were about to become more mainstream with bands such as Blink 182 and Green Day just stepping on to the scene. Hopeless is now home to 29 artists many of which are successful worldwide such as All Time Low, Neck Deep and We Are The In Crowd.
Thursday, 4 September 2014
Looking for an artist
When looking for an artist to use for our video there are many things we have to consider.
Copyright
Copyright laws state that we can not use songs without permission. Because of this it would be easier for us to use an unsigned artist as their music is uncopyrighted and it is easier to obtain permission from them. With signed artists there would be many issues with obtaining permission. For example, permission would have to be gained from their record label rather than them and usually the record labels charge for the right to use the songs.
Where to find music
Most artists today post their music online which means you can search for artists from all over the world in just a few seconds.There are many websites available that allow you to search for unsigned artists. Examples of such websites are: unsigned.com,Sound cloud and Youtube. We will be using all these sites to browse for our artist.
Ideal track
An ideal track for us to use would have to have catchy lyrics that are easy to learn and easy to lip sync to and it must be good enough lyrically and musically so that we can create a strong music video with it.
Genres to avoid
The Genres we've been told to avoid are: Rap, Country, dubstep and anything that is not in english.
Rap - The reason we've been told to avoid rap is that this genre contains some extreme obscure language, sexual references and references to illegal activity. Also, many rap songs tend to be quite fast paced which means the lyrics will be hard to lip sync.
Country - The reason we have been told to avoid country songs is that they need a particular accent and where we are not from a place which has that sort of accent we may pronounce words differently leading to a problem when lip syncing and trying to sync the track and the video together.
Dubstep music - The reason we have been advised not to create a video to a dubstep song is that most dubstep songs contain barley any lyrics which would mean very little lip syncing. Considering as lip synching is one of the aspects we are graded on this would not be a good choice for a music video. This wouldn't work as the work needs to include lip-syncing.
Copyright
Copyright laws state that we can not use songs without permission. Because of this it would be easier for us to use an unsigned artist as their music is uncopyrighted and it is easier to obtain permission from them. With signed artists there would be many issues with obtaining permission. For example, permission would have to be gained from their record label rather than them and usually the record labels charge for the right to use the songs.
Where to find music
Most artists today post their music online which means you can search for artists from all over the world in just a few seconds.There are many websites available that allow you to search for unsigned artists. Examples of such websites are: unsigned.com,Sound cloud and Youtube. We will be using all these sites to browse for our artist.
Ideal track
An ideal track for us to use would have to have catchy lyrics that are easy to learn and easy to lip sync to and it must be good enough lyrically and musically so that we can create a strong music video with it.
Genres to avoid
The Genres we've been told to avoid are: Rap, Country, dubstep and anything that is not in english.
Rap - The reason we've been told to avoid rap is that this genre contains some extreme obscure language, sexual references and references to illegal activity. Also, many rap songs tend to be quite fast paced which means the lyrics will be hard to lip sync.
Country - The reason we have been told to avoid country songs is that they need a particular accent and where we are not from a place which has that sort of accent we may pronounce words differently leading to a problem when lip syncing and trying to sync the track and the video together.
Dubstep music - The reason we have been advised not to create a video to a dubstep song is that most dubstep songs contain barley any lyrics which would mean very little lip syncing. Considering as lip synching is one of the aspects we are graded on this would not be a good choice for a music video. This wouldn't work as the work needs to include lip-syncing.
Tuesday, 2 September 2014
The Brief
For my A2 coursework i have to create a music video that can be up to 5 minutes long. I will also need to produce a six panel digipak for a CD release and a magazine advertisement for the digipak. Once i have completed these tasks i will have to write up a full critical evaluation of my work.
Monday, 1 September 2014
Welcome Post
Hi im Ellese and welcome to my blog. I will be using this blog to show my research into Music videos and to post my coursework.
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