Case Study 1

Jamie Thraves is one of the music industries finest Directors. Whilst at uni he started making short films and he was given the opportunity to work with  production company "Factory Films". Whilst working there he created his award winning short film "Calling Card" which enabled him to "get his foot in the door" with Factory Films. He began his music career shortly after and shot 3 music videos that were on a low budget of around £5000 each.He was at the stage in life where failure was not an option. Luckily he was able to reach success. As the treatments for his two best known videos were sent to production companies and each one was successful, such was his talent. Jamie Thraves stands out over many other music video directors because he creates videos that are like mini films with gripping story lines. A good example of where this type of music video was successful for Jamie is the video he made for Radio head to their song "Just".

Radio head's video was shot over the course of three days on a budget of £100,000. The video that was created is very much like a mini film. The video features Radio head performing in a flat. However this is just the amplified part of the video. The main part of the video which contains the story line takes place on the pavement outside the flats. A man is seen to be laying on the floor for no reason; he's neither injured or tired. He just wants to be left alone. Then a man trips over him and nearly falls over. The man on the floor refuses to tell the other man what is wrong and just asks him to leave. Throughout the video more and more people surround the man laying on the pavement. The all ask him whats wrong but he wont tell any of them.The narrative of this music video is extremely effective as it creates an enigma (a question that the audience want an answer to) in this case the enigma is "why is the man laying on the floor?". This is an effective device to use as it entices the audience to continue watching. However, the audience never receive an answer to this question. The man finally tells everyone why he is laying on the ground but as he does the subtitles disappear. Then we see everyone laying on the floor around him. This music video is an example of an open text as there are many different meanings that could be taken from this song. Going back to Goodwin's theory, the music lyrics have nothing to do with the story line in the video, which could confuse some audiences.

Another popular video Jamie Thraves directed is Coldplay's video to "the scientist". Similarly to Radio head "just" this video is also like a mini film because it has a strong narrative.  However,the story line is very different. The narrative of this video is non linear; it starts with a man lying down and then the video slowly reverses backwards then forwards again. This is effective as the audience question why he is in that situation and why he ended up in the state that he is in. A while into the video it becomes apparent that the triggering event was some sort of fatal car accident in which a girl died. In could be interpreted that he feels guilt and sorrow as he was the one driving the car.  If you were to analyse this video through Goodwin's theory it becomes apparent that the visuals in somewhat way match with the lyrics. For example when the song says "lets go back to the start" the video begins to rewind thus giving the impression that the video is taking the audience back to the start. In this case its before the car accident.

A more recent example of Jamie Thraves's work is his video to "another love" for Tom Odell. This video takes place in one room and throughout the video the artist does not move from the chair.  It contains many close up of Tom Odell's face. The artists face acts as an anchoring motif for the artist which also promotes them as well as the video. at around 1:48 the dull background fades and a brighter colourful one is introduced. Then around 3:01 the colour fades and so does the light. This use of lighting and colour symbolises the sadness of the lyrics. The lyrics describe the feelings of pain and helplessness the singer feels about not being able to love his current partner as a result of being hurt from a previous relationship. Throughout the duration of the video he is staring directly into the camera transfixed. He completely ignores his girlfriend through out the whole of the video despite her constant attempts to get his attention; she frequently changes her costume to try and impress him but it does not work. The use of similar shots throughout this video (e.g close ups, medium shots, tracking shots and medium long shots) allows the audience to focus more on the lyrics and the  of the aesthetics rather than try and keep up with a solid narrative. This video also features the use of a zoom. This zooming out allows the audience to gain more of an insight to the location. The last shot used is the same as the first one; a close up. But this time the lighting is subsequently darker. This is effective as it symbolises that at the start of the video the singer had hope as he was in a relationship. The darker close up at the end symbolises that now that relationship has ended he is now hopeless. Thraves's video interpretation of this song is effective as he uses the lyrics to guide him but not literally and he uses the same emotion in the video that there is in the song.

Jamie also used his music videos to get into the film business. So far he has shot three features: The Low Down, The Cry Of The Owl and Treacle Jr.  

Jamie's Tips!
When creating a music video Jamie advises that you should use the lyrics but try not to be too literal and most importantly go with the emotion of the lyrics. 

Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey was a feminist film theorist who is known for her essay called "the visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema" which was written in the 70's. This essay is very important as it includes many of the theories we recognise today. In the essay she discusses the impact that cinema has on the beliefs and views of society. As society is patriarchal she particularly focuses on the the way in which women are portrayed within the media industry. The main theories she discussed are: Erotic desire, the male gaze and agency.

Patriarchy refers to a social system in which males have primary power, they predominate in roles of political leadership and moral authority as well as social privilege and control of property. It implies that institutions of male domination entails female subordination.

Erotic Desire

Erotic desire is when the female character in a film seems to have no other purpose to the film other than to be an object of desire to the audience and the other characters in the film. She saw that the woman were seen more of an object as she had no power in the film and was only there for the desire of others. However, in rare cases some films display the male as the erotic desire. An example of which is the film Thelma and Louise in which Brad Pitt is displayed as the object of erotic desire. This is shown through many shots that focus on his body.

The Male Gaze

Laura Mulvey believed that the camera is the gaze of the male eye. By this she means that the camera gaze is predominantly the eye of a male character. This makes the male gaze active and the female gaze passive. The audience are constructed in such a way that they are compelled to gaze from the male POV. This can sometime isolate the female audience as they are forced to see the woman though the male gaze which is usually quite sexual. Women are forced to look at the text as though they are a male member of the audience. This occurs through the process of suture. There are three levels of the cinematic gaze. These are camera, character and spectator. Mulvey argued that together they objectify the female character. This is known as the triple gaze. A good example of the triple gaze is the famous mango scene in Dr No. 

Audience Gaze

 

Camera Gaze

Sean Connery (Male Gaze)

Ursula Andress

Agency

Agency refers to the active and powerful role in a film. Mulvey acknowledged that the male protagonist has agency in classical Hollywood Cinema and that the female is mostly always passive and powerless; she is only the object of desire for the protagonist and audience. Relating back to her feminist views and the use of 'the gaze' in films, she talks about how the woman can not move the plot along. Again, the woman is shown as a mere object in the film with no power. Even in modern cinema, there are still very little films where females have agency. Some modern examples are: The hunger games and S.A.L.T.

Mulvey's argument about the male gaze is particularly relevant when considering music videos as a significant proportion of music videos feature women as objects of erotic desire. A good example of this is Rihanna's music video to Shut up and Drive. 

In this video Rihanna paints a negative view of women as she is presenting herself as purely an object of erotic desire. Throughout the video there is a constant male gaze where the women are being objectified and we are forced to see through the male eye. At around 30 seconds into the video she takes a cloth out of another woman's back pocket. This small action is perfect example of something a male would find appealing however a woman would not. Through out the video there is no real movement in plot which supports Mulvey's ideas about the woman not being able to move any story along and is only there for the male eye. Throughout this video Rihanna is showing off herself in a sexual way.For example, when she walks she emphasises the parts of her body that males would find attractive such as her chest and her lower body.

Treatment

Group Roles:

Cinematography: Kamie Rothon

Mise-en-scene:Kamie Rothon

Sound: Ellese Lee

Editing:Ellese Lee

Title: One Day - Kendall Mackie

Synopsis:
Our chosen song is about a relationship that ended badly so we decided to have a narrative based music video. We felt that this was the best option as the lyrics are easy to transform into a story effectively. We decided specifically on a non linear narrative; the first shots are going to be after the break up and flashbacks are going to be used to show the relationship from the beginning to the end. As well as using flashbacks we're going to use an amplified studio like setting thats repeated during the chorus. These shots will just focus on the artist singing into a microphone. At the start of the video the artist is going to be seen getting onto a train. We decided this was an effective idea as it symbolises that she is going on a journey both physically and emotionally. At the start of the journey she is upset about the break up and throughout the shots she is seen looking through photographs of them together, but by the end of the video before she gets off the train she is seen deleting them photos. This will suggest that by the end of the video she has stopped holding on to the past.

Key Genre Conventions:
The song we have chosen is of the pop/country genre as it is catchy and upbeat and contains lyrics about love and relationships. As the song we have chosen is of the pop genre our video will contain many close ups of the artist. As our song is also of the country genre we will also add in some typical conventions of country videos such as an acoustic guitar and plaid clothing. Our video will also establish a trade mark for our artist; her bright red hair. We will also make sure that our artist is dressed in stylish fashionable clothing as this is another key genre convention of a pop video.

Locations

Costume and Props

Star Theory

Richard Dyer was a media theorist who believed that artists are constructed through artificial images such as advertising, films, magazines and music. He claimed that consumers prefered artists who choose to convey their true emotions themselves instead of being groomed by record labels who try to exploit them and falsify their image. Dyer felt that a "real" artist can use the fact that many artists are synthetic as their unique selling point. A good example of a current "real" artist is Ed Sheeran. Ed Sheeran values his music as being extremely important and he doesn't seem to focus on his image. His songs are full of emotion and honesty; he's creating music that he wants to create, he is not creating music purely because he thinks it will sell. He is also very down to earth and often shuns stylish events to spend the night at home.

Dyer also believes that stars are manufactured to make money for their record labels by appealing to target audiences.As a result of this record labels have to market different artists to cater for certain target audiences as there are both ‘niche’ and ‘mainstream’ markets.

Another one of Dyers beliefs within his Star Theory is that artists become trendsetters in the sense that audience members will imitate hairstyles and artists clothing styles. Artists may have certain religious beliefs and cultural values that audiences may also pick up on if shared by the artist. For example Matty Healy's hair from the 1975 has become a trend among their male audience.

The internet has resulted in audiences having greater access to the personal lives of stars. Many artists now have facebook pages, twitter accounts and instagram profiles. Many bands also have fan clubs and websites. This access helps present the artists as "real" human beings.

Dyer also believed that stars support hegemony which is the dominant ideology of their time. Hegemony is the leadership/dominance by one state or sub group over others. In our society the dominant sub group is white, middle classed, middle aged men. Gramsci discovered the theory of cultural hegemony, which describes how states use cultural institutions to maintain power in capitalist societies. 

A good example of how stars promote hegemony is Drake's music video to "Started from the bottom". Drake is singing about moving up the social level from being poor to rich. This suggests to the consumer that if he can do it, anyone can do it when in reality it is extremely difficult to be socially mobile as the dominant sub group are oppressing the subordinate. This promotes hegemony as it is used to give the lower class hope and keep them satisfied. 

The music industry creates and promotes artists within clearly defined genres such as rock, rap etc.

These genres offer signifiers (signs / symbols that send out specific messages) relating to race and gender identities. A good example of an artist who's videos reinforce stereotypes is Nelly. Nelly reinforces the typical stereotype of rap artists as he is a young black male who is singing about drug use, sex and violence. However some music videos challenge these stereotypes.

Deconstructing Britney Spears
In Britney's early videos she was surrounded by "girlie iconography" such as dolls, dressing up with friends, hanging out, applying make-up. Her innocent image was completed by her pigtails. Her choreographed dance routines create the desire of her young fans to be part of "her gang".

Although Laura Mulvey's feminist theory relates to classical hollywood cinema it can also be applied to pop videos, especially Britney's videos. Throughout many of her videos the male gaze is present. The male gaze is when women are viewed as objects of male erotic desire. The male view is active while the female view is passive. Many of her videos force the audience to identify with the male gaze and her videos reflect a patriarcal society as it is predominiatly men who control her image. An example of where she enforces this is in her video "Slave 4 U". This video contains many close ups of her body and in many shots its almost like the camera is carressing her body. This forces the audience to see Britney in a sexual way therefore enforcing the male gaze.

Many of Britney’s songs and video narratives express teen girl identity, the concerns and reflections.

In her video for“I’m not a girl, not yet a woman” (2001) from film “Crossroads” she is constructed as a role model. The narrative to this song explores tensions of growing up and passage journey from childish innocence to realities of adult life.

Although many of her videos promote the male gaze, her video to "Overprotected" is considered to be empowering to women.Within the Music Video’s narrative, her performance is a result of watching a news report on her wearing few clothes. This video implies that she is no longer a girl and should not be told what to wear and many would argue that by Britney being half-naked presents her as being empowering. There is also a more confident tone to her choreographed routine which suggests she is in control.

When it comes to gender debates, Britney Spears’s Music Videos are what is known as polysemic text (a text that has multiple meanings). Her career has evolved from ‘Teen Princess’ with connotations of innocence and girliness to a half naked woman who performs for a male audience in FHM and Loaded. Both identities are stereotypical visions of femininity as presented in a range of media texts.

However in her music video to "Hold it against me" which was released in 2010, it could be interpreted that she is rejecting her constructed image".  This video expresses how she is being artifcially created into an artist the industry wants her to be. Throughout this video she is seen as a mature women who is using product placement to sell her own products. During this video she is trapped in a panopticon prison surrounded by screens displaying all her old videos. This suggests that Britney feels trapped by her old image and that she doesn't want her fans to hold her old image against her anymore. During this scene she is wearing wedding dress and is elevated in the air.  The wedding dress could symbolise that she felt married to her image, however later on the dress is destroyed. This could suggest that she is destroying her old image. 

Update!

Today we gave the lyrics to the person who's going to star in our music video. We went through all our ideas and shes happy to take part! now we just need to finalise the planning details and film!

Mood Board

Artist Profile

Name: Melanie Ungar

Age: 21 years old

Genre: Country Pop

No. of members: 1

Target audience: the target audience for this artist would be early teens to early adults. 

Home town ; Toronto, Canada

Melanie is a 21 year old unsigned singer song writer from Canada who has always had a passion for music. She was a top 3 finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, a Semi-finalist in Unsigned Only & ISC.  and a Reverbnation featured artist. 

Contacting The Artist Update!

After only a few hours the artist replied to us and gave us full permission to use her song!

Below is a screenshot showing her consent! Now we have conformation we can now focus on the planning for our music video.

Ideas for our Music video

Today we brainstormed all of the potential ideas for our music video! 

Contacting The Artist

Today, after finally choosing our track we then had to contact the artist and ask them for permission to use their track.  We decided to do this via youtube as this was the social media that the artist was most recently active on. Below is what we sent:

Chosen Track

Lyrics!

Youre taking me for granted,

but you're the first thing on my mind.

Im tired of your excuses,

but i could never tell you a lie.

Try a little harder, even half as hard as i try

to win you over.

Bring me closer to you.

Show me what you want me to do.

One day you will see

 you'll never find a girl like me.

One day you will see

we were always meant to be.

One day you will see

what it feels like to be me.

When i miss you,

when i kiss you,

when i'm with you

One day you will see.

You never show your emotions,

but i always let you in.

You're afraid of commitment.

I'm sick of being on and off again.

You gotta make your mind up.

Tell me what its gonna take,

to win you over.

Bring me closer to you.

Show me what you want me to do.

One day you will see

 you'll never find a girl like me.

One day you will see

we were always meant to be.

One day you will see

what it feels like to be me.

When i miss you,

when i kiss you,

when i'm with you

One day you will see.

Ive waited here for so long.

For you to show your face or atleast call.

Cant you see that we belong?

Why cant we be together?

One day you will see

 you'll never find a girl like me.

One day you will see

 you'll never find a girl like me.

One day you will see

we were always meant to be.

One day you will see

what it feels like to be me.

When i miss you,

when i kiss you,

when i'm with you.

One day you will see

 you'll never find a girl like me.

One day you will see

we were always meant to be.

One day you will see

what it feels like to be me.

When i miss you,

when i kiss you,

when i'm with you

When i miss you,

when i kiss you,

when i'm with you

When i miss you,

when i kiss you,

when i'm with you

One day you will see.

Research into the Country Pop Genre

As our chosen song is of the country/pop genre i felt that in order to create a music video that applies to this genre research would need to be conducted. This post will contain a brief history of this genre and examples of popular artists that are of this genre. 

Country pop is a subgenre of country music and pop music that originates from Nashville.  The joining of these two genres began in the 1950s when studio executives Chet Atkins and Owen Bradley wanted to create a new kind of music that appealed to young adults as  at the time rockabilly had taken most of country music's youth audience". This innovative genre originated in Nashville, Tennessee and thus became known as Nashville Sound.  The first male artists to come out of this new genre were Jim Reeves and Eddy Arnold, who both grew to have widespread acceptance in both country and pop music.

Jim Reeves

Eddy Arnold

The first female country singer to emerge from this new genre was Patsy Cline in the early 60s.She created a whole new breed of female country artists,such as Lynn Anderson and Crystal Gayle who gained prominence in later years. Even though Cline also gained widespread acceptance from country and pop audiences alike, the Nashville Sound did not maintain its popularity for long. 

Patsy Cline

However, after being revived by the likes of Shania Twain in the 90's country pop increased in popularity. In recent years Taylor Swift and Lady Antebellum have achieved worldwide success. Taylor Swift's 2010-release album Speak Now and 2012's Red had become top charters in multiple charts, including the Top Country Albums and Billboard 200; both of those album sold 1 million copies in their debut week sales. 

Taylor Swift

 

Shania Twain