Decided performers for the music video

Jordan: We choose Jordan to be the lead singer in the band because the song reflects the style of work produced by bands such as The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, and Kaiser Chief. We believed that Jordan conformed to the typical conventions of a pop artist as he reflects the members in these bands in terms of looks. He also has past experience of acting which is beneficial as he would make his characters appear more believable.

Ankit: we choose Ankit to be one of the musicians in the band because he has experience in being in a band therefore he felt that he would be more comfortable with the instruments.

Matthew: We also choose Mathew to be part of the band because he is also a musician and would therefore look more professional when playing the instruments. His appearance, like Jordan, fits the the typical conventions of a pop artist.

Najim: we choose Najim to play the ‘geek’ character because we wanted this character to be funny, we believed that Najim could bring this quality forward when shooting because he is known for his humour.

Anita: we choose Anita to play the main part as the ‘popular girl’ as her appearance could make the role more believable. We also choose her because of her excellent availability and flamboyant personality making it easier for us to shoot with her.

Derek: we choose to play ‘the boyfriend’ because he is tall athletically built and attractive which are the typical conventions of the ‘jock’ like character which is what we wanted to portray.

 

Detailed Storyboard

Basic Storyboard

Storyboardpowerpoint

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Chosen Song - 'Tonight I Let You Go'

My group and I have chosen to go for a pop song for our media production. We have decided to go with this particular song because the lyrics are vague therefore we could compose many narratives to go along side them. Yet the lyrics still talk about emotions and situations to which many people can relate. We aim to conform to the typical conventions of pop music videos whilst still having some elements of other genres.

Information on The Colours

The Colours are a band from Reading made up by Tom Pickford, Tom Newman and Tony Folland. They have toured the UK to promote their debut single ‘Tonight I Let You Go’. They also promote themselves through Myspace where they have attracted 4567 ‘friends’ and the single ‘tonight I let you go’ has got 1,550 plays.  

It is said that: “The single, ‘Tonight I Let You Go’ is a song about the trials of the heart in the formative years; the movement from one relationship to the other. But this isn’t a soppy love story; far from it. Planting a brave face on the inner discomfort exposed within the lyrics, this upbeat number puts a lighter spin on darker issues; and it’s a paradigm that becomes all the more apparent when you meet the band members themselves. Even in casual conversation a sense of youthful theatrics buoyed with an almost innocent optimism prevails to the forefront. It’s certainly an infectious combination, but perhaps uncertain whether this bravado is a natural virtue or concealing more fragile tendencies. Analysis of the lyrics gives more insight into this realm, and it is from here that they have an outlet to let hidden emotions run wild and free”

Analysis of Lyrics - "Tonight I Let You Go"

Analysis of lyrics

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'Tonight I Let You Go' Lyrics - The Colours

Your empty promises
Stop filling up my mind while my loves’ away
Temptation calls me
To thisAnd loveless fools believe
Their guilty hearts still bleed
But their cold lifeless heart beats wear them out

[Chorus] Cause you’re the heart break that I couldn’t deal with
You were the mistake
That no-one could save me from
But I knowI’m better off leaving now
You are the only reason I want it more
You know I want to be on my own tonight
I just keep on running
You know I want to be on my own tonight
Tonight I let you go

My insecurities
Playing on my mind, colours never change
You should come back, come back, come back(And look for more)
But love that runs too deep
Stolen moments we couldn’t keep
You should go before the night time lets you down

[Chorus] Cause you’re the heart break that I couldn’t deal with
You were the mistake
That no-one could save me from
But I knowI’m better off leaving now
You are the only reason I want it more
You know I want to be on my own tonight
I just keep on running
You know I want to be on my own tonight
Tonight I let you go

Tonight I let you go
Heart break, heart break
Heart break (tonight I let you go)
Heart, heart break
Heart break, heart break, heart heart break
Tonight, heart break
Heart break, heart break, heart break, heart break, heart break
I just keep on running
You’re the heart break
I couldn’t deal with
You were the mistake that no-one could save me from
But I know I’m better off leaving now

You are the only reason I want it more

You know I want to be on my own tonight
I just keep on running
You know I want to be on my own tonight
Tonight I let you go

Tonight I let you go

Tonight I let you go

Questionnaire & Results

I created a questionnaire as part of my primary research in order to get information on my audience. This helped inform me on what they enjoyed and disliked about music video’s. Whilst coming up with the idea for my music video I bared the information I gathered in mind as the information is vital to making a successful music video.

1.     .How old are you?

        Between 13- 25

I distributed my questionnaires to a variety of different age groups. However i mainly focused on a younger audience because they are the age group we are going to aim our music video at.

2.     Male or Female

50% male – 50% female

we're aiming the video at both a male and female audience therefore I made sure my questionnaires were evenly distributed.

3.     what genre of music do you listen to?

35% Hip-hop    RnB 30%    pop 15%     rock 10%     jazz 5%   indie 2%

Hip-hop, R&B and pop were the most popular proving that these are the genres young people like listening to. Typically jazz was unpopular this is because this music is aimed at an older audience. The results also show that indie music should be targeted at a niche audience, as there isn’t a mainstream audience out there that listens to it.

4.     Name three of your favourite or what you would consider to be the most memorable music videos.

The two music video that kept coming up were Michael Jackson’s thriller and Katy Perry’s Last Friday Night (FGIF). The one thing these music video’s have in common is that they are both long FGIT is about 9 minutes long and Thriller is 14 minutes. They are so long because they show a clear narrative, which expands beyond the song. This leaves me to believe that audiences enjoy watching clear narrative based music videos.

5.     What type of music videos would you prefer to watch

50% mixture    30% Narrative based    10% performance based    10%concept based.

This shows that audiences like watching a music video with a mixture of of types. This is most probably because they like a Varity of different things being shown as it makes the video less boring to watch. Narrative base was also quite popular proving that they enjoy when a story is being told through the music video.

6.     Do you prefer to listen to music or watch it?

50% listen to it 50% watch it

This proves that there is an audience for music videos as many like watching them.

7.     What conventions would you like to see in a pop music video?

Dark colours      light colours     Positive story line     Negative story line      

Most audience members liked light colours and and positive story line. These are typical conventions of pop music videos proving that audience’s don’t enjoy watching music videos that go against the norm of there genre.

8.     Do you think pop video’s should have a positive moral.

40% Yes   60% No

This shows that audiences don’t really mind if music video are quite pessimistic, i believe this is because if the music video is a bit saddening then it would be different to most typical pop music videos.

9.     Would you prefer to watch black and white music videos or ones in coulour?

5%  Black and white    85% in colour   10%A mixture of both

this shows that there is not much of an audience for old fashioned black and white music videos, leading me to believing that audicnes nowadays like to see the use of bright colours and technology such as CGI. However some did say that they would prefer seeing a mixture of both black and white and colour, i believe that this is because it is not common in most videos; audiences like watching new features in music videos.

10.  Does product placement put you of watching music videos?

60% Yes   40%

Most recent music video use heavily based product placement, which by my results prove to be of putting. However it does make companies and the artist more overall, but it should be done more subtly.

11.  What do you enjoy about music videos.

The popular answer was; to see what the artist intended the song to be about.

These shows that our view on the song could change after watching the music video that goes with it, and that a music video should show a lot about a song.

Questionnaire

Circle your answers unless more detail is required

Questionnaire

1) How old are you?

13-16       17-18      19-21     22-24      25+

2) What gender are you?

Male             female

3) What genre of music do you listen to?

Rock     Hip hop    RnB    Indie   Jazz    Mental   Pop     Other……………..(please specify)

4) Name three of your favourite or what you would consider to be the most memorable music videos.

………………………..

………………………..

………………………...

5) What type of music videos would you prefer to watch?

Narrative Based (when as story is being told)

Performance Based

Concept Based (based around a theme or idea)

A mixture

6) Do you prefer to listen to music or watch it?

………………………..

7) What conventions would you like to see in a pop music video? (you can circle more then one)

Dark colours      light colours     Positive story line     Negative story line   

8) Do you think pop videos should have a positive moral?

Yes     No

9) Would you prefer to watch black and white music videos or one in colour?

Colour         Black and white      mixture of both

10) Does product placement put you of watching music videos?

Yes   No

11) What do you mostly enjoy about music videos?

…………………………………………………………………………………………

The Marxist Approach

Dominant ideology-set of common values and beliefs shared by most people in a given society, framing how the majorities think about a range of topics. Marxists believe that powerful institutions cleverly control the way in which we conduct our lives within society. They also believe that the dominant ideology serves the interests of the ruling class. These powerful institutions range from organisations such as the Press, Television, Internet, music industries etc. These industries have the power to form societies lives and ideologies. Their control is hegemonic as it indirectly manipulates societies beliefs, explanations, perceptions and values. It influences the manner in which society views the world until the message becomes ‘common sense’ and unchallenged by the masses. Hegemonic control is an acceptance of the ‘status quo’.

Gender representation: feminism and post feminism

Genderrep

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Jason Derulo- Ridin' Solo

Name of track: Ridin' Solo

Artist: Jason Derlulo

Director:Scott Speer

Type of music video:performance based/ 

narrative based

Genre: hip-hop/ R&B

The video is about a man (Jason Derulo) who has split up from his girlfriend, and is now enjoying life being single.

Adherence to Hip-hop/R&B music video conventions:

-instrument being played- Piano

whilst on the piano he is singing 'Blind' which is a track on his debut album therefore he is promoting it. The dark colours used create as sad atmosphere which reflects his feelings as he is talking about the break-up.

- hip-hop Dancing    

Shows of his dancing ability, dance is something which interests a Hip-Hop/ R&B audience so by including a routine the targeted audience are more likely to watch it.

-Close ups, fast pace editing e.g jump shots and match on action      

Close- up used in order for his face to be recognised so audience know who's music video they're watching. Females fans can also admire Jason Dorulo here as they see him clearly  

-club scene

Goes well with the theme of the music video, which is about having fun being single,  as a club is the  most likely place young people go to enjoy themselves. This scene also gives the opportunity to show men and women dancing and looking sexually promiscuous -females being sexually explicit. this is done to attract a male audience 

 -Females being sexually explicit.

This is used to attract a male audience

- materialism E.G: watch, car Honda CR-Z, fashionable clothes, shades.

on Derulo is portrayed as being wealthy this is denoted by the show of flashy cars, expensive jewelry and stylish clothes. He is portrayed in this way for the audience to envy and emulate him. This also makes him appear successful as it suggests that he’s made enough money to spend on these lavish items, which are clearly highlighted by individual medium close-up shots.

-Alcohol 

Most Hip-Hop/ R&B music videos include alcohol in their music videos to show that they are enjoying themselves, also alcohol is expensive therefore by showing that they can buy an unlimited amount of it they appear as being wealthy.

Jason Derulo's choreography, which incorporates Hip-Hop/R&B dancing, strongly reflects Michael Jackson’s dancing. He has chosen to pastiche Michael Jackson's moves because Jackson is very well known and popular with most Hip-Hop and R&B fans, which are the targeted audience for Jason Derulo, therefore they’ll enjoy watching it. His clothes such as the jacket also mirrors Michael Jackson's style such as iconic leather jacket

His successful image is strengthened by the women in the club as they are trying desperatly to get his attention this makes him appear as a big celebrity.  This however isn’t a possitvie representation of women as it implies that they’re ‘gold diggers’ and only want him because of his money and high status. It suggests that they need to reply on a man for money as they are not capable of earning a great amount themselves. Women are degraded furthermore as they are shown as sexual objects for Jason Derulo to choose from wearing revealing clothing in order to catch his attention. 

I believe the video uses intersexuality because the dancing scene with the bright lights in the background is very similar to Justin Timberlake’s Rock Your Body music video. Some audience members may gain please in noticing this. However it does make the video seem less original and unique

The video has high production values made obvious by the seamless editing, therefore Jason Durulo must have had a big budget to work with. The video use’s a lot of product placement which is where most of the money for the music video may have come from. The products that are advertised are; the Honda CR-Z, Ipad and the dating website Plenty of Fish. By in including these products in his music video Jason Durulo and the products company are making more profit.

Rizzle Kicks - Down With the Trumpets

Genre: Alternative Hip Hop

Director: Toby Lockerbie

Release: 26/05/11

Type of video: concept based, narrative based.

Typical hip-hop conventions:

Stereo, black rappers, hat, hoodie, street dancing.

Non-typical conventions: Indie clothing, dealing trumpets instead of drugs

The video starts of with a medium close up of a cassette that is placed into the cassette player which the boys then carry around listening to music. The cassette player appeals to an older audience who will be able to recognise it however the cassette player has been modernised to appeal to a younger audience by having a video playing in the middle. Having the cassette player is a old typical convention for a hip-hop music video as it was the only way people could listen to music on the go. By including the cassette player in the music video the genre becomes obvious. It also shows that the band have an ‘old school’ style which is confirmed by the top one of the boys is wearing which says ‘old school tribe’. By adapting this 'old school' style the band seem more cool to a younger audience whist still appealing to an older one. 

The indie clothing the band wear contrasts with what rappers would typically wear, the mixture helps the band appeal to a mainstream audience made up of both indie and hip-hop fans.

The music video follows two teenage boys who make up the band Rizzle Kicks, on what seems like a normal daily routine. At first the video seems to adhere to the conventions of hip-hop as the boys seem to be buying something drugs from a dodgy looking guy. However, it turns out that they were buying a trumpets. This is idea is polysemic as it could be interpreted in two different ways, firstly trumpets could of been be used instead of showing the actual drugs so that the video would not be censored. Using trumpets as a substitute for weed is a smart way for the artists not to get harassed as much by the media for promoting drugs. But I think they have used this idea to send out a positive message. The positive message being that the band don't use drugs as they are focusing on their music, because of this the artists are shown in a positive light as they have gone for a successful path in life which is hard to do for boys they’re age to do.

The stereotypical view of hip-hop artists is subverted in this video as normally hip-hop artists are shown as being violent, rude and are usually breaking the law. This is not the case in this music video. Although the boys do break the law  by buying a trumpet with fake money it is not a serious and shocking crime used to make the band seem fearless, it's shown to make the audience laugh as the boys get chased by the dealer. 

Hip-hop artists in music videos come across as being serious and strong, they also demand respect and main gain it through fear or high status. However, this convention is subverted in this music video as there is a scene with teenage boys and the band who are doing silly dance moves. This makes them look a bit foolish therefore they will not be respected or feared.

The long shot  filmed between the two changing rooms suggests that the camera man is embarrassed to film them in open space where he can be seen.

I was particularly impressed with the use of slow motion, hand held camera effect, and a shot where the artists are about to pass out and as they do they end up in another location. These shots are used at times to give the effect of being in the artists mindset and body so we see things the way they would. The slow motion and hand held camera effect suggest that the artists are high on weed which is stereotypical for most hip-hop artists as they brag about smoking weed. This gives the band a negative image as they are promoting drugs which is dangerous because they’re music is aimed at a young audience.

It is obvious that the video was filmed in Hove, Sussex, because of the well known setting used, audiences from there might gain pleasure in knowing and recognising the place.

Rizzle Kicks are signed to Universal Island, a well established label, therefore they had support when making the music video, which gives the video high production values making it more possible for the video to be shown on major music channels which leads to the band making more profit.

The video was firstly distributed through YouTube and it quickly gained more then 3,000,000 views proving to be popular.  Baring the target audience in mind the video was firstly released on YouTube as the video is aimed at a young who visit YouTube on a daily basis.

At beginning of the music video the band give a shout out to Dag Nabbit who produced the song, he is a well know successful producer therefore if the band is associated with him the audience are going to think that their music standards are high.