Tuesday, 5 January 2010

One Day Lip-Sync Project

For this Project we had a Abba song chosen for us and we had to shoot and edit a lip sync video.We had to mime the Abba song and then place the audio on top when editing in final cut pro.

Purpose of Music Videos

Music videos have lots of different purposes .Music videos are used for promotion ,extension of outlets, extension of income and synergy.

Purposes of music video's
In the 1960's experiments with promotional short films started ,with big bands from the mid 60's like The Beatles ,The Rolling Stones and The Animals.Now that bands and artists were starting to make music videos it meant that they didn't have to appear live to perform the track.
In 1967 in February The Beatles took 2 days to film one the first ever real music videos in a surrey field to promote there new single "strawberry Fields" this video was a huge hit and made other artists and bands want to create there own music videos, in addition to this the Beatles also recorded a performance as live and it was broadcasted on TV, this arguably was one of the main reasons the Beatles where so famous and well liked because they started music video industry.And in the 1970's most big name artists were making pop promos with bands such as Queen, Abba and the Jackson 5 all making music videos,but the demand increased dramatically for artists to make music videos because of top of the pops , the BBC show was a phenomenon and soon it was essential for very top pop group to get onto the show, the TV show gave viewers a real taste for a visual representation of there favorite artists , and it became essential for most artists to have a certain unique style or image to go with there music.It was in the 1980's though when music videos really began to take-off with the launch of MTV in 1981,because now there was a real need to create music videos in order to ensure your music was "heard" globally.Although initially however it was generally British acts that were creating the videos for broadcast.And this was why there was a massive "Brit Invasion" into US charts in the 1980's .This showed how essential music videos were now to bands and artists.


I am going to talk about how music videos promote the band. From the 1960’s when music videos were first really experimented with ,music videos have become more and more a regular occurrence with almost every signed band now having a music video to go with there songs. Music videos are excellent for promoting the band because they give a visual representation of the band .This meant that massive bands like the Beatles didn’t have to appear live to perform the track and gave more opportunity for the track to be “heard” , this meant that the appeal of bands like the Beatles grew further. Music videos provide a great way to promote a artist or track as they provide a visual representation of around three to four tracks from an album.


Music videos are also used for extension of income. Music videos help to keep the artist or band in the public eye for a few months after the release of their album leaving them in the public eye for as long as possible .This means the artist/band will continue to rack up sales of their album for months after its release. This helps recoup the production cost of recording the music originally, but the real money spinner is extension of outlets, because technology has been gradually progressing since the 1960’s and it is now a massive influence on the music industry. Since Music videos entered television on stations such as MTV,VH1,Kerrang and Hits etc Music videos started to have a big impact on music artists popularity and a lot of work went into music videos examples of this were videos like Michael Jacksons Thriller which is arguably one of the most popular music videos of all time ,people not only were impressed by the short story but also the dance choreography behind the video ,this set a bench mark for artists and many artists now have particular dance moves to their music videos.In the early 2000's a band called the Gorillazs pushed the boundaries even further by creating a strong visual representation of themselves in the form of animated characters ,these made the band unique and there music videos were extremely good with funny twists and brilliantly created animated characters,the first thing that comes to mind when you talk about the gorillazs is there animated characters in there music videos this made them a very successful band .This shows the importance of music videos . These Stations all show music videos and have to pay to get the rights to show them. Also the internet will continue to show the artists music videos for months on sites such Vodpod and Video cure and music videos will be available to watch whenever you please on sites like YouTube .And you can also collect even more income from downloads of the Internet. The Internet is growing by the day and now people prefer to sit at home and buy and download songs off the Internet rather than go and buy there CD’s from high streets. Devices such as ipods ,mobile phones,blackberry's and mp3s are bought in there billions and people are listening to music on there phones ,ipods etc constantly, this however has seen the fall of well renowned TV shows such as Top of the tops to fold .This is mainly because of websites , such as YouTube because they had all of the most popular music videos just a click away and these music videos would get millions of views,in particular the most famous ones , and therefore people shunned there TV's for there computers and internet became the main source to listen and view music videos and songs. A really good example of how popular Music videos are on YouTube is the recent example of Eminem's new Music video for his track :"Not Afraid" which has had a massive 17 million views in under a week and a half of its release on the YouTube music video channel vevo.This shows the extreme popularity of Music videos on the web and shows the massive exposure the artist gets from this.


Music videos links to Film/Tv programmes (synergy) are also a important purpose for music videos.Music made by a artist or band that is specially made for a film, a good example of this is in the film Charlie's angels , where clips from Charlie's angles where included in destiny's child's music video this helped promote both the band and the film as every time the film was watched the song was being played and the popularity of the song grew, and even bigger example of this is the James bond films which where widely renowned as brilliant films and every single one of the movies had a single released from the film , and the music video would have clips of the film in it as it was specially made for the film, examples of this are gold finger and live and let die.The artist could then include clips of the film in there music video.This is another purpose for music videos because when people think about the film they think about there song as well.The artist could also get there music video on unsigned act shows such as x-factor.

Below is a link to Feel Good Inc by the Gorillaz ,i could not embed this video as it was disabled upon request
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyHNuVaZJ-k



Contemporary Music Video Research


Purposes of research

Research is essential part of any project because if you haven't done your research you will not reach the top grades.Researching helps you find out general background information about the subject you are studying and could help you understand about the subject you are researching so you analyses or report is much better.You could also research in to how things are made e.g if you were researching for making a radio show you may get some background information on how it works behind the scenes.You could also research to find out about your target audience for example agin if you were researching a music video you might want to find out about the codes oand conventions of different genres of music and research what the target audience would be for that particular genre of music video.You could also carry out research into facts or figures about a particular subject or carry out questionnaires or surveys into the subject you are researching ,this is called primary research. Prodominantly there are two different types of research :Primary research and secondary research.

Primary research
primary research is research carried out by you this may be a questionnaire ,survey or listening to the radio or watching TV and taking notes etc.

Secondary research
Secondary research is collecting research second hand .For example you may look at books or collect information from the internet on different websites or in newspapers or magazines and there different articles . Secondary research is more of a starting point and you would then have more information to carry out more successful primary research because you have better questions to ask people in a survey or you might have better knowledge to write up better quality notes etc.







"Electrical storm"-U2
Firstly I am going to analyse the "Electrical storm" music video by U2,directed by Anton Corbijn. The video was shot in Eze in France on a beach,the video was first aired on September 16 2002. It took three days to film and was filmed during the summer month of august from august 19 2002 to august 22 2002 .The film was made on a medium budget,U2 drummer(Larry Mullen) was acting with actor Samantha Morton.Anton Corbijn is a Ex-photographer and the Mise-En-Scene is normally spectacular and in this video it is no different .The video is made in black and white but this video has a sun rising above the sea and a moving train that all come together to create a visually beautiful music video. Cinematography is closely related to the art of still photography and Anton Corbjin creates a brilliant cinematic experience in this video .The lighting is fantastic throughout with most of scenes from the video being shot at dawn or midnight. The light reflecting in the sea creates a sparkling effect which ties in superbly with the lyrics and music. In another scene in a dark tunnel the lighting is again brilliant as the woman and the man walk in from both sides of tunnel slowly walking towards each other with the light at the end of the tunnel behind them. The lighting on the people within the video is good as well with light shining on half of their face as the sun rises. When the band is shown at the end there are lights flashing on and off and this again creates a nice effect. Another good use of cinematography in this video is when the camera follows the woman at the start as she is running, this effect is actually created by her following a train with the cameramen in it. There are some good editing and visual effects ,one of the most simple but effective of this was when a bright light was used when there were shot changes, and there was a white deer that ran past them at one point. At the end there was also fireworks in the sky although this was actually not edited in because they actually let off real fireworks on a nearby island. The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals was very adamant in the music video. The first verse reads:
The sea swells like a sore head,
And the night is aching
Two lovers lie with no sheets on their bed
And the day is breaking

This shows the strong link between the visuals and the lyrics as in the visuals at this point a man is emerging from the sea at the break of dawn. The song is about two intimate lovers and visuals as you will see in the video below definitely portrays this. The chorus talks about a “electrical storm” and at the end if the video this is visually represented by a firework display in the night sky. The music is typical to U2’s style ,its sought of a light rock type of music. With the music mainly consisting of light drumming and strumming with the drums and guitar. The calming music fits in well with the visuals as you get the calm effect in the video with the sparkling sea and gentle lovers. The visuals in the music video don‘t represent the normal stereotypical rock band music video but at one point the band is shown playing which is very much stereotypical to rock band music videos. There is no real obvious use of intertextuality in the video although you could say that the visuals are very romantic based and the lyrics are very much about two lovers. I would say the video is very much performance and narrative based as the video tells the story of two lovers,with the director relying on the actors (the male actor was the drummer of U2)to intimately express there feelings and use strong facial expressions this was done excellently. The narrative is on showed in the visuals of the music video when the band is playing and when Bono(U2’s lead singer)is on the train. The promo doesn’t necessarily promote the band as they rarely make a appearance but the visuals are so fantastic that when you hear the song it makes you think of the music video. Quote about music video from fan:i get myself lost in time every time i hear this song , it reminds me a few years ago when i used to be so happy , life was so easy , i was a teen at that time , wow , what a gus song they have come with on that album , i have no words 2 describe it

I feel the intended audience for this music video is teens upwards. Although I feel more for the adult audience as the video and song is very relaxing and the songs lyrics have a deep meaning. And the visuals are also very sexual so not really suitable for younger kids. The song also may seem to “boring” for some of the younger audience.






"Come to Daddy" -Aphex Twin
For my next analysis I am going to analyse "come to daddy" by aphex twin ,directed by Chris Cunningham who is renowned for weird but superbly cinematic music videos. He has produced other cinematic videos like :All is full of love by Bjork(1999) and only you by Portishead(1998) The video was first aired in October 1997 and was a best cinematography award nominee in 1998.The production company was Black Dog Films.

The excellent cinematography in this music video was done by Simon Chaudoir. The mise-on-scene is interesting with the filming taking place on a rundown estate with a big car park. There is a lot of rubbish and debris hanging about and there was a particular focus on a TV on the floor were the “daddy” if you like of these weird aphex twin faced dwarfs appears, the actors didn‘t have any facial expressions as they were wearing aphex twin faced masks ,and the granny actor performed her role well as the innocent scared old lady. The video starts off with a innocent looking granny walking her dog but when the music picks up the TV on the rubbish pile turns on and strange children with the face of aphex twin pick it up and start running around creating chaos. The cinematography is this video is excellent with panning shots of large buildings and shots of the camera following the apex twin dwarfs in the ally ways the lighting was not very complex as the filming was done in the day but some of the shades of tone and light on people's faces especially on the granny and her dog in the film opening. There were a variety of shots in this video including LS’s ,panning shots and CU’s.There were some very interesting visual effects, in particular the “daddy” creature squirming out of the TV and then the dwarf children also looked extremely sinister. The lyrics were few and far between in this music video but were fairly appropriate in comparison to the goings on for example in the video when the dwarf children come and take the TV with the creature on the Lyrics are: “come to daddy” and also the aphex twin shouts out “I want your soul” during the music video which relates to the children being somewhat abusive the people and environment around them. There was some relation between the music and the visuals, the music was sought of electronic and the fast pace of the music matched the visuals when the children were running around creating chaos. There is use of intertextuality with the horror in this music video. The horror is contemporary as it relates to the use of children in horror movies, which is being used more and more recently. The visuals don’t match the stereotypical electronic music video which normally involves people raving in clubs with flashing lights in that respect the visuals are very unusual as this comment from a you tube user suggests:
“cross dressing midgets is original” .

The video is very much concept based with superb visuals and no real narrative as there was no real story to the music video ,it was mildly performance based but the actors did not express themselves much and mainly just carried out actions. The promo promotes the artist because his face is on the children and is on the creature at the end as well, this makes the people watching wonder who he is and will want to by more of his music if they like this video. Comments about the video from you tube :
this was banned in America because it was to scary”
“Aphex Twin at there best. Twisted!!!
The video represents aphex twin as a original and slightly crazy music artist. I feel the intended audience for this music video is definitely teens and young adults as the music style and lyrics follow that “underground” style of raving music.Older adults would probably steer away from "Underground" raving music as they get older

Music Video Director Research

Anton Corbijn
Born in May 1955 Corbijn started his career of music photographer when he saw the Dutch musician Herman Broodplaying at a cafe in Groningen (the Netherlands) around 1975. He took a lot of photos of the 'rising star' Herman Brood & His Wild Romance. Because of the pictures taken by Corbijn, Brood's fame rose quickly, and as a result Corbijn's own exposure increased. Till Brood’s death in 2001 he stayed the 'home-photographer' of Herman Brood. In 1998, he brought Bono and Herman together to start a working on a project which was never finished because of Brood‘s death.
He took photos of: David Bowie, Miles Davis, Björk, Captain Beefheart, Robert de Niro, Stephen Hawking, Elvis Costello, Clint Eastwood and Herbert Grönemeyer.
He also designed album covers for U2(e.g.The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, but also for the single The Saints Are Coming together with Green Day.

Corbijn decided to move into directing music videos, and helped by his background in photography he made some brilliant music videos.Corbijn's videos are exxtremely cinematic corbijn felt it was extremely important to ensure the cinematography is his videos was his main focus his thoughts came from being a photographer before hand as cinematography is very closely related to the art of still photography. Palais Schaumburg asked him to direct a video, and Corbjin decided to accept the offer and after seeing the video other bands and artists wanted him to direct there music videos. Propaganda asked him to direct Dr. Mabuse. After that,he went on to direct pop promos for other artists such as: David Sylvian, Simple Minds, Echo & the Bunnymen and Golden Earring asked him to direct there music videos, in 1986 Corbijn directed his first music video for the Depeche Mode (A Question Of Time)and after the success of this video it started a good business partnership with the band and he went on to direct seventeen videos for them including “Barrel Of A Gun” and “Enjoy The Silence" .

“The Enjoy The Silence” (aired march 1990)video was one of his best music videos it included Depeche modes lead singer walking in a kings gown with a crown and blue deck chair , the mise-on-scene of this video is what made it particularly brilliant as he walked through magnificent back drops of breath taking countryside and just sat down on his deckchair at different locations and started singing, this video was simple but brilliant and launched Corbjins career .

In 1994, after directing various music videos, Corbijn directed a short film for the BBC based on CaptainBeefheart for the BBC named “Some Yoyo Stuff“ this recieved good reviews and was highly recommended for fans of Dada-blues as this quote shows: "If you're a fan of dada-blues icon captain beefheart some yoyo stufff will justify that price".-Darryl sturdan - winnipeg Sun



This quote from Anton Corbijn shows how he wanted to make his videos like ,very cinematic and real or "alive":
"There's a lot about records that you cannot feel from a CD. I know that's an era that's gone, but for a lot of people my age, it was a very important thing. How a record slips out. The crackle when it plays. It's lovely, very alive. CDs are not alive. I know everything's about comfort these days - that's why there's digital instead of analog. Analog is more beautiful than digital, really, but we go for comfort."

Corbijn’s work was so well recognised that in 2005, Palm Pictures released a DVD collection of Corbijn's music video’s as part of the Director's Label series. Corbijn’s work In the Music business got him recognised in the Film business and on 17 May 2007, Corbijn's first feature film Control about the life of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis premiered to rave reviews at the Cannes Film Festival it was nominated for several Baftas and he won "best director" at the British independent film awards for the film.Corbijn also went on to direct some U2 videos and directed the brilliantly cinematic experience music video Electrical storm by U2 which I analysed above. In 2008, Corbijn also directed the Coldplay music videos like , "Viva la Vida", and “Talk”.

AiredVideo titlesArtists
2006-febSuffer wellDepeche Mode
2005-novTalkColdplay
2005-mayAll these things that I've done [version 2: b&w]the Killers
2003Zum MeerHerbert Gronemeyer
2003Re-offenderTravis
2002-sepElectrical stormU2
2002MenschHerbert Gronemeyer
2001-novFreelove [version 2: live]Depeche Mode
2001-mayInvalid Litter Dept. [uncredited]At the Drive-In
2000-decIn the SunJoseph Arthur
2000-mayChemical [version 1]Joseph Arthur
1999-augStarsRoxette
1999-mayOpus 40 [version 1]Mercury Rev
1999SalvationRoxette
1998-novGoddess on a hiway [version 2: cops]Mercury Rev
1998FantastichHerbert Gronemeyer
1998Bleibt alles AndersHerbert Gronemeyer
1997-octPlease [version 1: concept]U2
1997-octUselessDepeche Mode
1997-marIt's no goodDepeche Mode
1997-janBarrel of a gunDepeche Mode
1996-decMama saidMetallica
1996-augHero of the day [version 1]Metallica
1995-octMy friendsthe Red Hot Chili Peppers
1995-mayHave you ever really loved a woman?Bryan Adams
1994-augLove & tearsNaomi Campbell
1994-aprLiarRollins Band
1994-janIn your roomDepeche Mode
1994MockingbirdsGrant Lee Buffalo
1994Delia's goneJohnny Cash
1993-sepHeart-shaped boxNirvana
1993-sepCondemnation [version 1]Depeche Mode
1993-mayWalking in my shoesDepeche Mode
1993-febI feel youDepeche Mode
1992-augDo I have to say the words?Bryan Adams
1992-julDirty black summerDanzig
1992-aprStraight to youNick Cave & the Bad Seeds
1992-febOne [version 1: b&w / drag]U2
1992-febLover lover loverIan McCulloch
1992-febHail hail rock 'n' rollGarland Jeffreys
1992Front by frontFront 242
1991-aprHaloDepeche Mode
1991-febTragedy (for you)Front 242
1991Two facesRainbirds
1991MarieHerbert Gronemeyer
1991CleanDepeche Mode
1991May this be your last sorrowBanderas
1990-octWorld in my eyesDepeche Mode
1990-mayPolicy of truthDepeche Mode
1990-marEnjoy the silence [version 1]Depeche Mode
1990Killer wolfDanzig
1989-novPersonal JesusDepeche Mode
1989White city of lightRainbirds
1989Sea of timeRainbirds
1989Faith and healingIan McCulloch
1988-novHeadhunterFront 242
1988-junAtmosphereJoy Division
1988BlueprintRainbirds
1988My secret placeJoni Mitchell & Peter Gabriel
1988Welcome to ParadiseFront 242
1987-decBehind the wheelDepeche Mode
1987-augLips like sugar [version 1: b&w]Echo & the Bunnymen
1987-augNever let me down againDepeche Mode
1987-junThe gameEcho & the Bunnymen
1987-marPimpfDepeche Mode
1987-marStrangeloveDepeche Mode
1987Bedbugs and ballyhooEcho & the Bunnymen
1986-sepA question of timeDepeche Mode
1986Quiet eyesGolden Earring
1985-novBring on the dancing horsesEcho & the Bunnymen
1984-augPride (in the name of love) [version 3: faces]U2
1984-augThe ink in the wellDavid Sylvian
1984-julSeven seasEcho & the Bunnymen
1984-mayRed guitarDavid Sylvian
1984-marDr. MabusePropaganda
1984-febBeat boxArt of Noise
1983HockeyPalais Schaumburg


This table of Corbijn's Music video's was from the website-http://www.mvdbase.com/tech.php?last=Corbijn&first=Anton

Quotes about Corbijn's work:

Amazon comments:

"This is a great representation of Anton Corbijn's work. The director's series has long been on my list of dvds to get round to buying and i'm glad I started with this. There is a wide selection of music videos here, though perhaps rather too many Depeche Mode promos for my liking [ not a fan!]. The commentaries are very interesting"

"But his best work is available elsewhere: Namely on U2 and Depeche Mode singles collections."

"How could this DVD not include the wonderfully inventive and moving Please by U2, and the rich and stylish In Your Room by dM??"

YouTube comments:

"One U2 's best songs/video EVER... "

"Man, i love it <3> "

"I'm blown away by it all. Totally."

These comments show how respected Anton Corbijn is as a director ,the comments also show how people appreciate his work as "Rich and Stylish" this these comments are true to his work as corbijn works hard to make his videos cinematic and stylish to look at.The same comment also explains how he is "Inventive"every successful music video director has to have good innovation and the fact that his work is described as inventive shows this.

Some of Corbijn's work: