Vining out with (((o))) lyrics

Sittin’ in your vibe and you be stylin’ out too quickly
Man it's just the way you do it when you move so swiftly
Vibin’ out to you, it makin’ me too human
Smokin' out the way I feel emotion
Emotion
So good, it's so bad, it’s so bad, it’s so new
I’m wishin’ at the end of June

Clouds in my shroud in my vision grow clearly
Can’t see ahead if I’m fine when I leave me
What is the sayin' when you should let go
What is so impossible?
Do me like that with a smile, with a smack
With a you nose, you know me, no you know me better

No rainy, no windy, no sun
Just music and just with the one
I’m fine like that, fine like that, fine
I never be losin’, I’ve won every time

No, you know knows me no better like that
Fittin’ in, your styling out too quickly
Man it’s in the way you do when you move so swiftly
Vibin’ out to you make me too human
Smokin’ out the way I feel emotion
It’s so good it’s so bad, it’s so bad it’s so new
Wishin’ at the end of June

Clouds in my shroud in my vision grow clearly
Can’t see ahead if I’m fine when I be leavin' me
What is the sayin’ when you let go
What is so impossible though?
Do me like that with a smile, with a smack
With all your nose you know better like that
When we be on the scene when ya gottem
Wingin’ me weather

No rainy, no windy, no sun
Just music and just with the one
I’m fine like, that fine like that, fine
I never be losin’, I've won every time


The lyrics to this song don't carry a particular narrative. They are written poetically but disorded, but paired with the  peaceful and melodic instrumental and airy voice they sound deliberate and harmonious.
This means that the visuals are able to be abstract/ carry a narrative without having to follow a particular theme from the song. 

Thought Beats - Goodwin's Theory

Music Video Theorist, Andrew Goodwin has condensed the codes and conventions of a music video into 5 ideas. One of them is Thought Beats.
Thought beats is the idea that the audience can see the song in the video. Music videos and narrative ideas are correlated to the beat, rhythm and tempo of the song through the use of cuts, editing to the beat and repeating shot taking. The structure of the song, the speed of the beats in the song and the voice of the artist are all aspects to be considered and explored when creating the visuals.

Goodwin also explores the relationship between the Music and the Visuals used.
He believes you can:

Illustrate= the video uses images and ideas to illustrate the meaning of the song.

Amplify= atmosphere and deeper meanings of the tracks re repeated to keep a particular idea in the audiences mind- without the emphasis or acting of lyrics

Disjuncture= the meaning of the song is ignored and the visuals are totally abstract.

Magazine Adverts Codes and Conventions

The purpose of a magazine advert is to promote the album, sell the artist and get the audiences attention.

I have researched codes and conventions of magazine advertisements and have made a checklist down below for when it comes to creating my second ancillary task.

• The release date. This is important because the audience need to know when the album is actually going to be out for them to buy.
• Image of album cover. This will let the audience know what they are looking for, and will also [promote the digipak
• Main Image. Often the same as the album cover, the main image on the advert is there to ensure brand identity and further promote the digipak
• Album / Song title(s)- the is essential as it is what this advert is actually selling
• Artists name- this is going to help promote the artist, especially if they are new, not widely recognised artists. having their name in a magazine advert is gong to make them more well known and also exciting for previously existing fans
• Information about the release -the target audience can get an idea about what will be in the album and also general information, for example:
• Where it is available to purchase. This is necessary because the audience will know where they can find the work, (iTunes, Amazon, in stores etc.)
• Record label logo. By knowing which record label they are signed to, the audience get an idea what kind of music the artist plays. Also, this may be necessary for legal requirements.
• Social media links 
• Tour dates. This is important for fans of an artist, especially an older, more well known artist.
• "Includes the single..." This will sometimes be included as if an artist  has had one or more hit songs that made it into the mainstream music service, the general public may be more inclined to support the artist and listen to more of their work.
  
  
  
  

Music Theory Research

Before I start my production, I need to research the theory behind music videos, and what key points impacts the visuals.
I have found general rules to follow and then looked at specific types of theorists to understand ore about video theory. 

For a good music video, the music and video needs to work together to create an overall atmosphere.

Lyrics and melodies establish a general feeling/mood/sense of subject rather than a meaning. 

Meaning is often presented more through visuals, and the tempo of music drives the editing.

Genre might be reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes, performance, camera and editing styles.

The use of camera impacts the meaning. Movement, angle and shot distance all play a huge part in the representation of the artist/band.

Editing is done in fast cuts, using thought transitions, so each beat is a new shot.

Digital effects often enhance editing, which manipulates the the original images to offer different kinds of pleasure for the audience.

Inter-textuality is often present. Inter-textuality is the shaping of a texts’ meanings by other texts. Not all audiences will spot a reference to another text, which would not significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognize the reference and gain a sense of fulfillment by this. It also increases the audience’s engagement with, and attentiveness to the product. 

CAROL VERNALLIS MUSIC THEORY

Carol Vernallis is a music video theorist that says there are four stages that make up the creation of music videos and that they can all be broken down into these stages. 

The four are: Narrative, Editing, Camerwork and Diegesis.

The Narrative of a video is essentially the story that takes place throughout the course of the video. There are several other elements that also factor into the narrative.

The Structure of the narrative may not always be clear, it might be out of chronological order or cut away to the performance. This is done often by bands that want to put an emphasis on the performance of the song over the story.

The music video must fit in with the genre of the song and the overall style. It should be presented in a manner that fits with the established "look" of the band/artist.

The story is not always what moves the video forward, this can be done by the performance as well as the music itself.

The story might have an open ending that lacks a clear resolution to pose questions to the viewer.

The video should be a visual response to the song.

The narrative of the video may be presented through a montage, rather than a more continuous compilation of shots to make the story.

The editing is what pulls the video together and can have an impact on the overall style of the video.

The editing can help give the video it's own style. This can be through use of colours imposed on the footage as well as a unique way of cutting.

Some edits can be much more "in your face" and draws the attention of the viewer to make it more obvious than standard continuity editing.

A convention of music video editing is to break the rules of continuity editing.

Music videos can be edited to mach the beat of the music, i.e. cutting on the beat.

Camerawork in a music video is also something done in different ways to more traditional styles of films.

The overuse and under use of particular shots don't line up with how other types of videos prioritise shots and the framing too is also different.

The particular style of how the shots in a video are framed may be used specifically for one video to give it a certain distinct look,

The camera may move around in time with the melody, beat or lyrics of the song.

Extreme shots are used very frequently in music videos, both extreme close ups and wide shots.

The Diegesis of a video is what is shown on screen to the viewer.

What is on screen, be it the performers, characters or items may move around to be in time with the music, especially true of performers or dancers.

Sometimes the diegesis might be revealed to the viewer slowly so that the viewer doesn't always have a clear understanding of what is being shown in the video.

The viewer may also not understand what is on screen due to gaps in the performance or the narrative.

Goodwin's Theory 

I watched several videos to get an understanding of what Andrew Godwin's theory is and I learnt about his  rules about what music videos should include.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ju861wsE98Mic This is a video that shows the various conventions that they follow.

• There will be a relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals on screen. This can either compliment or contrast the lyrics to emphasize points. This can be seen in the majority of music videos.  

• Thought beats are the relationship between the music itself and the visuals on the screen to illustrate, amplify or contradict the music.

• You can look at the music and interpret it by looking at the verses and chorus. The voice within the song can be unique and easily recognisable. The song should also be telling a story and the video should help to illustrate what that story is.

• Genre related style or Iconography present in the video

• The video will include multiple close ups to create the start image that will promote the artist's brand image. I have noticed this in rapper Amine's most popular video, 'Caroline', where he features bannanas and lots of yellow, which he has claimed as his signature colour, and has centred a lot of his merchandise, promotion and tour design around. 
  

• Voyeurism often plays a part especially in the relation to females (female gaze). For example, in videos such as 'MOMMAE' by Korean hip hop artist Jay Park, where there is a prominent sexualised view of women, conforming with the theme of voyeurism. 

• Intertextextual references to other media texts may be present, especially in humorous videos. We can see this in Kyle's music video accompanying his song about being addicted to social media, "Just a Picture", featuring interesting use of graphics to bring in other media platforms.

 

Lighting Research for Video

I would like to use a mixture of day and nighttime shots, complimenting the non linear structure.

Lighting is very important in any type of video production, and lighting can be used to display emotion, a narrative, and showing the audience how the actor is feeling. 

I love the use of colored lights in some of the videos I have analyzed, for example, the bright daylight in JCole's video

 

The contrasting teal, pink and orange colour scheme is so striking for the audience, and I love the use of sunlight in the morning is something I would

This Berhana video has absolutely beautiful colours has is definitely the kind of video I would like to replicate. As I mentioned in my analsysis of this video, the use of the white clothes and paint is so intriguing for the audience and the colour grading in the sky is pleasing to they eye.

The aesthetics in this video are amazing. the different colours, incline this pink based scene are memorable, and because the different locations have contradictory colours and lighting each scene gives a new vibe.

Camera research

http://filmmakersfans.com/7-types-cameras-used-hollywood-movies/

For my music video promo I will be using a Nikon 5500.  The Nikon D5500 is perfect for general visual shots and also shoot the photos for the digipak and magazine advert. The LCD screen is touch-sensitive and the precise focusing and adjustable zoom makes capturing photos and videos very easy, achieving great shots. The screen flips out, allowing the user to look at themselves if necessary.

The camera itself comprises auto white equilibrium for shots in low light settings, the ability to remove motion blur unlike many regular cameras and a more precise vehicle exposure which could come in hand when filming on a road at night.

I also looked at a few reviews to get a sense of the camera and what professionals thought about it and they were extremely positive with comparisons to the other cameras on the market.
http://www.trustedreviews.com/reviews/nikon-d5500

Lighting Research for Photos

For my shot list I created a list of all the lighting I wanted to test out. :
I experimented with the lights before shooting my final production, but I used this lighting guide as a base for my shot lists. 

I found this research extremely helpful however found during my production that it’s good to base the lighting of a guide and then adapt to the model and camera to make sure the photo looks as good as it can, there are also factors to consider, like the environment you may be in, and personal preferences.

Representations of Women in Music Videos

The representation of women is very diverse in the music industry, with stereotypes being around from as long as music videos have been produced.

Because my artist is a female producing music in a genre that is fairly male- dominated, I want her to be seen as a strong, self assured woman in my promo.

Women are often overly sexualised in music videos, seen dancing provocatively and dressed however it could be argued that this inst as damaging and oppressive as we think, ans that this is actually a representation  of women who express their sexuality and assert their femininity through what they look / act like. Unfortunatly this isn't a wide ideology in the western pop video industry, but some of my favorite artist celebrate their femininty and embrace the stereotypes, challenging them.

Some stereotypical portrayals of women in HipHop music videos are:

'Gangsta Hoes'

These women are shown to be less classy than the others, being rougher. They are shown in a much more sexily explicit way, dressing suggestively, sometimes skimpily and occasionally barely clothed at all. They are a great example of voyeurism in music videos as their bodies are often the main focus of their videos, however a lot of female artists who used to be connected to this negative depiction of women are now embracing it and using it to comment on how they are represented. This could be said for artists like Nicki Minaj  or Cardi B.

'Pop Princess'

These types of girls are usually seen in the pop genre and genrrally their target audience is younger girls and teens. Because of this they dress more modestly and appropriately for this audience. They also act more politically correct and possibly childish to reflect, relate to and attract them. 

taylor swift// katy perry

'Divas'

These are women who are portrayed as dominant and powerful in their videos. They can be shown in a sexual way but not in an explicit or sexually inappropriate way. Lots of close up shots as well as low angle shots are used to make them seem more imposing and powerful to the audience. In most videos 'Divas' are often wearing dark black clothing, crop tops, skirts and dresses.

I like the style of "divas" the most, as I think they hold the most power out of these three common representations of women. I think it's important that women are seen in videos to embrace their sexuality and not let society damage that/ sexualize it in an excessive way, so that is the setryotpye that my video will conform

My Target Audience

Jorja Smith has a target audience of predominately female listeners aged 15-25, however she also attracts a lot of male listeners due to her hiphop, edgy feel. Because of this, my artist, Luna, will have a similar target audience, and will conform to the similar conventions Smith does.

Target Audience Research

The genre of my production task will be mainly contempory R&b and Neo-soul Hiphop, making my music video appeal more to the younger generation, as it will be similar to popular artists within these genres like Childish Gambino, Jorja Smith, JCole, Joey Bada$$ and Berhana. I also think that the video will engage the generation between teenagers and middle age as the music will give them a throwback type of feel to when this kind of music was first created. This type of music is typically listened to most by young men, however I think this is a changing industry and my video will feature people of all genders, hopefully attracting all genders.
Audiences how have such a diverse taste in music now due to the increased accessibility in the industry. A lot pf the artists that I listen to release their music for free, and I know that that is something that I would be interested in exploring for my creation.

I understand that often artists attract particular audiences due to the characteristics in them that are relatable to that demographic.

An example of this would be the band Little Mix. They attract a roughly 12-25year old audience that is primarily female, due to them being young women themselves. They are also apart of the "mainstream" current in the music industry. They are played on popular radios, appear on dominating tv shows and star in magazines that reach a wide audience. This side of the industry is the domineering and ruling side of the business, however there is a wider range of genres fusing with it now, for example grime and rap is entering the mainstream, and this exposure of alternative music allows these artists to be discovered, especially by a younger audience through the internet and other media outlets.

However, Kanye West, an enormous power in the industry, is an anomaly to this. Being almost 40 years old, his audience is becoming increasingly younger (due to the exposure that comes with the average age of children having access to the internet), whilst still having fans that are located in the older demographic. he is often featured on popular shows but his music is more appealing to a niche market, so is more likely to be seen on edgy/ less mainstream media platforms. 

 Someone who is an inspiration for me with regards to their music and their visuals is up and coming artist Tom Misch. He produces music that mostly features chilled, lowFi beats and jazz melodies, and has a significantly smaller demographic as his music is suited to a more niche audience. his music is the type that you have to dig for, on Soundcload and other smaller platforms

From my research, I have found several different types of music comes with varied target audiences, and I know that my demographic will likely be quite small, probably targeting males and females aged 16-25 who listen to the type of music that I end up choosing.

Features of a Music Video

From my research, I have found that there are many reoccurring features of a music video that I should include in my video. Some of these features that I have complied into a checklist for when I'm producing my music video.

• A narrative that may/ may not match the song, but lyrics will often go with the narrative
• Genre matching- the visuals used will match the type of music 
• The artist/ band lip syncing
• Specifically in my genre it is conventional for the artists (if featured lip syncing) to have blank expressions
• Thought beats are used to become transitions that go in time with the music
• Variety of shots
• Colour grading to give the video a unique colour scheme and an individual vibe

Digipak Analysis

A digipak is a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs. Here I have analyzed Hip Hop and one Pop digipak, to find the codes and conventions of this product.

While Billboard suggests CDs currently make up only 48% of sales (compared to 68% in 2011), even online or on smart devices album artwork is displayed, and can be a huge part for the marketing of any album. The cover is used conventionally to show the artist, colour scheme and set the tone of the album, without giving much away. The back cover is reserved for the track lists, containing a less dominant image, or no image at all. Inside the digipak will be the disk and sometimes a booklet containing info about the project, lyrics or dedications, as well as extra photos of the artist and/or additional artwork.

Graduation - Kanye West

The front and back cover features an illustration by a Japanese contemporary artist Takashu Murakami. The “Dropout bear” is a representation of Kanye and is shown being launched out of university after graduating. I love the colours used and the animation is well- known within the hiphop community, so has become a symbol of this album and thus time for artists.

The inside of the digipak shows the journey the bear had to get thought to get through his graduation ceremony. The lighting in the art goes from dark to warmer tones and shades, and it is believed that this is a depiction of the album being a journey to becoming successful in the music industry. The artwork is not stereotypical for a hiphop album as it doesn’t portray a “tough image” or show a particularly “gang” lifestyle, however is does display a “rags to riches” story which is a genre convention, especially when a hiphop artist emerges from a rough background and becomes success.

There was also a poster released with the album, featuring a pixelated theme. It doesn't fit with the house colours, however the Dropout bear is featured, combining the two and reaffirming the brand that the album is sporting.

TAKE CARE - DRAKE

Drake is a very popular artist from Toronto.  The album “Take Care” was released in November 2011 and the front cover introduces the artist, him being seen as the main focus and demonstrates his star persona. The cover portrays conventional rapper features that connote wealth, for example gold chains and gold goblet and candlesticks. The font used is quite feminine, and drake’s facial expressions seem to be quite absent and distracted, which gives a vibe of what to expect from the album. Drake does not place his name onto the cover, which is actually a conventional thing for hiphop artists to do. The colours used are a fairly dull pallet and the camera is used to make it look out of focus and aged, which fits with the outdated theme of the antiques in the background

The CD shows simplicity like the cover. It doesn’t show an image and is entirely black apart from the artist name and album name. The parental advisory sticker is also displayed here, but now it is in a fancier, rich type of design.

The inside cover shows drake smoking a cigar, signifying wealth and is looking away from the camera, portraying he is focused on himself and his smoking more than anything else around him. Smoking also goes against his album title, “Take Care” as cigars aren’t healthy. the track list is shown here, with a short description of who contributed to the production of the album. the songs are highlighted and despite the credits are probably more for business and logical purposes, the background is a distorted image of a wealthy mansion, continuing with the rich and gold theme.

SELENA GOMEZ - FOR YOU

The colours used are warm and bright, and the three colours of red, pink and black connote the genre of her music, and also give a sensual, calm but also pop vibe, so lets her audience interpret the cover themselves. This is further reinforced by Selena looking down in a shy, thoughtful way. The lack of direct address could indicate that the album is more of a self-reflection/ something written to a particular person- which could be reinforced by the album title “for you”, as opposed to something she has made for other people (like her fans). Her hair is tied in a messy bun and could be suggesting that in this moment she doesn’t care about her appearances, and she isn’t dressed up and glamorous, again connoting that she is simply being herself, and the audience should expect an album that is stripped down and personal. The typography is bold and easily seen despite being in the same colours as the background, and the large bold font used for her name stands out vibrantly over her dark hair.

The font used on the track list is the same as what is used on the front cover. I like how there is a smaller font next to the songs that have featuring, and the use of all words written in capital letters is effective as it makes them more eye catching and intriguing. The back cover features a picture of Selena looking directly into the camera, using direct address. The colours used are vibrant and match the front cover, and I personally love the use of the warm pink and orange tones. Both the side panels include Selena’s name and the album title. The back cover includes the bar code and the 
label Selena belongs to has been shown, advertising the record label.

GOOD FOR YOU- AMINE

Good for You is the debut studio album by American rapper Aminé. his carefree and humorous rapping style is reflected in his digipak design, with the bright, poppy yellow and the laughable photos featured. The cartoonish cover displays him sits nearly naked on a bright blue toilet reading The Good for You  Post, a newspaper.

Music Video Analysis *

Here I have analysed videos which I feel have a similar vibe to what I am aiming for. With the use of different locations, non-linear story line and similarly styled acting, I have taken inspirations from all angles of these videos, including lighting and camera style.

SMINO- ANITA

 

BERHANA- JANET

Jaden Smith-Fallen