Text Experiments for Ancillary Task

The sort of text I want on my CD cover is quite sophisticated, but also quite modern. I don't want a whacky sort of font that would not represent what my song was about, or artist. I want my artist to be contemporary so I've decided to pick a contemporary text, simple but effective. I plan to experiment with these in depth and put them against different images in different ways to get the most proffesional CD cover for my music video. I wont have the text nesscarily black, and I want to experiement with different colours against different backgrounds when I come to editing an image of my chosen artist.

Labelled Diagram, Back Cover Conventions

These are the conventions of the back of a Cd cover. I thought it was important to look at these, aswell as the front of cd covers to complete a digipak, so I annotated a specific cover which I found interesing before I deeply analysis some more Cd Covers.

Conventions of CD Covers in Depth

For the accilary task, I've decided to make a digipak for my song. This involves a cd cover, back and middle, so to help with my own, I've decided to analyse some Cd covers and find out their general conventions. When analysing the conventions of cd covers, you have to take in concideration certain points and these are the catorgories I have been focusing on:

GENRE
IMAGES
LETTERING AND FONT
AUDIENCE STYLING/ICONOGRAPHY

GENRE: Considering the genre of music that the CD belongs to, you must also consider the generic conventions of the CD cover itself:. You have to think about what conventions typically go on a cover in much detail. Aswell as looking at the front, you also have to consider how the front and the back are different and contain different sorts of information and why. On a shelf in a shop, people are attracted to the cover first, so that is the main attraction and focus, then turn it over to read the back. On the front cover, CD covers will typically have the artist or name of the band, the name of the album, an image and stickers (such as parental advisory, or announcing a particular well-known track), depending on the genre.

LETTERING/FONT SIZES AND STYLING: When thinking about lettering, you have to consider whether the lettering fits with the genre of music or design. For example, Marilyn Manson’s greatest hits CD uses gothic font to complement his style.

CHOSEN IMAGES: Here are what you have to consider when looking at imagery. What picture is on the cover? Is it a design or artwork? Is it a photograph of the artist? You have to look closely at the mise-en-scene. This includes colours, props, lighting, make-up and clothing, how the star is posed (eye contact, facial expressions etc). With chosing the colouring, youu have to consider the connotations along with these colours, and if they fit the mood you want. You also have to think about how the audience will react to the CD, and whether different people consider different meanings.

ICONOGRAPHY: When thinking about the iconography you want to interpret through your cd cover, you have to think about if the image of the artist is one you’d expect to see? For instance, Beyonce always has an image constructed on glamour and sex appeal whilst a punk band like My Chemical Romance tend to focus more on social issues to sell CDs. Do bands or artists have particular props, costumes, dress, fashions that are instantly recognisable? For instance, Eminem’s hair colour when it was blonde and outrageous. Some stars constantly go against their audience’s expectations, like Madonna. She changes the way she looks constantly to keep the audience interested and to keep herself fresh for the industry.

REPRESENTATION: When thinking about representation, you have to look at how bands or artists and the genre are represented and how the audience will react to that. For instance, hip-hop stars have been known for portraying guns, cars and gangsta images. Critics say this presents a negative image for young people to follow and also sets up stereotypes of black culture. This type of music has been criticised in portraying women as sexual stereotypes, and they are used as objects.

AUDIENCE: Audience is important, as you have to think about who exactly will buy this CD. Questions that could be considered are: Is it because they want escapism and pleasure, or to gain a sense of their own identity or feeling of belonging? Or are they buying it because they have been influenced by someone else?

Detailed Analysis of a CD Cover

I believe there are a few types of album covers when looking in detail. I believe you can have an abstract album cover, with bright colours and random images, but also simple album covers with less of a theme to make them more minimilistic for the consumer. This may be because they just want to strip themselves bare as artists and not try to be different, making them, ironically stand out from others.

Here is an album cover by the artist Lily Allen, with the album title of 'Its me its you. This already catches the consumers eye as the usual term is 'its not you its me'. This is already breaking conventions, and as we know Lily is quite controversial in her lyrics anyway. Most aritsts of the same genre are. Even the song names of the album are quite different and intriguing, as they are all explicit and outspoken, just like Lily herself, even though the typical convetion of women artists are that of elegance.

1. Everyone’s At It [Explicit]
2. The Fear [Explicit]
3. Not Fair [Explicit]
4. 22 [Explicit]
5. I Could Say [Explicit]
6. Back To The Start [Explicit]
7. Never Gonna Happen [Explicit]
8. F___ You [Explicit]
9. Who’d Have Known [Explicit]
10. Chinese [Explicit]
11. Him [Explicit]
12. He Wasn’t There

This album cover may be shocking to audiences who are usual fans of Lily. As the analysis of the last album cover shows, she is quite boyish, and this album cover goes down the more feminine root. Here is some anaylsis in much more detail, looking at each sub category in detail:

GENRE:
The front cover of this cd cover breaks the typical convention of the genre of music Lily Allen, and the rest of her artists who fit under the same genre are known for. She is known for British Pop, and after analysing videos from her music, they seem abstract and controversial, which isnt what this album cover represents. This may cause more attraction to the cover, as Lily Allen isnt known to be related with pinks and feminine colours, so to see this as her next route could intrigue her old fans aswell as her new ones.

LETTERING/FONT SIZES AND STYLING:

The lettering and font goes against the genre and music/design of what Lily Allen is about. Her old album, which I have analysed, shows how she is an individual, almost toy boyish artist, not known to prance around in dresses, and when she does she wears the trainers or something to go against conventions. This is like her album text and lettering used. She has the usual black and white 'Lily Allen' tag which is obviously used for the artists name, but instead of it being a funky styled font, it is instead a block/straight forward font that goes with the elegant theme. Also, instead of having a white outline, the outline is pink, following this theme of feminimity. Another point is the font underneath which is used. It is directly underneath the name of the artist, making the album cover look neater and more organised, not like her other album cover. Its again pink, and is in quite an elegant font style to match the image Lily is trying to give off. The text underneath the first image shows the difference in image that Lily is giving out to her fans. She obviously had to be more controversial and out there to stand out when she was first establishing herself as an artist.

CHOSEN IMAGES:
The image chosen for Lily Allen's 2nd album is photography of the artist. It has less outrageous theme compared to the other, as Lily has less of a statement to make as an independant artist. When looking at the mis-en-scene, we can see the colour scheme as being mainly pinks and blacks, which again runs with this constant theme of feminimity. She is dressed in a girly pink dress, which makes a statement as girliness is something Lily Allen would not usually be asscociated with. The lighting is quite bright to make the colour scheme stand out more, and Lily is placed quite significantly. Her eyes are closed and she is layed peacefully on a huge L. This represents how Lily may feel she has nothing to prove as an artist, so not making eye contact and being calm and collected shows her disregard to prove anything.

ICONOGRAPHY:
When thinking about the iconography of this album cover, as I have said throughout you do not expect to see Lily how she is represented. Lily is usually associated with controversy and attitude, and her album cover here does not represent this. This album shows maturity of Lily Allen growing as a person and an aritst, hence the less dramatic but more sophisticated album cover. Lily doesn't have any signiture looks likem artists such as Eminem with his blonde peroxide hair. She does however, be expected to be seen in dresses with twists such as trainers on her feet, but in this she is taking a step back.

Lyrical Analysis/Specific Analysis of Words

You're chatting to me, like we connect
But I don't even know if we're still friends
It's so confusing,
Understanding you is making me not want to do

And think things like:
'I know I should do'
But I trip up and then I lose
I hate looking like a fool

I just want your kiss boy, kiss boy, kiss boy
I just want your kiss
I just want your kiss boy, kiss boy, kiss boy
I just want your kiss

The lights are on
And someone's home
I'm not sure if they're alone
There's someone else inside my head
Living there too fills me with dread

This paranoia is distressing
But I spend most of my night guessing
Are we not, are we together
Will this make our lives much better

I'm not in love
I just wanna be touched

Here, when analysing lyrics of my song to interpret into my visual mis en scene and representation, I would have to look at specific words, figure out the connotations and meanings, then think how I could visually show these lyrics on screen.
The one lyrical use which stood out for me would be the repition of the abstract noun 'kiss' in the chorus, obviously will stay the same and be repeated in parrellelism as it is the chorus and main part of the song. This was definatley the focus when thinking about the theme of my song, and I began to make connotations from just this one word. i thought about scenes I could use for the chorus, such as close ups of red lips mimiking the lyrics, which connotates love and intamacy as we are getting a zoomed view of the females lips.

Props (Mis En Scene)

The props used in the original music video of my song has helped me when thinking about the mis-en-scene for my video. The props are crucial not only because they set the scene onscreen, but they also could symbolise certain things, and connotate things for the audience. The theme of the song I have chosen is love/affection, with a modern twist. Having already discussed the colour scheme and what they connotate, I decided to look thoroughly at the props used in the video.Here is a medium long shot of Kate Nash holding a giant daisy. This prop has been increased in size to stand out and has been emphasised delibratley. I think the daisy has been used to create the idea of the 'i love him, i love him not' scenario, as Kate starts picking off the petals of the daisy whilst singing the lyric 'Its so confusing understanding you, it's making me not want to do' The daisy could represent how the idea behind the song of not wanting to like someone, and confusion.

Throughout most of the video, Kate is carrying giant objects, emphasising the subject of love. One of the main props used are huge sweets, which ironically are giant love hearts with text saying 'Be Mine' and 'Kiss Me' These again are the main attraction of the shot, making the audience pay major attention to them I would like to think about this when shooting my video, as I want my props to stand out in shots and not just blend into the background.

Styling for My Video

CLOTHINGThe artist who originally sang the song I have chosen is Kate Nash. For inspiration for my own video, I've decided to look at the many different styles she inhabits to see what kind of style should be adapted in my video. Being under the spotlight, means fashion is important in the public eye. Other artists under the same genre of musical background like Kate Nash, seem to break out of the conventions of typical fashion clothing, as seen in this picture above. They seem to take the artistic approach when styling, aswell as in their music videos. Their styles seem to express their personalities, and I want to get this across in my music video with my artist. To some up the style in 3 words, I'd say funky, weird, and individual. I want these sorts of words to be connotated when it comes to styling and looking at the mis en scene of my music video.

My music video is quite abstract in general, along with the mis en scene. Here is a freeze from the original music video of my song. This medium long shot represents Kate's style quite well. She wears a blue vintage dress with red tights, which shows her versitility and individuality, but also how she dares to be different and not fit with the typical style of matching the same sort of colours. I want my model in my video to also be like this, by putting her own twist on certain outfits, to show her personality through every aspect, not just by the lyrics/meaning from my video. I think I'll do this by thinking deeply when picking my colour scheme for the mis en scene. The shot above has random colours splashed on screen, but altogether they seem to look in sync with eachother. Nothing looks random, even though really they are.

HAIR
I've decided to concentrate deeply on my model's appearance in my music video, even down to her hair and make-up, as all these elements are important when thinking about mis-en-scene. Looking at the artists around now, hair and make-up can be used to create dramatic effects, and also to show their persona through their appearance as well as through their music. A prime example of this is Lady Gaga. I chose to look at the artist La Roux, however, as she along with the artist Kate Nash have ginger hair. This is significant because my artist also has red hair, which was a delibrate choice by me, as ginger can be quite a controversial colour, being somewhat frowned upon to have that colour hair.

Kate has a signiture look when it comes to hair and make-up.
She has a 1950's sort style bob, and like I said, a gingery auburn colour. The cut in this picture seems to be quite messy and left to it's own devices, which could represent her personality. I think image really is important when expressing who you are, and that's why I'm thinking deeply about what I want my artist to look like. A bold statement in this picture against the neautral background is the red lipstick. I'm definatley having red lipstick when it comes to styling, as it stands out no matter what, and connotates feminimity and sexuality.

Genre Conventions of My Music Video

The genre of my music video is British/Indie pop, and Kate Nash is known to be proud to be born British. I think this is a good genre to chose for my audience as it will appeal to the age range, but will also promote the English artist, which encourages the listening of British music. Other artists that are influencial and British, that fit the same genre like Kate Nash, is Lily Allen. Her and Kate Nash's music are seen as very similar, and both women have the same backgrounds, which could be a reason why, as both grew up in London. This shows that genre could be affected by the artists own background, as it would influence them into what music they enjoy, which like I said above could be seen as a relection of their own persona.



The video itself does fit the general conventions of music videos, but in it’s own way. British Pop music is seen as quite upbeat, even if the lyrics and theme are quite negative. The videos by artists of this genre, mixing with indie represent this. The mis en scene matches the mood of the songs, and ‘Pumpkin Soup’ is quite an upbeat, tempo song about love. We associate with love, reds/pinks/flowers/love hearts, and all these sorts of connotations are represented in the video. The main colours used are reds, yellows, and pinks. This is similar to other videos of the same genre. For example, Lily Allen’s ‘Smile’ sees many different abstract colours such as red and green clashing together. These are used to create a positive outlook, even though the song is quite negative, with lyrics such as ‘at first when I see you cry, it makes me smile.’ This shows how artists of this genre don’t categories themselves and break the conventions of what is expected in a music video from listening to their songs, as typically a pop song about heartbreak or topics of depression would be matched by a much more depressing video.

The lyrics are used to also effect what is on screen. A current occurrence of music videos, is the lyrics matching what decides to be shown on screen, and this is also shown in the music videos of British Pop/Indie music, but in a different way. The artists seem to go more extreme. An example of this is seen in the Kate’s video. ‘You chat to me, like we connect.’ As the shot cuts from Kate, we then see a medium long shot of her sat on a huge red telephone as she sings this lyric. This makes the mis en scene match with what she is saying, but on a bigger scale. The video is seen more as a cartoon, making it less serious and more enjoyable for the viewer, which is different to the usual Pop music videos, as they are seen as a chance for the artist to show off, whereas these artists do not care. An example of this is Kate and her friend in the video covered in red lipstick. This goes well with the lyric ‘I just want your kiss boy’ and has been done deliberately to create humour. This again matches the main convention of the lyrics influencing what is shown in the video. Another video which is seen as quite abstract is by Lily Allen, called ‘Alfie’. She goes along with the same conventions as seen in Kate Nash’s song. Abstract colours are used, such as greens and blues together, which represents how they break the conventions of what you’d typically see from female artists. This makes their videos more visually entertaining, and also shows how they may not be created for a narrative purpose as they dare to be different.

The artists of this genre also break the general conventions of what would be expected from female artists if you listen to the lyrics. Kate Nash is singing about wanting the sexual sides of relationships in her song which I have chosen, with lyrics such as ‘Whoops I think I’ve got too close, co snows he telling me that im the girl that he likes most.’ and could be seen as shocking to a listener, as usually the males would be seen as wanting more physical contact then women. Another example is from lily Allen, who wrote a song named Alfie. It is based around her little brother, and has controversial lyrics such as ‘Oh deary me, my little brothers in his bedroom smoking weed.’ This shows how the artists from this genre are not scared to express whatever feelings they have through their music, good or bad, compared to pop music.

Another convention I have noticed from music videos of this genre is the use of editing. At the start of ‘Pumpkin Soup’ we see a sequence that is very abstract, and like I said earlier cartoon like. Cuts are used here to match the beat of the song, as at the start an instrumental is before the artist begins to sing. This makes the video flow more visually, and gives the audience much more to look at. Another use of editing which is common, is medium shots of the artist. This is common in most videos, and gives the audience a chance to see the artist performing.

After analysing various videos from my chosen genre, I can see deliberate twists on general conventions. The artists of this genre usually break the mould on what is typically meant to be seen, and create much more artistic and abstract videos to create a positive visual treat for viewers, even if the songs are depressing. Other conventions such as the lyrics influencing what is shown on screen are used, but are created more for visual pleasure than for anything and props are used on a much bigger scale. I have also realised how the pace of editing is used to keep the songs upbeat and positive throughout, which is the aim from the artists.

Analysis of My Song's Original Music Video

The song I have chosen for my music video is Kate Nash, Pumpkin Soup. This was a mainstream song when it was released, and many years after is still quite popular today for some dedicated fans. The analysis of my song is important, as I can then understand how to maybe interpret my performer when making my own video.

The opening sequence starts off very bright, and looks almost like a cartoon. The sequence seems very abstract, and features Kate Nash and the other character that features inside the actual animation. This connotates to the reader that this a a very fun, upbeat song from the start. Editing here is important as the song starts with a beat, and the shots cut on the sequence from one to another, mimicking the beat of the song in sync.

The video clearly has been made to go with the lyrics, and I believe the song is directed at a boy, which is symbolised through the video. I beleive this isnt a narrative, but it is a performance or maybe mixture of the artist. It's almost as if the lyrics are a conversation from Kate to a certain person. 'You chat to me, like we connect.' The establishing shot and establishing line are represented togther, and this a running theme through the video. It starts off as a close up of the artist, which makes the audience believe she is singing to the person through the camera, but then the shot cuts out to her and a boy sat on a giant red telephone. The giant red telephone is a big British ideological symbol, as it was the main use of communication in the older English days. This telephone also conensides with the message Kate is trying to get accross, which is the couples connection they have, like people have when connecting on the phone.

There are many mis en scene tricks used in this video which represent love, which is the main theme throughout the video. For example, Kate keeps carrying giant love hearts saying 'be mine' and also has a giant daisy in which she picks off the petals one by one. This medium long shot shows the audience how she is questioning her love for this boy, saying she loves him or loves him not. The colour scheme is reds and pinks, which definatley connotate love and valentines. It is an abstract video, with reds and pinks but also greens and yellows on the same shots. This creates an almost cartoon effect, and is visually pleasing for the audience.

There is a modern twist, however. This video seems to have a theme of love and romance, and the lyrics of the song themselves connotate love, but we can see a twist in them. I have highlighted the interesting lyrics that show the artist isn't interested in the love side of relationships, giving the song a modern controversial twist, as women were seen more to be about the emotional side of love than the physical. I'd like to also get this across in my music video, by making my model less interested in love with props, editing etc..

Editing:

The song is a fun, carefree song, but it does seem quite slow and almost calming when listening to it. It isn't a song you could dance to at a club, and this means the video has to be quite pleasing throughout to keep the audience watching. When watching the video, I wanted to observe the shots used which create a more exciting video to watch. The shots are all cuts, there are no fades or dissolves used, which I think is important, as if they was it would slow down the video a lot more. Here is what I also observed, taking into consideration how this would help me with my own shot choices:

- Cuts at the instrumental sequence that go with the beat of the song. I'd also like to include a sequence at beginning of my video that matches this sequence, with visual images of my artists body being panned upwards in these shots.

- Medium long shots to cut to close ups to the artist, then medium long shots of her and everything else around her. This keeps the rhythm going and keeps continuity.

-Pans upwards are used to follow the artist when she is walking to keep focus.

- Long shots of artist alone to signify independance

- Long shots of artist walking then cuts to medium shots of her walking to see her face

- Pans towards the artist, starting as a medium close up then panning towards her to make it a close up. This gives the oppertunity to see her facial expressions

- Pans out then cuts to close ups of her speaking, adding variety

- Close ups when singing so the audience can see the artist miming visually

-Medium shots of her body, to long shots then medium shots again

Genre

Genre is the catagorisation type of media text, which are shared by certain conventions and features. Music videos have their own genres which come with conventions. Genre allows audiences to make choices about what products they want to consume through acceptance in order to fufil a particular pleasure from watching. Over the years genres have developed and changed as the wider society produce them and change, a process known as geneic transofrmation.

Music videos are a medium intended to appeal directly to youth subcultures by reinforcing the generic elements of musical genres. This means they can directly appeal to different subcultures of society, such as Moshas/Emos/Indie ect... The videos can be seen as pop promos as they are used to promote a band or artist, and are post modern texts whose main purpose is to promote the artists persona, and this is where genre helps, as their style could also match their genre, which is shown through mis-en-scene ect... The videos dont have to be a literal representation of the lyrics though. Others do fit around the lyrics, like the video I have chosen.

Here are some examples of different genres of music:

Classical Music: Classical music is a complex form of music as it requires high musical skills, like learning the ragas and ability to coordinate with other musicians. One has to maintain the complex relationship between its emotional flows. If you wish to learn this music, then you have to go through proper training.

Rock Music: This music genre originated in the rock and roll era of 1950s. The vocals are accompanied by guitar, drum and bass. (Read information on musical instruments.) Certain rock groups also use piano, synthesizer, saxophone, flute, mandolin and sitar for a deeper effect. This type of music has several sub genres, such as hard rock, progressive rock and metal rock. All these types of rock music are popular till date.

Metal Music: Metal music emerged after the Second World War. Here the melody of the song is heavily influenced by the structure of the songs. While in rock music, songwriting is based within a form; in metal music, the central melody decides the structure of the song. It is also known as ‘information music’.

Hip-hop Music: Hip-hop music always includes the use of instruments such as guitar, violin, fiddle, piano, bass and drums. In these types of music, the bass is the main instrument. This can be used in different intensities to emote feelings of anger, pride and others. This type of music is the result of hip-hop culture and is known as hip-hop music. This music shows a heavy influence of Jamaican music. The roots of the music are found in African American and West African music. It was first played by a group of traveling singers and poets of West Africa.

Wedding Ceremony Music: Wedding music is used in the ceremonies like wedding. These can be classical and modern, according the tastes of people. Some people prefer country melodies, while others opt for classical music as wedding music. Such music varies from every culture.

Trance Music: This type of music is usually played in club houses and discotheques. It originated in the 20th century. This music is characterized by fast tempo and repetitious beats of the percussion. It has a hypnotic effect on the souls of listeners.

Jazz: This type of music is featured by strong and complex rhythms. The main musical instruments used for jazz music are cornet, trumpet or violin, that help carry the melody. This is a rhythmic music and has a forward momentum called "swing". However, in this music genre, the skilled performer interprets a tune in his own way. To know more about the musicians of this genre read on jazz musicians.

Folk Music: Folk music is a kind of traditional music that is handed down from generations in every culture. This type of music reflects the emotions of common laity. Popular music and tribal music are the two sub genres of folk music. This folk music shows the social upheaval that lies among various classes of people. This also portrays their struggle for survival and their culture.

Techno Music: Techno music is also known as fusion music. This became popular towards the middle part of of the 1980s. This is a form of electronic dance music and based on African American music styles like funk, electro and electric jazz. It features fast beats and this form was initiated by Juan Atkins, Kevin Saunderson and Derrick May.

Opera Music: Opera music first emerged in Italy in the 1600s. This genre has a remarkable combination of theatrical art and musical invention and is specifically played in the theaters. This has greater appeal for its delightful orchestral accompaniment. The preludes and interludes of this music set the tone for the action on-stage.

A theory from a man named Rick Attom argues genre’s allows audiences to make choices about what products they want to consume in order to fulfil a particular pleasure from watching. These pleasures could be separated into categories:

- Emotional pleasures
- Visceral Pleasures
- Intellectual Pleasures

Over the years genres have developed and changed as the wider society produce them and progress, a process known as genetic transformation. One of these changes could be the development of sub genre. A theory by Barry Keith Grant suggests that all genres have sub-genres, and this mean they are divided into more categories that allow audiences to identity them specifically, by their recognisable characteristics. Also, we know the general conventions of music videos, such as cuts with the beat of the music, the mis en scene fitting with the lyrics of the song creating a story and so on, but I will be looking at how the genre of song I have chosen is represented with these conventions, or how they might be different.

Codes of Music Videos

Codes:
- equipment used (cameras)
- symbolism, and how it is used to convey the message the artist wants to get across to the audience. For example, a rose can symbolise love in a music video, and connotates things that would be appropriate for a romantic music video about love.

Barthes suggested that the narrative works with 5 different codes, and the enigma code works to keep up the setting up of problems or puzzles for the audience. The enigma code is the code hidden beneath other codes, and the main.

- The Hermeneutic Code
The Hermeneutic Code refers to any element of the story that is not fully explained and hence becomes a mystery to the reader. The full truth is often avoided, or the audience is incomplete answers. The purpose in this is to keep the audience guessing, until the final scenes when all is revealed and all loose ends are tied off.

- The Proairetic Code
The Proairetic Code also builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next. The Hermeneutic and Proairetic Codes work as a pair to develop the story's tensions and keep the reader interested. Barthes described them as:

- The Semantic Code
This code refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning to the story and the word actually used. This could be used within lyrics. An example is 'Like a Virgin' by Madonna. This is a prime example, and the song I am using as the lyrics can have many different meanings, and it is up to you to choose the one you think is right.

Textual Analysis Examples

This video is named One in a Million, and is by the known artist Ne-Yo. This video is based around the convention of a narrative type music video, and is interesting as it is a sort of film based montage of 3 videos put together, which all form the story. The story is about Ne-yo and two of his friends, and this is a theme that runs throughout the album 'Libra Scale.' Ne-yo uses many devices in this music video that make it more interesting for the audience, and we can also see his influences from the past that are shown by some of his actions and the directors choices.

The video starts off with the an opening title to introduce the video, which ireplicates the beginning of a movie sequence. The first few scenes after this have quite symbolic codes that come across throughout also. The misenscene creates symbolism, as Ne-yo is dressed like a 50's gentleman, smart and sophisticated with braces and a suit. He also wears a black hat, and the mannerisms he has when wearing this hat to replicate Michael Jackson, as he did wear this hat back in his youth.

From 1.24, we can see the story progress, as we realise at the beginning Ne-yo is trying to woo a lady sat at the table. At 1.50 Ne-yo tries to send the lady a rose, and roses symbolise romance. She then rejects this, and he then begins to follow her down the street not giving up, which does create humour for the audience. This could definatly symbolise Michael Jackson's 'The Way you make me feel', as the narrative is boy chasing girl, and the setting is important as both were set down a street which is very iconic. The difference is, at the end Ne-yo doesn't get the girl at all, and he sets a modern twist on the storyline to make it his own by having magic powers to stop the taxi from driving away. Also, the fact Ne-yo is influenced by the legend Michael Jackson, and how he has also used his iconic movements in his video, such as Michaels walk as we see in 2.08, shows how Ne-yo also wants to go down in history as being 'legendary' and also how music videos can be so influencial later on in the future.

The editing is important too. At 3.00, the sequence here is quite significant, as the camera shots cut from one to another with the beat of the music. This makes the music video more cutting edge and entertaining, as it's totally in sync with the song. The sequence itself is significant as we see Ne-yo dancing with his friends in the street, and this sort of goes quite well with a musical sort of theme.

The lyrics of the song also fit the theme of the video and the mood. The tempo of the song is quite upbeat, and the lyrics of the song are positive and upbeat. 'Baby you're the best I ever had.' This line really sets the scene of the video, as it replicates the idea of Ne-yo wanting this girl so much as she is the best of the best, and he'd do anything to have her.





This video, taken from the Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,a 1953 film adaptation of the 1949 stage musical, starring Marilyn Monroe as the gold-digging Lorelei Lee. Monroe's rendition of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" is considered an iconic performance that has been copied by the likes of Geri Haliwell, Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman and of course, Madonna. Mariyln has always been an influencial 50's star, and Madonna has also copied her image in videos such as Vogue, where she is seen wearing a smiliar dress to what Marilyn was wearing at the time of the 50's and the hair style she had.

If this had to come under any convention for a music video, even though it was featured in a film, it would be a narrative, but also performance, as the artist is involved in the story of the video, but the audience are getting pleasure from viewing the artist. The codes in this video show how Madonna sees herself as influencial, just like Marilyn was.

The analysis of the two videos together show how artists from this generation can be inspired by older icons, and see themselves as just as important. We can see the codes and conventions of both videos being very similar. The two videos do start differently, as we see Marilyn getting straight into the routine, but Madonna choses to have two narratives going on at the same time, and starts by having a an establishing sequence of a director admiring Madonna on a tv screen. This symbolises her importance from the start, and the medium shot of the two men having a conversation gives the audience a chance to see Madonna on screen doing the routine in both videos before it even starts.

Mis En Scene:

Marilyn is wearing a pink dress, and so is Madonna, which clearly is an iconic dress and connotates feminimity, as pink can be related directly to females. This symbolises how the women are being dominant in this video, as seen in some of the shots later o, and reflects the lyrics of the song. Madonna has chosen to have her hair and makeup/costumes the same to represent how she sees herself as important as Mariyln in this music world.

Props are used interestingly in both videos, such as red hearts being carried around by men in formal attire. This could indicate how the men think they have a hold on the women's hearts, but in reality they would just like the finer things like diamonds, hence the song title. The red carpets used in both represent royality, and shows how both women have big enough egos to show to the audience that they are seen as something above others. Both are shown to stand out, not just with the pink dresses but also with the lighting that is used, as in some point of both videos, each woman is stood in some spotlight in the middle of the room, indicating how they should be the centre of attention.

The misenscene in Madonna's video does have some differences to Marilyn's. Madonna, as I said, has chosen to have a narrative to her video, and to fit the conventions of a narrative music video, has decided to have cut to cut shots of two different settings, one of a man chasing her, and one of her glamourous lifestyle. In these cut to cut scenes, we see for example, Madonna strolling along in a red sports car, and she is also wearing 50's style red clotheing with both indicate how she is has the money to buy these things. 'We are living in a material world, and I am a material girl.' The lyrics of the song fit the convention of the narrative, as both videos are trying to convey that the way to women's hearts is through money, meaning they dont need sentimental males to keep them going.

A male is driving the car however, and we see this when a medium long shot after the drive in shows that. The 50s clothes styling and choice of colour could represent to the audience how Madonna sees herself as something iconic, just like 50's filmstars where. The man who is chasing Madonna in the cut to cut scenes is dressed in all brown, which connotates poorness and how he can be seen as quite ordinary. Madonna is also seen at the end of the video wearing white clothing, and this could symbolise how she is seen as godlike, as white can be related to the theme of doves, which then relates to the theme of peace.

History Of Music Videos

Conventions of Music Videos

Conventions:
the way things are done within the video, and this also describes the genre of the music video. The conventions of a music video vary depending on genre of music. However, some general conventions are:
- the lyrics of the song influence what is shown in the video
- the pace of editing fits the pace of the music and mood
- and the codes of dress reflect the mood of the song

Also, specific catorgories can be made for the conventions:

Narrative – a series of actions that has a cause and effect chain occuring in time and space. When this relates to music videos, it can mean the stroy and running theme throughout the video. The linear sequence of A.B.C.D is followed usually, and could even include many other stories which is called a Multistrand.
Narratives have a high degree of narrative closure, as everyone finds out everything in the end, which makes the video more interesting as you do want to find out what's going to happen.

O' Sullivian et al (1198) suggested a theory about narratives for any type of text. He claimed that narratives have a certain structure:

- starts off with an establishment of the plot and theme
- this is then followed by the development of the problem to increase tension
- then the resolution of the plot

These narratives can become ambiguious and linear, making them boring and uneasy to watch, but others can become more compelling and interesting. An example of a music video that has this sort of narrative is 'Drake- Find Your love' He begins telling a man about how he would love to see this one girl again, but we know by the dialogue the man says back to Drake, that there is some danger in doing this. He then meets the girl, which is stage 2, as this creates tension, and then by stage 3 the plot is concluded, and Drake dies.

Performance – where the band or artist is playing

Mixture – a mix of both narrative and performance qualities

Cameo – the band or the artist is featured in the narrative but doesn’t perform

Animation – the video contains digital features such as flash and stop frame.

Editing- The editing in a video is important as it creates suspense, excitement, and expectations from the video. It also sometimes goes along with the beat, which makes it more excitable (like the Neyo video I analysed)

The Brief & LIIAR

- A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with
two of the following three options:

- a website homepage for the band

- a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)

- a magazine adverstisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package)