Summary of the main key points of Andrew Goodwin's theory.

The main points of Andrew Goodwin are that most genres have a meaning.
For example, when it comes to pop videos, he says that it must build up to a climax, and then just resolves. There's always a story.
Andrew's main points in a musci video is:
Illustration: where the movements fit in with what the person is singing - like Duffy's Warwick Avenue, where she's singing about leaving a partner, and it's very clear in the clip.
Amplification: It's where the's a meaning, but not going with what the song is on about, but you can still understand it.
Disjuncture: where there is little connection between the lyric or video or where the video contradicts the lyric.

Goodwin also says that sometimes, music video goes beyond the meaning and that it can promote a film as well.
He says that in pop, for example, females are shown as objects to a males desire, normally wearing skimpy clothing - mini skirts, high heels and normally wearing very minial clothing - their bodies are shown off. This is also common in R'n'B videos as well.
However, in pop, sometimes the female singer - Beyonce or Madonna for example - show off their bodies to males, wearing sexy clothes as well. However, they ususally look back at the camera to the viewers to show that they are powerful and that it makes them look passive.

Goodwin says that music should relate to all ages - young and old, because depending on what they listen yo, they can relate to it, and remember it in the long run.

Another thing is that sometimes, videos can be linked to a film, to promote both the video and the film - for example: Take That' Rule the world for Stardust.

Request Of Copy Write clearance

Before we could start to actually make our music videos we was requested that we contact the artist of the songs record label and ask for copy write permission.


To : astralwerks@astralwerks.net
Dear Sir/Madam,

I am requesting a copy write clearance to use either part or all of the songs 'sway and always where I need to be' by the Kooks.

I am a student at City and Islington  College where I am studying Media and for our coursework we have to work in a group and produce a music video and a promotional package for the release of the new album. I would like to request if I can use the above songs for this project.

I stress that by the end of this project the package will not be made publicly but only for educational purposes and the Holder of the original copy write will be fully acknowledged at the end of the coursework. If you do not hold the writes to this song i would very much appreciate it if you send this email on to the holder of the copy write or send me their details and i will ask them directly.

Yours Faithfully
George Jackson.

Review of previous student video

In this lesson me and my class looked at previous music videos that was from previous City and Islington students. One video that will always stick out in my mind was a music video on the song naive by the The Kooks. This video to me was very impressive as it was done by only one female student. This student is not seen on camera, even though the performances within this video is good for me it is not why it stood out from the rest.

For our Music video for A2 Media Studies we are marked on various technical things:

• Holding shot steady where appropriate. 
• Framing shot appropriately. 
• Variety of shot distances. 
• Material appropriate.
• Appropriate mis-en-scene. 
• Editing to make a meaning clear.
• Varied shot transitions.
• Using sound with images and editing appropriately.

If you use all or most of these technical skills in your music video you will gain a very high level 4 which is a B-A grade and as this film achieved that this is why for me it stands out.

This music video of naive is done by The Kooks a British indie band. I believe this video supports the genre with the dim lights and the effect of black and white on the artist and with the mis-en-scene of the guitar gives the video the indie vibe. The editing for me was one of the reasons why this video got a very high grade as it was achieved to a high level. One edit that I will remember is a fade in and fade out of the artist to a different shot position and this edit made the video look authentic. This video also had appropriate framing and a variety of shot distances and shots it also consisted of a lot of close ups which both fit the marketing criteria and helps it look like a real music video.

Even though I really enjoyed this music video there was some flaws to it. like for instance, the very first image we see is of a blond girl in the street on a phone and behind her in the background is a McDonald's cup and this piece of mis-en-scene distracts you from looking at the girl. however I feel the rest of the mis-en-scene is used well like; the location.

I believe that what makes a good music video is the good use of technical skills which is clearly shown in this video, but the representation and the narrative has to make sense. Now for me I feel the narrative was reasonably easy to understand of the girl cheating on the artist. However at the end of this video you see the artist meet a boy in a hoodie, I thought it was the same boy (the artist) but I had to clarify with my teacher who told me it was not the same boy and if there is not a clear understanding of who this boy is then the ending does not work. Any problem could be resolved and this one could have been resolved by the boy taking down his hood and it would have made a clearer picture.

These mistakes are not big and vital ones, and this video for me is still worthy of the grade, just because the editing is done well and looks authentic but also because this video is represented well. The girl cheating on the boy makes women represented in a negative light as unfaithful.

Research: Review of Previous Students Work.

There are many different aspects to consider when planning and producing a music video, but there are certain aspects of which are expected to be followed and used:

- Holding shot steady where appropriate
- Framing shot appropriately
- Variety of shot distances
- Material is appropriate
- Appropriate mise-en-scene
- Editing to make meaning clear
- Varied shot transactions
- Using sound with images and editing appropriately

To give us an insight into how to address these aspects we were shown a range of highly graded work of previous years to illustrate how they are all needed to create a successful music video. Out of all of the videos shown the one I enjoyed the most and, I think, applied to majority if the aspects of the above list was of the song 'Naive' by The Kooks. The Kooks are an indie band and aim there music at a general music loving audience, as a fan of their music i am aware they do seem to attract a younger section of society, maybe between 13 - 25. Conventionally their music video are a mixture performance and narrative forms and typically in black and white.

The student who produced her own version of the naive video seemed to have take on the conventions that apply to other videos of the kooks and other artists of the same genre of music. The video appears to have been well planned out and well thought about before production. This is clear through the narrative within the video. It shows a woman to be turning down a visit from her boyfriend, she thinks up an excuse and makes her way to another man. This narrative is interrupted by a performance by who we assume is the artist. The lyrics seem to link directly to the performance and narrative within the video. 

What makes the video good and pleasurable to watch id the use of editing. Compared to the simplicity of the rest of the video the editing used is very complex. A number of dissolves and other transitions used and the cutting is generally on the beat of the song. The video is fairly balanced between performance and the narrative and this add extra emotion to song. The video gives a clear representation of male and female and in some ways conforms to some stereotypes: that women are unfaithful and will do all that they can to hide things. Where as the man is seen as hurt and a loving person.

Susuana from 283goswell on Vimeo.

Research: Who was Vladmir Propp?

Vladmir Propp was a Russian scholar of who analysed folk tale/fairy tales to his own narrative structure. He broke down sentence structure and used his analysis to create a narrative form made up of four 'spheres' and 31 stages. By analysing types of characters and kinds of action, Propp was able to arrive at the conclusion that there were thirty-one generic narrative units in the Russian folk tale. Whilst not all stories will contain all of Propp's narrative units, it is surprising to find stories that contain none, and many modern books and movies fit into his categories. Propp also analysed characters to come to the conclusion of eight character types. Propps narrative structure had been criticised lack of sensitivity to subtle story elements such as mood and deeper context. His theory can be applied to the following music videos:

 

With both music videos it is the narrative, rather than the performance parts of each video which fit into many sections sections of Propp's narrative theory. the stages that stand out to me the most in both videos are number eight "villain or lack" both show the desire of an object  they don't already have or have lost. Number twelve "first function of donor" and for only the Florence and the Machine video twenty six "solution."

Lip Sync tutorial

In this lesson me and my Group learnt how to make a music video and to put in practise of making a lip sync and a video to go along with this new key skill. In this lesson I learnt a lot about making a good music video and picked up key skills such as framing has to be important, as we made the crucial era of making our camera to far away from the two singers as they appeared to look small where as in all music video the artist look big as close ups are important with framing. 

When making this music video we found that is we hard to learn all the words and learnt that our video did not look that good because of the location and with our location we tried to make it look as good as possible. When you are in a classroom it is hard to achieve this. Also we found it hard using a still camera as last year we was use to using a tripod and made it easier for us to film. When making a music video we found it hard thinking of what angels we should use and how we can make them look affective.

On final cut pro I learnt how to syncing  a song by putting a M which stands for marker and when you put the marker on the song where you want to sync it the video should go with the soundtrack and then you have to match up all the marker in line from video and soundtrack to create a mime. 

Editing a music video and Editing a thriller title sequence seem to be different even though they are using the exactly  same equipment called final cut pro but with music videos you have to use Markers to know where you want to use your soundtrack as starting point to help you sync the video and create a successful mime. Also with music videos you use the snapping a lot more as you want to create little clips to keep the edit at a fast rate to make it look like a music video where as in the thriller title sequence you would use the napping a lot less as you will want the clips to be longer to create tension and build up suspense.

Examples of Amplfication, Illustration and Disjuncture

Disjuncture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iym7xO3-dz4&ob=av2n
this video is Micheal Jackson man in the mirror and the video does not go with the song but has a deeper meaning of the world should change.

Illustration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZv62ShoStY&ob=av3e
this video of Cha Cha slide goes with the lyrics as the dance moves are seen within the video and go with the lyrics.

Amplification: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS9OO0S5w2k
This video of YMCA tells the story's of the lyrics as the dance moves but i think has a deeper meaning as i believe there are deeper meanings.