11. Mainstream VS Independent

The main advantage of being signed to a mainstream record label is that you have more money to create high quality products; from studio recordings to music videos. Also, well renowned labels such as Syco records, Sony or Hollywood records bring recognition to an artist just by being well- known and established in the industry. 

However, there are disadvantages to being signed to a mainstream record label. Quite often, an artist doesn't have full control of their music. A whole team works on the artists music to create something that would sell so that maximum profits can be made. Also, artists do not fully own their music, they do not have full access due to copyright. The music ends up being owned by these record companies and they decide where it is used and by who.

One Direction is signed to a mainstream record company.

The main advantage of being signed to an independent record label is that an artist has more control over their music. The image, sound and lyrics are all mostly created by the artists themselves; they have more freedom to truly express themselves. Also, a smaller group of people work with artists, therefore, there is more opportunity to work one-on-one with editors, directors and producers.

However, there are disadvantages to being signed to an independent record label. There is less money to spend on promoting and marketing the finished EP, single or album, this means possibly less recognition. However, social media can provide easier, free promotion and advertising.

Lanterns on the Lake is a band signed to an independent record label.

I think merchandise and ancillary products are not effective unless an artist or band already has some recognition. I do not think people will buy products from a band or artist they know nothing about. However, if the artist already has an established audience that is buying their merchandise it can have a positive effect. The money from the merchandise can be invested in better equipment for the independent record label, advertising and marketing or instruments. 

Bands and artists can be researched using the internet. A Google search will provide information for both well known artists but also the less known ones. Following bands and artists on social media is a way to connect to them on a more personal level.

One Direction:

One Direction formed on the X Factor. Each member competed in the singing competition as solo artists but were not strong enough individually. Simon Cowell made the decision to put them together to form a band. They competed with other acts every week and came second in the competition overall. Their popularity continued to grow and made them very successful all over the world.

One Direction is signed to Simon Cowell’s Syco Records. Syco records signs artists from talent contest shows such as The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. Some other signed artists include Leona Lewis and Susan Boyle. The record company decided to diversify and signed the artist Labrinth. The target audience for One Direction are mostly teen/tween girls.

One direction sells a large variety of merchandise including t-shirts, mugs and bags. 

You can buy these items in bundles or separately.

You can also order personalised gifts where you can write a message on the merchandise.

The One Direction website has a simple layout making it easy to find what you may be looking for. If you are looking to purchase their music, each album has a separate link to click to find out more. It then leads you to a number of official links where the music can be purchased.

Lanterns On The Lake:

Lanterns On The Lake formed in 2007.

They self-released two EP's and a single before signing to the Bella Union record label in December 2010. Soon after, the band provided a track for Bella Union's Christmas 10" EP along with new label mates Peter Broderick and Phil Selway.

Lanterns On The Lake are a four piece indie rock band signed to Bella Union record label. Bella Union is an independent record label founded by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie. The label tends to sign indie rock or folk artists. In 2006, the label had a good year; Midlake, The Dears, Howling Bells, and Fionn Regan found success with their releases from the record label. Lanterns on the Lake's target audience are 16-25 year old males.

Merchandise:

To find where to buy the band’s music, you scroll down to the bottom of the main page of the website and there’s a music icon that you click on and it takes you straight to itunes.

Finding their music on the website is quite tricky, it’s not clearly shown.

I would rather be signed to an independent record label. This is because I would have maximum control over the music I release, how it sounds and how it comes across to an audience. Also, I would know that my audience would listen to music that is true to how I wanted it to sound. 

I would also be able to promote my music on social media and websites such as YouTube to try and get my music out there.

10. costume, setting and prop activity

9. Individual Homework - Analysing Music Videos

8. Previous Student Video

7. YouGov Profiler

 

 

Audience of Ben Howard's music video "Keep Your Head Up"

6. Laura Mulvey's Theory

Laura Mulvey first used the term "male gaze" in 1975. She believes that an audience views other characters (especially women) through a heterosexual male perspective. In music videos, women tend to wear revealing clothing and the camera lingers on their bodies.

In these clips from the music video by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, the "male gaze" is demonstrated well. Both the camera and the artist/dancers focus on the woman's body, and as a viewer, we are encouraged to do so too.

5. Carol Vernallis Research

4. Andrew Goodwin's Theory

“Dancing in the Distraction Factory” (1993)

Andrew Goodwin doesn’t believe in music videos following a traditional narrative style. He didn’t believe that ideas from the likes of Todorov necessarily apply to pop music videos.

Todorov’s ideas involved a standard sequence that is usually followed to create the narrative:

•        Equilibrium – there is a balance between good and evil in the universe

•        Disruption – An event takes place; event portrayed as negative

•        Recognition of disruption – the protagonist usually recognises the disruption

•        Attempt to repair disruption – the protagonist would then set about repairing the “damage"caused by the antagonist

•        Restoration of NEW equilibrium – balance is returned to the universe.

It also doesn’t mean that pop videos are attempting to be “avant garde”; music videos are just easier to steer away from a typical narrative because they involve a lot of repetition. For example, the chorus of a pop song can be repeated up to three times, therefore, repetition may also be applied to the music video (the same scene may be associated with the chorus).

“avant garde” – new and experimental ideas.

Intertextuality is the reference to a media text via another media text. Intertextuality is common in music videos because many directors that direct well known videos are film graduates. Intertextuality can be done in a comedic style, such as a parody. For example:

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers song "Don't Come Around Here No More has an Alice In Wonderland theme:

Repetition plays a huge role in the success of a music video. The song may be played on the radio, the  video on TV or online and there might be an advertisement of the album on TV. This would make the song very familiar.

There are three types of relations between songs and videos:

Illustration – this is where the video narrates the lyrics to the song. An example is “You Belong With Me” by Taylor Swift. The video fits the category because the video reflects the lyrics;Taylor Swift's lyrics tend to be narrative in themselves.

Amplification – this is where the video introduces new meanings to a video but doesn’t contradict the lyrics. An example is “Please Don’t Leave Me” by P!nk. The video still relates to her not wanting her boyfriend to leave her, but the need for him to stay is amplified; realistically she would not be playing a doctor at home etc.

Disjuncture – this is where there is little connection between the video and the lyrics. For example, “Paper Doll” by John Mayer. The lyrics have no connection to the woman dancing on her own in a public place. The video was also very simple; one take.

In many videos, women are portrayed as sexual objects. However, this is frequently done by female musicians themselves such as Beyonce. Some female musicians present themselves as sexually attractive but this is combined with power and strong lyrics, for example, “Who Run The World (Girls) by Beyonce.

Videos also try to gain as wide an audience as possible without alienating the core audience. This is evident through many of the artists that change their image or the genre of music that they are associated with. For example, Miley Cyrus, who started off on the Disney channel and completely changed her “squeaky clean” image. Another example is Taylor Swift, who switched from recording country music to transitioning into pop music. She successfully managed to maintain her previous audience by keeping her lyrics recognisable but reached out to more people as pop music generally has a larger audience than country.

Finally, a lot of videos are created for songs that are on a movie soundtrack. This means that the video involves the artist of the song but also, most commonly, scenes from the film that correspond with the lyrics. An example is “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion.

3. What is the function of a music video?

The main purpose of a music video is to promote the song, the album and the artist.

 A music video does this by selling the song in a way that enables the audience to easily remember it.

 It also provides the viewer with a better understanding of the song so they can engage with it visually and audibly; usually achieved by performance or “story” telling. 

A music video should also be able to entertain the viewer by demonstrating the artists’ musical and performance talents or their attractive physical appearance.

A music video is a good marketing tool that is used as a visual aid to help sell the artist, their brand and their products (singles, albums, gigs) to as wide an audience as possible.

Some music videos have a certain dance move that makes it memorable. This then creates further interest in the artist. 

Psy made the "Gangnam Style" dance famous. He was unknown till the release of this song. He then went on to release more music, went on tour and became a well known celebrity all over the world. 

Some videos are controversial with the purpose to shock, get people talking and watching the video and therefore also searching up the artist.

Miley Cyrus' video "Wrecking Ball" was controversial as it was a complete image change from her previous work. It now has over 800 million views on YouTube.

2. Summer Work

My Storyboard For:

Naughty Boy Ft. Sam Smith - La La La

1. Introduction

Hello!
My name is Diana, I am part of group 25 and I am excited to start this project. By the end of it, I not only hope to have created a music video, gained knowledge and skills, but also enjoyed the process.

I created a Weebly website for one of my favourite bands The1975. Here's the link:

http://the1975online.weebly.com/

5. Carol Vernallis

Carol Vernallis had a Theory that was split into 4 main parts

- Narrative
- Editing
- Camera Movement and Framing
- Diegesis


1. Narrative - She suggested that the video was a visual response to the narrative. Meaning that whatever shots or images that are shown on screen reflect and show the choice of lyrics chosen by the artist. She also goes on to  that it is however not always completed and can be partial with the video appearing pretty disjointed,  and kinda fragmented. It may not exactly be narrative, it could be the music itself or other elements in the video. Some questions are still left unanswered at the end of a narrative video and although the video may have a theme or narrative, it  is probably in a montage style, rather than in a much clearer way.

2. Editing - She believes that a clear convention of music editing is that the video may disrupt or break the conventions of continuity editing. It may also become visible and not hidden apposed to the invisible style of continuity editing. Meaning it will have a specific style of editing that is distinctive to the video. You may see:

- Jump cuts
- Breaks of the 30 degree rule
- Cutting with the lyrics
- Extreme changes paa
- Juxtaposed frames
- Graphic matches

3. Camera Movements and Framing - She states that establishing shots are one of the key camera features of a music video and are used frequently throughout a music video as well as close up shots. The style of framing of the video again is quite distinctive to the video and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. Extreme shots are also known as master shots are also very common.

4. Diegesis - In terms of media the diegesis is the world of the  music video. Explains how the diegesis will be revealed quite slowly. The actions in the videos won't always be completed and may be disrupted in some way. There will be many repetitions throughout the video and some frames will appear more important than others due to the way they have been shot/framed.

4. Andrew Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Godwin's Theory - Blogpost 4

There are three main points of Andrew Godwins theory in which the music video can connect back to the song itself through:

-Illustration

-Amplification

-Disjunction

Illustration- It is by far the most simple method of the three to base a music video around as it is literally just the meaning of the lyrics but so the audience can see it visually. A good example of this is in the music video 'Fireflies' by owl city because whilst he speaks about fireflies there is a visual demonstration of fireflies on screen showing that it is in fact illustrative. Dance is also often used to express the feeling/mood of the song

Amplification- this is the second main point by Goodwin, they're usually demonstrated by the music video director. They could be both narrative and performance connotations of the meaning. An example of this is in the music video "coming home" by P diddy because he is shown to be walking and traveling in a specific direction with the lyrics 'I'm coming home' implying the obvious.

Disjuncture- This is where there is little to no connection between the lyric and the video or where the the video contradicts the lyrics for example the song 'lips are moving' by Meghan Trainor is all about lying and her not being dumb yet it is a really rather cheerful and upbeat music video and she is made out to be some modern day barbie in the video.

3. What is the function of a music video?

Definition: It is a creative story that portrays a message of the artist to the audience, often through performance or showing images that can be illustrative to the lyrics and the mood of the song.


Functions: The overall purpose of a music video is to basically promote the single and the artist whether it is for profit or for a larger fan base, in order to do so, It has other functions:

1. Look appealing to the audience by making it eye catching, pop songs usually do this by using bright vibrant colors and dancers to make it more attractive to the audience.
2. To communicate a message with the audience, whether its through the lyrics itself or the actual images. This is usually shown through illustrative images.
3. It also gives a visual representation of the lyrics for the audience.
4. To make profit for the artist and the label, and to advertise their single and album through visual methods.
5. To increase the fan base of the artist
6. Depending on the artist it could be for visual art and to engage the audience through those methods

2. Summer Work

The summer work was to re-make your favorite music video in a series of shots and using them to create a story board

My storyboard is for the music video: A-Team - Ed Sheeran

1. Introduction

Hello,

My name is Liam and I'm one of the four members of Group 25

The weebly account is based on one of my favorite artists Beyonce.

The link to the website will be below, hope you like what you see

10. Target Audience Research Task 1. Andrea Herrera

Target audience for Ellie Goulding.

 

9. Storyboard ''Stop me''

This task consisted of making us listening to the lyrics of a song and imagining a music video for it. 

This is my storyboard for the beginning of the song. 

The song is Stop me by Mark Ronson feat. Daniel Merriweather

8. Mainstream vs Indie.

Advantages and disadvantages to being signed to an independent label. 

Advantages:

• You have your independence in music
• Close connections with fans.

Disadvantages:

• No financial help-limited budget for promotion
• not known globally
• have to do it themselves
• less profits.

Advantages and disadvantages to being signed to an mainstream label.

Advantages:

• Distributes to a larger audience
• artists known worldwide
• have financial support
• are publicised quicker

Disadvantages:

• No freedom
• most of the profits go to the label
• labels can be exploiting the artists.

How important do you think merchandise and ancillary products are to the success of the band and to the audience?

It is very important as merchandise and ancillary products help to make much money as well as promoting the band or artist. The audience can have something which is related to the band or artist, such as dolls or posters

How many different ways can fans of the bands fin our information about them?

• Look through websites
• social media- it feels like you are engaging directly to the artists
• Tv music shows such as MTV and interviews.
• Forums 

Would you rather be signed to a mainstream or independent label? 

I would rather be signed to an independent label because in a mainstream you do not have an independence in the music you create. In my opinion, more attention is drawn to you and you do not have this competition like you would in mainstream labels. What is more, you have closer connections with fans which I personally think is a key feature.

7. One Direction vs Lanterns on the Lake.

 ONE DIRECTION

• They are signed to Syco Records and Columbia who are all under Sony Music Entertainment. 
• Other artists and genres the label specialises in: Little Mix, Fifth Armony. And genres such as hip hop, country, and so on.
• The target audience are teen girls under sixteen years old.
• Merchandise and ancillary products such as dolls, bedsheets, DVDs, posters, stationary and so on.
• Their music can be purchased on itunes and their website.
• They started on the Xfactor and were put together by their coach, Simon Cowell.

Lanters on the Lake

• They are signed to Bella Union- founded by Simon Raymonde and Robin Guthrie, now run soolely by Raymonde.
• Genres and artists the label specialises in: hip hop, folk, country and so on. And artists such as Expelions in the Sky, Sleeping States, Thousands, and so on. 
• Their audience are people from sixteen to twenty-five years old, mainly man.
• Merchandise and ancillary products such as t-shirts, posters and tote bags.
• They formed in 2007. They self-released two EPs and a single before signing to the Bella Union record label in December 2010. 

6. Laura Mulvey's theory.

Laura Mulvey's theory on gender representation.

She talked about a theory known as The Male Gaze. It means that in our society, the dominant and active gender is male, whereas female are passive and to be looked at as objects.

When analysing music videos, we have to be aware of:

• The reaction of the men to women and vice versa
• The message given in the video about women and men
• From whom perspective the audience is an observer
• Who the audience is for the video
• According to Mulvey, women are dismembered in all forms of media- there is a focus on parts of their body. She argued that men are shown as a whole. 

We were assigned a task to prove our understanding in Laura Mulvey's theory. This is my task:

We also analysed three music videos as part of our understanding.

Two more examples:

1.

In this video, the singer Nicki Minaj is dressed in a sexualised way as she is wearing lingerie to attract a male audience (for example in min: 0.13-0.16 and throughout the video) 

2.

From the beginning of this video, audience can see Beyonce wearing make up, especially red lips and might be used to emphasise her lips. Her t-shirt is open and we can see her lingerie. Throughout the video audience is shown different sexy and showy positions of women. This reinforces the idea that women are objects to be looked at and men are the ones who look at them.

5. Carol Vernallis' theory

Carol Vernallis studied editing and camerawork closely in music videos. 

The main points of her observation are below:

1. Continuity editing is broken to draw attention to what is on screen. 
2. To draw attention music videos used edits such as wipes, fast pace editing, 360 degree camera movement, special effect, and so on. 
3. Jump cuts are often used.
4. A base track or master shot gives the music video a structure, therefore a is frequently used.
5. The camera is not usually placed in a tripod but it can be. The camera moves in time with the music.
6. Speed of the edits is manipulated, it might be speeded up or slowed down

To put in practice this theory, we were assigned to try and spot the techniques mention above. 

The two music videos were:

1. The first one:

   2. The second one:

Some other examples of the elements of Vernalli's Theory are:

• Jump cuts: 

•  Slow motion/fast motion:

• Special effect editing:

• Use of base tracks in the edit:

4. Andrew Goodwin’s theory main points

The structure of Music Video Rethinking Narrative Analysis

 

• Traditional narrative analyses do not apply to pop videos because they approach narrative from different angle to novels and films.
• The reasons:

1. Pop videos do not pose traditional narrative structures. (They go with recorded songs)
2. The singer is a narrator and a character
3. The singer often looks at the camera to try and involve the viewer

• Intertextuality: The repetition in songs of parts or rhythms of other songs so that we become familiar with the genre and have certain expectations.
• Pop songs have a form of closure and ending.
• A music video may go beyond the original meaning. 
• Sometimes, music videos may promote films.
• There are three types of relations between songs and videos:

Illustration: the video tells the story of the lyric. For example, Blank Space- Tylor Swift. The video shows what the lyrics say. We can see the emotions of the lyrics through the acting of the characters. Tylor Swift plays both participant and narrator.      

Amplification: the video introduces new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning. For example, The heart wants what it wants- Selena Gomez. The video goes with the lyrics and shows Selena with her ‘boyfriend’ in the video. However, there are some bits of the video where she is looking at the camera and is singing as well as crying at the same time. This may indicate she does not feel happy and have to break up even though she does not want to.  At the end of the video, we can see her alone and may connote she has left her fictional boyfriend. Selena plays both participant and narrator.

Disjuncture: there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric. For instance, Somebody That I Used To Know- Gotye. The video is about both artists being painted and sing together. The lyrics are about a break up of a relationship. At the end, Gotye has the paint all over his body and the woman, Kiara, is naked.

• Pop videos often have easily recognisable features.
• The male gaze, where women are represented as objects, is a feature of heavy metal and hip hop videos.
• In some videos, the different instruments in the music are represented by different objects.
• Music videos want to keep their target audience as well as trying to appeal to a wider audience. For example, older bands may show themselves in the 60s or 70s so that they can appeal to an older audience.
• Videos that are from songs written for particular movies often incorporate images from that movie in the video. For example, Celine Dion -My Heart Will Go on- from Titanic.  

3. The functions of a music video.

What is a music video?

A music video goes with a recorded song, usually interpreting the lyrics by using visual images or dancing. It plays an important function in the success of the artist and the sales of their album and single releases.

However, the production of music videos are more complex. It is a combination of different structures, camera and editing techniques that are not in TV drama or News.

Functions of a music video

The main purpose is to PROMOTE the single, the album single and the artist. In order to do this, it has to:

1. Sell the song in a way that the audience can remember the song from the video.
2. Engage the viewer both visually and audibly though a performance or a story telling.
3. Make sure the viewer is entertained through dancing, singing, performing and physical appearance.

But there are other functions, such as:

• Engage the target audience
• Entertain the target audience
• To help to make money for the artist and record company
• Advertising other media products. For example, a movie soundtrack.

In my opinion, a good example of a music video is Bad Blood - Taylor Swift ft. Kendrick Lamar because it might engage the audience visually as there are well-known actresses and models in the video as well as they are entertained mainly through physical appearance and singing.

2. Summer task.





The summer task was to create a storyboard of the first minute of our favorite song. My choice was All about that bass - Meghan Trainor

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

The mise-en-scene in this video consists of a pink background. People’s clothing is in pastel colours that may connote feminine, love, caring, peace, purity, innocence or nurture. It may also mean summer time as there are bright shades of primary colours such as light blue and yellow, and the video was released 11^th June 2014. 

The lighting might be artificial as the video seems to have been done in a studio; it is not an outdoor location.

Blocking. The dancers dance alongside with the singer, Meghan and might connote amusement. There are also some bits where some dancers are trying different clothes and it could connote childhood.There are bits of the video where little girls appear playing with dolls and this may reinforce the idea of purity and innocence.