Indie: In an indie music video there is often a mixture of narrative and performance and sometimes the whole band performs such as in the music video "OLYMPIC AIRWAYS" by Foals and other times just the main vocalist sings.
When Indie music videos do have a narrative they are often quite symbolic and do not amplify the lyrics.In an Indie music video there is:
- Special effects are sometimes used.
-There is a variety of close ups to show the main artist singing and other band mates performing as well as wide shots of the whole band.
-The colour of the video changes depending on the lyrics of the song and the tempo of the music it can be bright, dark and sometimes black and white.
-Editing is usually quite fast paced, the cuts are quick.
-The band wears casual clothing, clothing that only suits them.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
MY chosen song- Bloc party- Flux
THIS IS OUR CHOSEN SONG
If your right hand is causing you pain
Cut it off cut it off
If your colours have started to run
Let them all run, run away from you
There is lightning in this room
Above our heads waiting to strike
Im a thinker not a talker
Put your faith, your faith in God
( Here the song is being interpreted as if to say, if something is causing you pain, get rid of it. Also the singer is telling the audience that he doesn't talk about things like his feelings and for a relationship to work people should put their faith in god rather then waiting for him to talk things through.)
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more dispair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of Flux
(The chorus shows what the couple were hoping for and now what they have, using the song title "flux" he goes on to say how he must talk about his problems.)
Id kill for an adventure
Just you and I in the Curzon Bar
Dancing till we knew
So all that we've learnt disappeared
When you shouted at me
I saw my father in the second grade
Concerned and kind
But yet unable to reach me
(Here he is explaining how he wants to go on an adventure, possibly back to old times, so that all they have learnt disapears and they no longer go by rules. Here he says that his partner was concerned and kind but unable to reach him, this shows a breakdown of communication)
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more dispair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a State of Flux
State of Flux [x9]
We need to talk [x5]
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more dispair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of Flux
Over all when listening to this song I feel that it gives the impression about a relationship starting to crumble and trys to show them what they should do to fix things.
If your right hand is causing you pain
Cut it off cut it off
If your colours have started to run
Let them all run, run away from you
There is lightning in this room
Above our heads waiting to strike
Im a thinker not a talker
Put your faith, your faith in God
( Here the song is being interpreted as if to say, if something is causing you pain, get rid of it. Also the singer is telling the audience that he doesn't talk about things like his feelings and for a relationship to work people should put their faith in god rather then waiting for him to talk things through.)
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more dispair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of Flux
(The chorus shows what the couple were hoping for and now what they have, using the song title "flux" he goes on to say how he must talk about his problems.)
Id kill for an adventure
Just you and I in the Curzon Bar
Dancing till we knew
So all that we've learnt disappeared
When you shouted at me
I saw my father in the second grade
Concerned and kind
But yet unable to reach me
(Here he is explaining how he wants to go on an adventure, possibly back to old times, so that all they have learnt disapears and they no longer go by rules. Here he says that his partner was concerned and kind but unable to reach him, this shows a breakdown of communication)
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more dispair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a State of Flux
State of Flux [x9]
We need to talk [x5]
We were hoping for some romance
All we found was more dispair
We must talk about our problems
We are in a state of Flux
Over all when listening to this song I feel that it gives the impression about a relationship starting to crumble and trys to show them what they should do to fix things.
Foals- Olympic Airways Analysis
Here I have completed an Analysis of the music video Olympic Airways. Looking at how the video interprets the lyrics, how camera angles are used, lighting is used and settings are captured.
The video its self is 4 minutes and 23 seconds long. In terms of Muse en scence the band do a performance video in a field, in the middle of the trees in a place that they have found to settle down and live. The setting of the field is messy in a way that it is obvious to tell that it has been lived in. Beds, clothes, a bike and things such as food and drinks are laying around the place.
The lighting of the setting is natural light, its sunny and broad day light through out the whole video, natural light is used through out it all giving the emphasis of the band living out side all the time in the field. Through out the music video, shots are varied, long shots of the band far away, laying down with other people who are meant to be friends that are living there too are used. A long shot of the band is used when showing the scene around them. This is a clever way of showing all the band and the scene.
Also Close ups of the band are used when they are actually performing. They are filmed in the field having fun with friends. When they are performing close ups of the band are used, making the video more impressionable on the fans, fans want to be able to see the band in a video making the music video more meaningful to them. Close ups show the expression on the band memebers faces. Many of them look dazed and confused. Close ups are a great vechicle to seel the band.
Close ups of their instruments are shown when the sound of a certain instrument is heard specifically, for example during the video, the electric guitar is the dominant instrument played at one point so a close up of one of the band members playing it is shown. Close ups of individual band members are also shown, this helps for if fans have a favorite band member.
The cuts of the video, are at quite a fast pace, this is due to the video adding to the lyrics, all of it together is quite crazy and cereal. The pace of cuts are determined on the genre or music. For example a RNB song will have a fast pace to it and the cuts will be faster. Where as a slow genre song will have more cross dissolves rather than cuts. The cuts themselves lead to different band members doing individual things such as riding a bike through the field, and other band members with friends and extras in the video. One cut leads to all of the band and extras sitting in a film facing the camera with the band singing this is a different way of performing and shows an effective way of individualism. Some times the band are shown to be "chilling out" and relaxing.
The editing has been over cranked in one part of the video. This is when the band are all ins low motion. The back ground of the video is over cranked while one of the band members is singing slowly. The lyrics sung at this point is "An avery forever, An avery forever. Forever Forever" The pace of the editing drives the music and the music with this song has a slow and calm beat. Also it makes the lyrics more realistic. The pace of the music determins the editing.
The video overall consists of odd props such as an octopus, a childs bike, a mirror in a field. When put together they seem a strange combination of props to use with in a music video but when actually seen with in the video they fit in a make sense because they can be things that are used when living some where and also they add a sense of messed up and weird that a lot of fans like to see to keep the video interesting.
The video ends with the band and extras letting off balloon while sitting down in a field.
The video its self is 4 minutes and 23 seconds long. In terms of Muse en scence the band do a performance video in a field, in the middle of the trees in a place that they have found to settle down and live. The setting of the field is messy in a way that it is obvious to tell that it has been lived in. Beds, clothes, a bike and things such as food and drinks are laying around the place.
The lighting of the setting is natural light, its sunny and broad day light through out the whole video, natural light is used through out it all giving the emphasis of the band living out side all the time in the field. Through out the music video, shots are varied, long shots of the band far away, laying down with other people who are meant to be friends that are living there too are used. A long shot of the band is used when showing the scene around them. This is a clever way of showing all the band and the scene.
Also Close ups of the band are used when they are actually performing. They are filmed in the field having fun with friends. When they are performing close ups of the band are used, making the video more impressionable on the fans, fans want to be able to see the band in a video making the music video more meaningful to them. Close ups show the expression on the band memebers faces. Many of them look dazed and confused. Close ups are a great vechicle to seel the band.
Close ups of their instruments are shown when the sound of a certain instrument is heard specifically, for example during the video, the electric guitar is the dominant instrument played at one point so a close up of one of the band members playing it is shown. Close ups of individual band members are also shown, this helps for if fans have a favorite band member.
The cuts of the video, are at quite a fast pace, this is due to the video adding to the lyrics, all of it together is quite crazy and cereal. The pace of cuts are determined on the genre or music. For example a RNB song will have a fast pace to it and the cuts will be faster. Where as a slow genre song will have more cross dissolves rather than cuts. The cuts themselves lead to different band members doing individual things such as riding a bike through the field, and other band members with friends and extras in the video. One cut leads to all of the band and extras sitting in a film facing the camera with the band singing this is a different way of performing and shows an effective way of individualism. Some times the band are shown to be "chilling out" and relaxing.
The editing has been over cranked in one part of the video. This is when the band are all ins low motion. The back ground of the video is over cranked while one of the band members is singing slowly. The lyrics sung at this point is "An avery forever, An avery forever. Forever Forever" The pace of the editing drives the music and the music with this song has a slow and calm beat. Also it makes the lyrics more realistic. The pace of the music determins the editing.
The video overall consists of odd props such as an octopus, a childs bike, a mirror in a field. When put together they seem a strange combination of props to use with in a music video but when actually seen with in the video they fit in a make sense because they can be things that are used when living some where and also they add a sense of messed up and weird that a lot of fans like to see to keep the video interesting.
The video ends with the band and extras letting off balloon while sitting down in a field.
Monday, 19 September 2011
Foals- Olympic Airways
Suns up, we wait,
All day
Suns up, we wait,
All day
All day, the house-hide?s kept away
If only we could move away, from here,
This is how we build a place, an aviary for today,
An aviary for today
Let?s disappear till tomorrow,
Let?s disappear till tomorrow
Dis-a-ppe-ar!
Dis-a-ppe-ar!
Dis-a-ppe-ar! ar! ar! ar!
Blow up these fake parades let?s go,
To an aviary far from home,
To an aviary far from home
A one hand clap is me and you (anew?)
And you
And you
And you
While the hell-side?s kept away,
If only we?d moved away
Dis-a-ppe-ar!
Dis-a-ppe-ar!
(Rock out part then build up)
Sun down now we have built our place,
An aviary, forever
An aviary, forever
Forever
Forever
Forever
Forever
Forever
Re-a-ppe-ar!
Re-a-ppe-ar!
The overall point in these lyrics is showing that they have found a vacation to stay for a while but they are being moved away. The lyrics are not very specific, which I feel is quite good so that we have many more options as to how to do our music video.
When listening to the video, as a group we decided that a urban countryside would be best to shoot the video rather then in a busy city like London. We also thought as the lyrics do not tell much of a story we would do a mainly performance video with a band we know. We will still put in some narrative, that includes the band. The decision to do the performance was also made on the fact that we want them to pretend to be this band, meaning the fans would want to see them in the video.
We decided that once our choice out of both songs had been decided we would extend on our thoughts for either video that we have chose.
THIS SONG WAS OUR REJECTED SONG
Song choices
To choose a song that isn't very well known but popular enough for one to know how to research it makes it hard to find a song because a lot of them are too well known and typical. To research a song we tried lots of different ways, first we tried looking on youtube and typing in the least well known bands we could think of, when this was unsuccessful due to realizing that although there not well known to us there actually very popular and well known to many other people.
We then decided that we would go onto Adverts and TV programes such as Hollyoaks to find songs that have been played before that we like the sound of. Although we do not all have the same taste, we all decided that we would put our different song genres aside and choose the song we feel we will all get the best a-level out of.
Here are our song choices.... now we have to just choose one.
We then decided that we would go onto Adverts and TV programes such as Hollyoaks to find songs that have been played before that we like the sound of. Although we do not all have the same taste, we all decided that we would put our different song genres aside and choose the song we feel we will all get the best a-level out of.
Here are our song choices.... now we have to just choose one.
Planning
Here we are planning to do a music video. my group, consisting of myself Emily, Voke, Sophie and Victoria have decided that the genre of music we are going for is indie. I decided before we started that I would re-capture "indie".
'In popular music, indie music (from independent) is any of a number of genres, scenes, subcultures and stylistic and cultural attributes, characterised by (real or perceived) independence from commercial pop music and mainstream culture and an autonomous, do-it-yourself (DIY) approach'
'The term "indie" is often used to mean a sound that a musician presents, but when interpreted more literally, it is the way that sound is presented or made. "Indie" often refers to an artist or band that is not part of the mainstream culture and/or making music outside its influence. Though the sound of these bands may differ greatly, the "indie" definition comes from the do-it-yourself attitude and ability to work outside large corporations.'
CLICK ON WEBSITE LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://www.neardistance.co\.uk/
Click on picture for the term of INDIE.
'In popular music, indie music (from independent) is any of a number of genres, scenes, subcultures and stylistic and cultural attributes, characterised by (real or perceived) independence from commercial pop music and mainstream culture and an autonomous, do-it-yourself (DIY) approach'
'The term "indie" is often used to mean a sound that a musician presents, but when interpreted more literally, it is the way that sound is presented or made. "Indie" often refers to an artist or band that is not part of the mainstream culture and/or making music outside its influence. Though the sound of these bands may differ greatly, the "indie" definition comes from the do-it-yourself attitude and ability to work outside large corporations.'
CLICK ON WEBSITE LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION
http://www.neardistance.co\.uk/
Click on picture for the term of INDIE.
Friday, 1 July 2011
Eminem - Stan Video Analysis
....Click on picture for video
I am analysing the video “Stan” by Eminem ft Dido.The story of the song is a fictional story about a man named Stanley Mitchell who claims to be Eminem's biggest fan. Throughout the song Stan becomes obsessed with Eminem. The first three verses are delivered by Eminem as Stan while the fourth verse is Eminem attempting to write to Stan, only to realize that he had already heard about Stan's death on the news. The song has sold over 750,000 copies in the UK.
The genre of the music is R N B , rap. The genre of the music drives the editing . Andrew Goodwin states in his book dancing in the distraction factory that particular music genres have there own music video style and iconography. This is because different shots and cuts interpret different genres. For example lots of cuts would not match a slow genre song. You can tell this by the video because the only singing in it is from dido’s, song, the rest of it is Eminem rapping. Other characteristics that show the audience that the video is a rapping genre is the clothes that Eminem is wearing, he has baggy jeans on and a baggy top, and through out the song is slouched in a chilled position sitting down.
The muse-en-scene in this music video works well with the tone and the mood of the song. The lighting is dark and dim with natural light coming through the windows. Stan is wearing exactly everything that Eminem wears, big tops, baggy jeans and has even died his hair blonde. The weather is shown through the open window at the beginning and when Stan is in the car, it is raining heavily and is very dark and gloomy, the tone of the light is negative and dim.
The song video itself is a narrative music video, because although it does have Eminem in it, he is not performing his song or even singing it, it shows a story of a fan reading out the letters he has sent Eminem and then shows Eminem reading them and sending a letter back. The relationship between lyrics and visuals (what is said in the letters to Eminem) is acted out by “Stan” . When stan says “I got a room full of your posters and your pictures man” a pan shot around the room of all the pictures of Eminem is taken to show us the extremeness of this fans obsession. Another way in which the lyrics are visualised is when Stan says “If you didn't wanna talk to me outside your concert, You didn't have to, but you coulda signed an autograph for Matthew That's my little brother man, he's only six years old” As that is being rapped, “Stan” is stood out side the concert with his little brother calling Eminem's name while Eminem rushes past him. “I even got a tattoo of your name across my chest” this is another lyric that is shown visually, on the video Stan is shown to be getting a tattoo of slim shady’s name on his chest. The beats of the song goes with the music video well for example when the drum pattern begins we see the darkness and eerie scene of the basement, which is parallel to the audio. The beat of the song and the tone of the rapping changes through out the song for example at the beginning when Stan was writing calmly to Eminem the tone was happier and slower but as he gets angrier and angrier at the fact Eminem hasn’t replied back the beat gets faster and the tone gets louder and quicker, “So this is my cassette I'm sending you, I hope you hear it I'm in the car right now, I'm doing 90 on the freeway Hey Slim, I drank a fifth of vodka, you dare me to drive? You knowthe song by Phil Collins, "In the Air of the Night" about that guy who coulda saved that other guy from drowning but didn't, then Phil saw it all, then at a a show he found him? That's kinda how this is, you coulda rescued me from drowning Now it's too late - I'm ona 1000 downers now, I'm drowsy and all I wanted was a lousy letter or a call” when this quotation is rapped Stan is driving in the car, intoxicated with alcohol talking into a cassette. " Lyrics tend to help establish a general feeling, or mood, or sense of subject matter, rather then offering a coherent meaning. Key lines may play a part in the visuals associated with a song but very rarely will a music video simply illustrate the lyrics whole sale" this is quoted by Andrew Goodwin. For example in Rhianna- unfaithful there is a lyric saying "I might as well take a gun and put it to his head" This is talking about how it would be better for the man to be dead then experience any more pain. However in the video she is not seen putting a gun to his head. The relationship between the music and the visuals works in sync with the beat, each cut works in line with the video, for example when the pace of the music gets faster the cuts get quicker and the song sounds more powerful and the video looks more jumpy and action filled.
Special effects used with in the video are dissolves used when the posters of Eminem are shown. A vignette is used with in the video, this is when flash lights are used and it is faded around the edge. Fade in , Fade out special effects are used after most cut. For example when Stan is driving in the car. After he has finishe telling Eminem how he feels a fade out is used to show Eminem sitting in his trailor writing the letter to Stan.
At the beginning of the song, it starts out where Stan is writing his letter to Eminem wondering why he has not wrote back yet, it’s a slow pace rap as he is just getting started and the cuts slowly cut between him writing to Eminem, his wife in bed and Eminem reading the letter. The cuts also get slower as dido’s singing part of the song comes on, the wife is mainly shown through out this bit, she shows her worry and fear for her husbands obsession. Here no solo instrumentals are shown because it is a narrative video and emphasises on the story.
Through out the video there are not any close ups of Eminem himself, the only time Eminem is shown in person is when he is sitting there reading the letter, which is a long shot of him sitting down. However the artist himself is shown an awful lot in pictures and posters on the wall of “Stan's” room. Many of the posters are close ups of him and a tracking shot is used when showing all of these posters. The camera is always moving through out the video with tracking shots, following Stan's life, for example when the camera tracks around the basement his obsession with Eminem is shown. This helps sell the video as fans of Eminem want to see him in the video so they get a sense of knowing him and being near him. Andrew Goodwin says that there is a demand on part of the record company for lots of close ups of the main artist. The record company looks to sell this track as showing fans that Eminem does appreciate his fans but sometimes doesn’t have time to write back, by showing lots of pictures and posters of him its another clever way of showing him and letting the audience still get there fix of their idol. The image of the artist being shown is one of a busy man trying to show his fans that he does appreciate them but doesn’t have the time. He tries to express his feelings towards his fans and their obsessions. Motifs that have been used previously are the whole idea of Eminem rapping his opinions and feelings but the change of image from Eminem is that it has singing as the chorus from Dido and a conversation between Stan and his wife at the beginning of the video. Not manyof Eminem's videos do this.
In this video there are no senses given out that the artist is on sexual display, this video is not about showing a new figure or some one sexually, the meaning of it is showing Eminem and his feelings towards fans. None of the other actors or actresses are displayed sexually either. The only thing that displays little sign of sexual display is the lyrics and they only show a tiny bit when "stan" says to Eminem " I loved you Slim, we could have been together t
hink about it, you ruined it now" this is stan showing his feelings towards Eminem, he is implying that he wanted to be with Eminem in a relationship, more than friends. The camera work shows this by using close ups of pictures of Stan and Eminem that he has made and cut his wife out of, also by showing close ups of Eminem in his posters, half naked, with out a top on can hint a slight sense of sexual display, to do this the camera is kept moving at all times so that all the Eminem posters are shown. I feel this slight sexual display has been shown to show the extent of what some fans are like and to show the impact of the obsession and how it isn't healthy or norm. Also Eminem with out his top on in his posters will help sell the video and song to the real fans watching it.
There are a couple of references to "looking" such as through the window at the
beginning of the video and through a mirror near the end of the video, stan is standing up angry with Eminem and as he looks in the mirror his reflection is Eminem him self. This shows his obsession to the extreme. He's started looking like him and acting like him now. This is not because he wants to be Eminem but its because he wants to spend all his time with him, talking to him, being with him and having him there.
There is one intertextual reference with in the song Stan by Eminem, one
uses a slightly modified break from Dido's "Thank you"as its base sample. The track also plays the opening lines of "Thank You" as its chorus. Both songs were released as singles in late 2000. Stan has been called one of Eminem's best songs and is considered one of his signature songs. The chorus is used after each rapping verse to mainly show Dido who is the wife upset and concerned, it also some times shows Stan and Eminem's worries, this is used effectively when listening to the lyrics and the pace of the singing it matches worry, concern and sadness.
Altogether this is a narrative music video, showing the extent of obsession and the unhealthy antics it causes, it also shows Eminem's feelings towards his fans and his view on their obsession, he tries to get through to them that some times he doesn't have time to reply back to them but this doesn't mean he "doesn't want them to be his fans" he shows this by rapping but rapping as a man called Stan and then rapping as him self, he uses Dido's song Thank you as the chorus showing that the song has a sense of sadness and concern in it. Overall I feel this is a mature song with a interesting twist used when Eminem is expressing his views on fans and obsession through another way of getting his voice heard. The beat is fast but low beat all the way through and the cutshappen to cut parallel.
The audience are meant to feel that Stan's little brother is going to lead the same life as Stan by the end of the video where he has blonde hair just like eminem and just how stan did at the beginning of the video.
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