My Pitch

Analysing songs

1FrancesLobo - Don't Know Don't Care
http://www.unsigned.com/1franceslobo

Late evening, London Town. Circles from fair, merry go round

We go round and around, do you hear the sound

Up and down, feet don't even touch the ground

These first sentences show that she might be confused, as they say we go round and around, like a relationship that is stuck on the same thing. the line "feet don't even touch the ground" could connote that there is something falling short, hencing why they don't quite reach. the fact that it is late in the evening and in london sets the mood that they could of been on a night out, so from the first couple of lines we know there is possible a couple,  where they are and have a clue that they have had a row. The fact that it is late evening, could link to the target audience that it wouldn't be for children or early teens as its late so they wouldn't usually be out.

Yeah I told ya', warned ya' i would rather be dead

Than be stuck here, waiting while you stick your head

In the tank engine, you did it again

Get me a blade for my wrist, i cant be bothered with it

from these lines the argument has become clearer. From the lines, "stick your head in the tank engine" "rather be dead" and "get me a blade for my wrist" shows forms of violence, or possible suicide caused by the arguments. These lines also connote that there is repeated violence or arguments as guessed from the line "you did it again", also hinting at the other person has done something, like cheat, or another bad thing.

Said you don't know, you don't care, the way I'm feeling, yeah, yeah,

Said you don't know and you don't care. 

I been thinking, i can't take you anywhere

These lines indicate that she is embarrassed about him or doesn't want to be seen with him. The lines 2i been thinking, i can't take you anywhere" tell us that she has been thinking about it for a while and she has had enough. Also from these lines, we can tell that he doesn't try in the relationship and puts no effort into how she feels. 

Your alone, stand high, blushing bride

Yeah a guy I'll find coming over to mine

Though i'd like you to try, look your behind

As you just had sick dripping from your lip line

The four lines above show that there has been a drunk night or a party, as There is guys coming to her house, and someone has just been sick. This links with the target audience again showing that there is drunken parties so it still links to the age and interest of parties.

Yeah i've tried to smile, shake my momma behind

Gotta get who you got for for I'll go home and cry

I feel stuck in a world but trying to find

How f*cked is a word that comes to my mind

"I've tried to smile" this line shows how she is unhappy and trying to keep a happy face and how when she is at home she cries. Again connoting that she is abused or falling out with her other half. The second part of this says how she feels stuck, almost trapped as if she can't leave where she is, the person she is with and the home she is in, and how everything has been ruined, as to the word that comes to her mind. 

*chorus again*

Sitting pissed, you come over and say 

Please take this, look after my bags

You throw it at me, walk briskly away

To the man you just want for some stuff and play

In these lines we see that she is angry and frustrated, and he comes over and throws bags at her, then walks away to a man.  The man could be a business man, or a friend, but either way he has left a load on her, possibly multiple times.

Not a thought, think again, this is not what I expect

To come out with you, and be taken for a fool 

You better believe me now, gonna show you how

Gonna take your phone, call your boys and hoe

*last chorus*

The last paragraph before the chorus shows that she has had enough and is fighting back, as we tell from the lines, "gonna show you how" and "gonna take your phone". She isn't going to take this anymore and bye the end of the song she fights back.






The target audience I feel for this song would be teenagers like myself up to the age of say 25, as its a young song, has some swearing in it and is about a boy and a girl typically having a fall out. I feel that it suits any ethnicity and would be for people mainly in the UK. I feel that this song was made for the female population as its a song from the girls point of view and about the boy she is dumping. 


- The beat isn't that fast, but its not a slow song and the beat is repetitive but doesn't make the song drag on. 
- The beat goes with the lyrics and she sings faster the beat goes in time and as she sings higher so does the melody.


I feel that this song would have a music video of "footage" of the relationship. For example, as she is singing, the image on screen through some parts would be showing them fighting or her throwing him out, especially at the end. Also At the beginning, showing the singer walking down the London Town roads, like an interpretative video. 

99dollar musicvideos.com???

- What is 99dollarmusicvideos.com?
99dollarmusicvideos.com is a website which allows people to create their own videos withing the price range of $99 and upload them to show people their own creations. They are an inipendant music network dedicated to merging low-fi, cutting edge videos with the best of todays music scene.
 
- What is their ethos?
99dollarmusicvideos aim to upload each week music videos, with songs written by inipendant artists, joined together with a film maker, to create a contemporary music video that people will enjoy, all for under 99 dollars. They don't just have music videos on the website, they also show the shows on how the video was created, giving others ideas.


- What types, labels and genres appear on their website?
There is a variety of different genres of music, ranging from pop rock, to normal rock to electric, there isn't much hip hop or soul so the main genres would be rock sorts and all the labels are independant, most unknown. There are different types of videos, from the typical live performance, confused world music videos like "strange machines" by Redding Hunter,

and the animated ones like "Dollar Billz" by Keelay.



- What is the relationship between the film makers and the music acts?
Using "Dollar Bills" as my example, the video was designed and edited by Ben Ross, and the video was exactly 99 dollars, which was used to pay for the illegal copy of Flash 8 in order to animate it. Ben Ross and Keelay both had equal input in the video, which is good as there was a good result aswell and most comments were possitive. 

- Which costs are and aren't included in the 99 dollars?
If you own anything, like cameras or editing equiptment and you can use it freely without having to pay for anything, then that doesn't go towards the 99 dollars. However, if you have to pay for anything during the making of the video, whether it is for a new shirt or any of the equiptment used in the video, then it does count and using the 99 dollars.  


- How does 99dollarmusicvideos.com encourage audience participation?
On the website, there are comments pages and a question and answer page for people to ask questions about the videos, the website or even making the videos.

  

- Is it possible to make a proffesional quality music video for $99?

I believe it is. From this video, "Balls" by King Bee.. they have created effects which are effective and they work, although it is unusual, the video lookes like it was worth more than 99 dollars when in face it only cost 80. I feel this is a prime example of a good proffesional looking music video as even though there are no lyrics and it is all set in one location, the effects are great and it doesn't look tacky or the price it was made for.

Case Study; Natalia Kills - Free

Goodwins Theory

Who is Goodwin?
 - Andrew Goodwin was a director of music. He was also an organist at the Bangor Cathedral for 37 years.

 - Andrew has travelled widely both as a recitalist and as a music examiner.

 - He wrote a book, 'Dancing in the distraction factory' and he writes about what he defines as the characterisations of music videos...

... and he had 5 main principles leading up to his theory;


1. The relationship between the lyrics/music and the visuals.
Goodwin suggests that the visuals on screen match or have some recognition to what the lyrics are saying. The visuals will reinforce what the artist is saying. For example, in Griminal - Invincible, the lyrics depict a girl and boy in love using words words like "we" and "us" showing its personal and about a relationship. This is further emphasised on screen where the boy and girl are laying on the sofa, play fighting over the remote, and then they stop, close, with her hand on his face, looking into eachothers eyes. Not only this but the ring on her finger says love, when the lyric said is "love".

"Yeah that's true, invincible, yeah that's me that's you, matter fact scrap that girl that's us, we break up, we make up, but girl thats love"

-These are the lyrics spoken when this image is shown on screen.
-Therefore showing that the relationship between lyrics and visuals are close and related

The same would be for the music and the visuals, the fast or slow tempo/beat of the song, would go with the cuts and images on screen. For example Jessie J - Who you are is a very slow and moving song, and her video doesn't have many cuts in it. But there are many visuals that show the truth of the song. e.g. When she is inside, sitting in her bedroom and because the song gets very indepth and meaningful;, it starts to rain, and she doesn't notice. Although its raining, the lyrics are "its okai not to be okai" and this links with the phrase being under the weather, and as she is not okai, she is litterally under the weather.

2. The genre characteristics, (they are complex and diverse in terms of music video style and iconography).

These are dpicted as the certain trates associated with a particular music genre. For example a rock video you would expect to have the performance of a live band, showing the instruments, crazy stage dancing... For grime you would expect to have the following characteristics as a must; Jewelry, a narrative based story, hoods and 'urban' clothing such a s baggy tops as shown in soldier boy,

a trait of many grime songs are to percieve the artist as is he/she is just writing the music. This can be seen in Stan by Eminem.

Also to appeatr good looking and sexy is a characteristic adopted from R&B exampled in Pusscat dolls - I don't need a man, wearing as little clothes as possible, for sex appeal.

3. Voyeurism, (the objectification of women, systems of looking, screens within screens).

In most music videos, the artists or performers usually look directly into the camera, making the audience feel involved and have that personal connectivity.

 

There are a lot of times where in videos, especially male videos, the women in the songs have little clothes or are objetified, as this shows sex appeal to the male audience, it also gets more views without the viewers realising why that has been done. Rihanna does this alot in her music videos.

 

 

4. Intertextual references,either to other music videos or to TV/films.

The intertextual references relate to our typical storyline which is prominent throughout a huge range of texts, from other music videos, to films and even reality. This is effective for our audience in terms of relation as people can relate to the plotline and find gratification within the video as the story of a dysfunctional relationship is identifiable.

Most songs are about love, how nice it is when u have someone, or how bad it is when you lose them. Mariah Carey - Bye Bye ws a song that alot of peopl related to, and parts in the video, e.g. where she is looking at photographs, is usually what people do when they miss someone or want to remember them. She also looks at the camera a lot, communicating with the audience.

 

5. A lot of close-ups of the artists vocalists.

The record company demands a lot of close ups of the artists or performers in the video, it is a way od showing the audeince what the emotion is like in the song and the artists personality/emotions and ideology comes across.

Close ups in the music video also show intimacy. It promotes the start of the record label and repeats characteristics, like Lil Wayne.

Styles and conventions of music videos

CONVENTIONS :-
There are a lot of different things you would expect to see in certain music video genres, e.g. in RnB, you would expect to see elements in the videos, that would prove it to be RnB. 
RnB would;
- have elements of Hip Hop soul,
- give the feel of intimacy,
- have an effect on the way youths think and act.
Example of RnB artists are;
- Mary J Blige,
- Usher,
- Alicia Keys,
- Mariah Carey...
Things you would expect to see in an RnB video;
- You would usually see the artist themselves in the video, singing, dancing, acting...
- You would see the instruments, usually pianos; Usher- confessions, Alicia Keys- fallin'
- You would usually have some sort of back up dancers, with routine,
- The settings would be calm, sophisticated glamour houses, rooms, clubs..
- The video would include special effects, e.g. OMG- Usher and Just Fine- Mary J Blige.

STYLES :-

As-live/ in-concert...

There are other elements that would be seen in a music video, such as a performance. Some music videos however don't have the real performance, they create their own. This is called in concert or as-live. This would be effective as it shows what kind of music they play or what each member does and it creates that exciting feel you get when your at a concert.

There would usually be;
- A dance routine involved,
- Microphones, such as sweet child of mine. >>
- May not be on a stage, might be in a club or bar.
- The concert may also link with the narrative of the song.

Narrative...

Most music videos usually have a narrative involved, where the song tells a story, or even the video. Sometimes the narrative of the video doesn't always match the narrative of the song but most of the time it does.

Ed Sheeran - Lego House is a good example of this as even though the lyrics don't match what is happening in the video, the video is a clear example of a story, a boy that is a big fan of Ed Sheeran and tries to be him. 


We don't see Ed Sheeran until the very end, and sometimes the artist isn't shown in their videos, some appear once or twice, maybe not to perform but to be a part of the story line like in 'The A Team'. This is an effective music video technique as the speed and pace of the music video goes with the pace of the song, even though the lyrics might not match. 

Interpretative

  - A video that interprets the visuals directly into a story that matches the video, meaning what you see in the video would be what you hear in the lyrics, making it very obvious.

  - Most videos that do this are spoofs of other videos usually to take the mick, but some videos do this seriously.
  - But some videos do replies to ones, like 'Puke in my mouth' was a reply to 'Jizz in my pants'.


  - This is a good example of interpretative music videos as when she says, "I opened the fridge and a fruit rolled out"... in the video, she opened the fridge... and a fruit rolled out.

 - This creates an amusing effect on the viewers, makes people laugh, want to view their other videos and it automatically tells the audience what the artists/spoofers are like.

Surrealism / Abstract

  - These are works that feature the element of surprise, unexpected juxtapositions and non sequitur.

  - Juxtapositions - Two things together that don't work but create an effect on the audience; like a granny break dancing.
  - Non sequitur - utter nonsense with no sequence but still has an effect on the audience.
  - Another example of this would be Nicki Minaj - Super Bass. The song is about her heart beat whenever she sees this person, but the video has a lot of elements that don't suit the lyrics.


Such as;
  - A pink plane, car and pool are shown,  
  - Her riding an ice motor bike,
  - Her puring pink liquids over a boy in a pool,
  - Giving lap dances in the dark..
All of which don't show any relevance to what she is saying, its all a bit random.

Impressionist

Imagery that matches the mood and pace of the song but not necessarily the lyrics.

  - Examples of this with slow songs would be videos like The A Team by Ed Sheeran and Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. Both are slow and match the beat of the song, it works well with slow songs better than fast songs.

 

  - Examples of this with fast songs would be videos like Moves like Jagger by Maroon 5 and Whip my Hair by Willow Smith. Both videos have a lot of cuts and a lot of colour especially in Whip my Hair.

 

  - In the video Journey To The Past by Aaliyah is also a good example of this as there aren't many cuts and there are images and movements like slow walking and close ups of peoples faces that link and connect with the mood of the song.

Animation (Stop motion and digital)

  - Some videos combine digital animation with real life like Anastasia - Journey to the past with Aaliyah; where they do the same pose from the video, as if they are there next to each other. >>


  - Some videos are all animation like The Gorillas.

  - Digital animation works well in videos as well as films and/ or TV adverts/shows like the Toyota Yaris advert with the dancing digital man, this allows the creators to allow these animated people to do things real people couldn't, e.g. sit on the air freshener in a car.


  -  Stop motion is where the artist/creator takes separate photos and then puts them all together to create a stop motion animation.

  - I have created a stop motion animation for an opening sequence in media last year, and it does take along time.


  - It i hard and to create that in a whole 4 minute song would take a long time, but the outcome is very effective and makes the video memorable to the audience.

Intertextuality

This is when one media text refers to another, e.g. by remaking them or copying them or using the same or similar ideas.
  - The Simpson's does this a lot, as well as most animated TV shows, Like Family guy.
  - Family guy does this too when the copy and remake there version of Star Wars.


  - This gives again an amusing effect on the audience and also promotes the film/video/TV show they are copying.


  - Also depending on how what films they take the ideas from, it would have an emotional effect on the audience.

  - Even if you don't know where the ideas are from, e.g. if you didn't know the films, the song/advert/video could still be as effective.

  - Intertextuality is like a short cut meaning, it uses peoples understanding of media texts to create new meanings.

Different types of intertextuality.

5.1... Parody

Where a video is remade but to take the mick and be funny. A lot of people do this, like the remake to I kissed a girl by Katy Perry, a lot of parodies have been made for this, an example being - I kissed your nan.


  - The beginning is the same, on the bed in the same position, but obviously it is to make fun of the video so alot of elements have been changed.

5.2... Pastiche/Homage

This is the imitation of a texts feature by another text.

  - It could have the same or similar styles,
  - Or even be a copy of the original.
  - Sometimes pastiche copies the style from a period of time.
  - A pastiche is almost the same a parody, except parodies copy as a joke and pastiches are more serious. Like Keri Hilson - Pretty Girl Rock, which takes dances and scenes from a lot of other music videos. In the image below, she takes the dances and the idea of dancing in pyjamas, and the hair styles from TLC - creep.

5.3... Referencing

  - Where the The song relates to a film, but this is ONLY when the song is actually in the film, such as Wild Wild West by will Smith, from the film Wild Wild West.

 - Another example of this would Whats Love Got TO Do With It by Tina Turner, from the film whats Love got To Do With It.

Music Video Outlets

There are a lot of ways to view music videos, but each has there upsides and downsides...


Mainstream Television;
  - They are free for the the audience, and everyone can access it,
  - The programmes they are shown on get more views, and adverts too, 
  - They attract a lot of different audiences, children, adults, teens...
However, 
  - Mainstream TV doesn't show many videos, so less chance of the song you like coming on, 
  - There aren't many music channels, so the ones that are on there, people may not like that specific genre, 
  - The songs that are shown may annoy the audience, and you would usually have to wait a while for a certain song/genre to appear.


Music Channels;
  - They show a lot of different artists connected to the same genre of music, 
  - When songs are released they are usually on channels straight away
  - Certain channels have certain genres, such as MTV usually shows RnB..
  - Some music channels also show future releases which is good as you can get future info to new songs you may like
But,
  - You can't replay the videos from the TV, 
  - Some songs/videos are overplayed and this may annoy the audience,
  - People might not be able to afford the channels,
  - The song/video you like could take ages to come up.


Direct CD/DVD specials;
  - You would get to see backstage footage not shown on TV,
  - The audience can the video anytime they want, as its on the CD/DVD,
  - They are usually good quality and tangible.
On the other hand,
  - Not everyone will be willing to buy the CD/DVD when they could get the video for free online, 
  - Some DVDs/CDs only have one song and this may not be the song you like, 
  - The CD/DVD doesn't come out until weeks/months after the song is released.


Artist Websites;
  - The artists get a lot of views and people rate the videos so you can see how good other people think it is,
  - When you sign up to the website, you get news on new songs and/or concerts,
  - Some artists websites sell other products such as JLS sold hoodies and concert tickets from the website,
  - The website frequently uploads on upcoming concerts and gigs.
Though,
  - The websites are limited to certain audiences, 
  - Sometimes they block sharing, you cant show other people, 
  - People can make fake websites pretending to be an artist when they're not.


Streaming Websites (e.g. YouTube/Facebook);
  - You can see unknown artists from suggestions to signed artists, 
  - You are allowed to share the videos most of the the time onto other websites such as Facebook or Twitter, 
  - You can watch a video as many times as you want,
Be that as it may,
  - Sometimes its legal/illegal and it gets confusing, 
  - The website loses profit when people download for free,
  - Some people get annoyed, if they are impatient, at the video, as it may take a while to buffer or if it has ads.


Downloads (legal and illegal);
  - There usually free,
  - They are very easy to access,
  - There are sometimes download charts so you can see which is the best download type, 
Yet,
  - The artists don't get any money from it, 
  - You can face prosecution if you do it too much. (fined)
  - Some download sites give viruses and they take up a lot of memory.

Purpose of a music video

There are many reasons for the purpose of a music video like;
    - to make money mainly,
    - to give the lyrics an image,
    - to give the artist an image,
    - or to promote another brand, e.g. coca cola.
But there are five main ones...

1) To promote a new music release, a new album/single or even an artist, almost like an advert for that song.
Promoting a video is letting more and more people know what it is, the person who sings it, the artists/brands in the music video, and this gets spread, maybe even worldwide.. and allows the artist to get more fame and favourability from just a video.

E.g. if the artist is unknown, the video might be spread, not just across the country, but accros the world, e.g people who sing on youtube, they are not knownm worldwide but the video they put up can be spread and get them recognised, like the image below;

<Youtube has shown where in the world this video has become most popular, the person started the video in the UK and it has spread vastly around Australia, and America.






2) To create  a visual representation of the artist. 
This means allowing the audience to know what the artist looks like and from the music video, you could see what the artists personality or genre of music is. 


E.g. the video allows the artist to be seen whilst no performing, and the audience sees there energy and values of the artist including the styles. The video could also allow the artist to reinvent themselves, e.g. Eminem who went from being jokey to being serious. 
The music video could also be a way of passing on a message/meaning to the audience. Telling them what they dislike or protest against; like 30 seconds to mars - This is war.

<From the video people comment on what they think, the comment directly below says that peace isn't hear anymore and we should be grateful we aren't in the middle of it and stuff. 
So it proves people are effected and/or influenced by the videos.


















3) To extent the playability of a sing and provide addition income.
E.g; the song stays out for longer, on music channels and YouTube, so they get royal payment. Also on the link to the video, the artist would get more views as more of their videos would appear on the suggestions.


The video may also allow for DVD releases and appear on them, such as the theme tune for Friends.

<This is the music video for The rememberants for the Friends theme tune, as you can see, it has the Friends characters in it, so you can repeatedly listen to this song, with out downloading it, as well as buying the DVD set. But there is a down side, being the only song on the DVD is this one.






4) To create a synergy with other media sources, such as films or TV show.
This could be to allow the audience to know of a film from watching the video. most videos do this, especially the singles from X-Factor winners, they also promote the show as well as the artist. 


An example of this would be Linkin Park - New Divide, from the film Transformers.

 ^The screen grabs from the Linkin Park video, have the transformers in it,, and some footage, showing that this song was in the film. This happens in other music videos and it not only promotes the song but the film to as if people haven't seen the film they would know about it through the video and vise versa,

5) The video could be to be at their own right, 
Meaning they are very memorable to watch because of the way they have been created, such as the new technology they have, such as green screens and special effects. 


Most videos are memorable because they create enigmas or narratives. An example of enigmas would be one such as Radiohead - Just, as it creates mystery, as you don't know the answer but it gets people talking about it.
Narrative example would be ones like Usher - Confessions, which have two separate songs but with a continuing video.

^These are two screen grabs from Confessions 1 and 2, and the first video carries on to the second, but in this case unlike other songs, the same situation is being carried on with the lyrics as well.