G324 - Lip Syncing and Instrument Syncing - What Is It And Why Is It Important?

Lip syncing is when footage of someone speaking or singing is synchronised with a sound file in order to make it appear that said person is singing/talking. Instrument syncing is very similar to except the sound file is synchronised with footage of a musical instrument being played. This is important to music videos as it adds to the realism of the piece and makes it appear more professional. However, it is extremely difficult to synchronise footage and sound files to perfection. When lip syncing or instrument syncing is done correctly, the music video appears professional and becomes more realistic because the narrative has a better flow and the artist appears more connected with the piece as a whole.



If the lip synchronisation or instrument synchronisation is out of time, the video loses any professionalism it may have already had and the narrative is lost. Not only this, but when the sync is out it also usually means that some of the narrative is out of time too. This can have seriously damaging effects on the video. Further to this, a music video without a narrative relies on the lip sync and instrument sync to establish quality and performance, therefore it becomes crucial for the synchronisation to be correct in order to prevent the video from becoming completely off focus.



This will help me when it comes to making my own music video as it has allowed me to understand the importance of lip syncing and instrument syncing and to see the overall effects it can have on a music video.

G324 - Analysing A Magazine Advertisement: Stereophonics - "Keep The Village Alive"

This magazine advert for the new Stereophonics album - "Keep the village alive" - was found in NME magazine which allowed it to target the desired audience of middle to working class young adults between the ages of 18 and 30. This enabled the band to attract their wide audience as well as to target new potential listeners.

The band's name and the album name are bold and dark which allows them to stand out from the white background to draw in the attention of readers. The white text at the bottom of the poster stands out against it's own black background to enable for easy reading. This is effective as it allows the reader to easily pick out key information such as the release date.

The minimalist colour scheme of the advertisement mirrors that of the album itself whose cover work is displayed at the bottom right of the poster. This allows readers to know what they are looking out for in stores, whilst the list of available formats within the black banner helps to establish a wide range of distribution methods.

The inclusion of the record label and the band's website gives the audience an opportunity to find out more information about the band and album before purchase whilst the two highlighted tracks help to create a selling point for the album.

The shot of the band which constitutes the majority of the advertisement establishes a connection between artist and audience and allows readers to identify the band. The aesthetic of the shot makes the band appear casual and laid-back, giving the chosen design a personal edge which resonates with the reader and causes the band to come across as down-to-earth and relatable.

This will help me when it comes to creating my own magazine advertisement as it has shown me how a simple design can be extremely effective and highlights the importance of including key information such as the album name and cover art.

G324 - Analysing A Digipak: Rihanna - Loud

This 6 panelled digipak created for Rihanna's Loud album uses a minimalistic approach to great effect. The use of colour to indicate theme is very evident and yet does its job subtly and accurately. The vibrant red indicates the pop culture that Rihanna is renowned for whilst also connoting themes of love, romance and sensuality. It is also an extremely bold colour which reflects the album's title. The pale pink reflects femininity, appealing to a female audience, whilst supporting the themes of love and sensuality. The white used for the typography on the cover connotes purity and innocence which is juxtaposed with both Rihanna's sensuality and the album's title.

The minimal typography allows the imagery to be the selling point of the album. This is achieved through the powerful emotional imagery used within the digipak. The inside image depicts Rihanna lying across a bed of roses which presents her as being weak yet also sensual whilst the image used for the front of the album presents Rihanna in a sexual and passionate way whilst also causing her to appear vulnerable and innocent. The bold imagery really reaches out to the audience and presents a much more emotional side to Rihanna in comparison to her previous albums. The pale pink rose printed on the CD mirrors the themes of love and romance and it's beauty is reflective of that of the music from the album.

Ironically, the themes of love, romance and sensuality are juxtaposed with the album's title - Loud - which appears to be more of a comment on Rihanna's personality than the music from the album. This is effective as it creates a sense of mystery to the audience, making the album more appealing.

This will help me when it comes to creating my own digipak as it has shown me that the most important thing with the digipak is that it reflects both the music from the album and the artist's personality. It has also shown me that a minimalistic approach can work just as well as, if not better than, busy and complex designs.

G324 - The Purpose Of A Magazine Advertisement

Magazine advertisements are used to help spread publicity about the release of a new single/ album from an artist/ band. They are usually found in music magazines which feature music from the same genre, such as finding a magazine advertisement for a new Green Day album in a magazine such as Kerrang! This is in an attempt to target an audience that is likely to either already know the band or to be interested in their style of music.

Magazine advertisements tend to showcase the cover art of the CD that it is promoting in order to make the connection easy for the audience to make. It will also include the name of both the artist/band and the album. This is so that the audience will know whose music it is promoting and what it is called in order for them to get hold of it. The release date of the album will also be on the advert so as to create excitement for the audience.

It is often seen on magazine adverts that the record label, artist website and social media links will also be on the advertisement. This is so that the audience can find out more information about the album and the artist if they so desire.

Finally, some magazine advertisements will include ratings from music magazines or other musicians. This is because a high rating from a commendable source is able to capture the attention of the audience and therefore make them more likely to buy it.

This research will help me when it comes to making my own magazine advert as it will has shown me what I will need to include in order to make it both suitable and enticing.

G324 - The Purpose Of A Digipak

Slide Set created by Olivia Calver with GoConqr

G324 - The Purpose Of A Music Video

Music videos have five main purposes. These are as follows:

1) To promote the artist/band
The music video promotes the artist by allowing for wider distribution of their work.



2) To promote the single/album
The music video promotes a single/album by not only being initially distributed across a wider platform but also by allowing people to share the music more easily through social media websites.


   
3) To create a 'star image'
The music video helps to establish and develop the 'star image' of the artist as it allows them to have creative control over how they feel they could best represent themselves and their music. This tends to result in their video reflecting a similar style.


 
4) To entertain the audience
The music video entertains the audience by enabling them to fully immerse themselves in the narrative of the video and to allow them to take time to really enjoy the music.



5) To give the song 'meaning'
The music videos uses moving images to help develop the narrative of the music. It can also add a narrative to a piece of music which, in itself, does not appear to have one which can help explain what the music is attempting to say.



This will help me when it comes to making my own music video as it will enable me to understand why I am making and what I should be aiming to achieve with the video which I create.

G324 - What Makes A Good Student Music Video?

G324 - Student Music Video Analysis: Rudimental ft Ella Eyre - Waiting All Night

The video created appears to be well fitted to the combination of Ella Eyre's R&B style with Rudimental's Drum and Base genre. This is achieved through the editing effects and being cut on beat as well as through the relatively simplistic narrative as well as the sexual representation of the female protagonist which is conventional for R&B videos. The typical narrative for R&B videos centres around some form of relationship with another which is clearly depicted within the narrative of this student video.

The storyline of the video follows a female protagonist who is repeatedly being stood up by her boyfriend. The video begins with the protagonist setting up for a picnic before receiving a text from her partner, telling her that he cannot make it. The video goes on to depict the female protagonist going out with her friend, seemingly in an attempt to forget about her boyfriend standing her up, before then showing a montage of clips which combines multiple situations in which the girl has been stood up by her partner. Towards the end of the video, the protagonist catches her boyfriend cheating on her with her best friend, causing the two to break up. The video ends with the protagonist deleting her boyfriends number, symbolising the end to their relationship.

The close-ups of the protagonist are expected within video due to this being a common theme of R&B videos, as well as the sexualisation of the female protagonist. This indicates that the students who made the video had a firm understanding of the conventions for their music video genre as the encompassed them so well. The theme of the video appears to be independence and betrayal, shown through the simple narrative of the boyfriend betraying the protagonist and the protagonist gaining independence through dumping him. By basing the narrative around the lyrics and incorporating them into the video, it allows for them to be clearly reflected within the narrative which helps to create a story.

The narrative within the music video is strengthened by the way in which it incorporates Todorov's narrative theory and structure. There is a clear equilibrium established at the beginning and the end of the video with the protagonist being shown on her own, with an evident disruption of the partners lack of communication, recognition of his adulterous actions and the protagonist's resolution of breaking with him within the video. This is further enhanced by the battle of wits between two important recognisable character's from Propp's character theory; the hero (the protagonist) and the villain (the boyfriend).

The video looks at representation of gender in both a non-stereotypical way and a stereotypical way. It stereotypically presents males as being dominant and untrustworthy, as well as showing the female protagonist to be stereotypically emotional. However, it also shows the protagonist to be non-stereotypically powerful through her finding the courage to break up with her boyfriend. This allows for a wider target audience as more people are able to relate to the situation. It appears, therefore, that the target audience for this music video would be middle class females between the ages of 13 and 30, most probably also white.

The video is set in a many locations, including a field, a theme park and multiple restaurants. The use of the empty field at the beginning of the video was significant as it connoted the loneliness of the protagonist and exemplified her abandonment. The theme park helps to connote the protagonist's attempts at forgetting by replacing sadness with excitement. In addition, the use of multiple restaurants connotes the multitude of times that the protagonist has been left, whilst also adding to the relatability of the video.

 

The editing of the video is on beat, showing the careful consideration the students must have put into the process. There are a variety of transitions used between scenes which have a relatively good affect on the video, however could arguably be a bit excessive at times. Despite this, some of the editing effects used such as the overlays and the video-in-video aspects do add a sense of professionalism to the overall video. Unfortunately, whilst the lip sync of the video is well edited, the performance of the actress is not good enough for it to appear realistic and the audience is left with a shattered sense of realism. This therefore lowers the overall quality of the video as it's no longer believable that the protagonist is the one singing.

Completing this analysis will help me when it comes to creating my own music video as it has allowed me to understand even more about the importance of the lip sync as well as indicating that the narrative of the video needs to be it's strongest point.

G324 - Student Music Video Analysis: Labrinth - Express Yourself

The video created appears to be well fitted to Labrinth's funk (a style of R&B) and hip-hop style which he is popular for. This is achieved through the use of colour, editing effects and being cut on beat as well as through the quirky narrative. The video has adopted many conventions of R&B to suit the genre, including the dress of the two men. The typical narrative for R&B videos centres around some form of relationship with another, however it is made evident through the video that this song subverts the norm for the genre and instead focuses on the relationship with oneself.

The storyline of the video follows a "regular" man being taught how to express himself from a seemingly "superior" man, through the mediums of dress and dance. The video begins with the "regular" man being unhappy with his life and throwing a diary entry out the window. It lands at the feet of the "superior" man who decides to help him find himself. The "regular" man appears adamant that he is nothing special, whilst the "superior man" endeavours to change his mind. The video ends with the "regular" man becoming comfortable with himself and dancing with a group of friends. The "superior man" passes on his stick, representative of power, before walking off and fading away. This symbolises that he has completed his goal.

The silhouette of the singer against the coloured background is expected within videos of this genre, however is unexpected within this video due to it being student made. it is made very apparent that the students who made this video had wide knowledge of the conventions for their music video genre and followed them entirely. The theme of the video is evidently self-discovery and confidence, indicated by the focused narrative. By basing the narrative around the lyrics and incorporating them into the video, it allows for them to be clearly reflected within the narrative and helps to create a story.

What makes the narrative so strong within the music video is the way in which the students have stuck to Todorov's narrative theory and structure. There is a clear equilibrium established at the beginning and the end, with an evident disruption, recognition and resolution of said disruption within the video. This is further enhanced by the use of two important recognisable character's from Propp's character theory; the hero (the "regular" man) and the helper (the "superior" man).

The video looks at representation of ethnicity in a non-stereotypical way as it presents the ethnic minority as being caring, helpful, talented and ambitious, rather than as being unintelligent or a danger. This is important to the narrative as it allows the target audience to understand the futility of stereotypes and also allows for a wider target audience. It appears, therefore, that the target audience for this music video would be middle class males between the ages of 13 and 23, coming from any ethnic background. The video targets this group by including characters of a similar age and with relatable content.

The video is set in a variety of locations, including London streets and a natural green space. The use of London streets connotes ambition as well as lack of identity due to how busy and compact London is. This is important as it reflects the way in the which the protagonist feels like a nobody. The use of the natural green space when th
e protagonist becomes comfortable with his dancing talent connotes freedom and peace and allows him to appear more dominant due to being the only person around.

The editing of the video is on beat, showing the careful consideration the students must have put into the process. The variety of transitions used between scenes have been used to great affect and help to easily portray changes in time and location. In addition, some of the editing effects used such as the silhouetting of the man against the coloured backgrounds adds a sense of professionalism to the overall video.

Finally, the lip sync of the video is extremely well edited. It is believable that the actors within the video are singing the song and as they not only have the perfect synchronisation between lip movement and lyrics, but also act as if they are singing the song. This raises the overall quality of the music video dramatically as it suddenly becomes more realistic and believable.

Completing this analysis will help me when it comes to creating my own music video as it has allowed me to see which aspects of the music video are most important and has shown me the high potential for student music videos which I should aim towards.

G324 - Brief Music Video Analysis'

This task allowed me to focus on the most important aspects of the music videos which I was looking at and brought to my attention the most common shot types within music videos (close ups) as well as highlighting the number of shots usually included. This took my surprise which therefore proves the significance of this task as without having completed it, I feel that the music video I would have gone on to make would not have been true enough to music videos in general.

G324 - The MTV Video Music Awards - A Brief History

The MTV Video Music Awards, more commonly known as the VMAs, is an award ceremony dedicated to honouring the best music videos created each in year. Founded in 1984, the VMAs have now been appearing on our screens for 31 years. However, it wasn't until 2001 that the awards became coveted by musicians across the world.

The VMAs are hosted by a highly regarded musician from the previous year who has been gaining lots of media attention, such as Miley Cyrus who presented this year's awards.

The VMAs are renowned for artists taking the opportunity to create the most obscene routines for during the show and it is common for artists to announce new singles and albums during the show. However, more importantly, the VMAs are split into categories which allow music videos to be judged on specific aspects. The categories, along with the 2015 winners, are as follows;

-Video of the Year - Bad Blood by Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar
-Best Female Video - Blank Space by Taylor Swift
-Best Male Video - Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson
-Artist to Watch Award - Fetty Wap
-Best Rock Video - Uma Thurman by Fall Out Boy
-Best Choreography - I Won't Let You Down by OK Go
-Best Hip-Hop Video - Anaconda by Nicki Minaj
-Best Direction - Alright by Kendrick Lamar
-Best Video With Social Message - One Man Can Change The World by Kanye West
-Best Visual Effects - Where Are U Now by Justin Bieber and Jack U
-Best Editing - 7/11 by Beyonce
-Best Art Direction - So Many Pros by Snoop Dogg
-Best Cinematography - Never Catch Me by Flying Lotus and Kendrick Lamar
-Best Song of the Summer - She's Kinda Hot by 5 Seconds of Summer

And finally, the prestigious Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, also known as the Lifetime Achievement Award which is given to musicians who have made a profound effect on MTV culture. This year, the Video Vanguard Award went to Kanye West, who ended his acceptance with a claim that he was to run for presidency of the USA in 2020.

However, this is arguably not the craziest thing to have happened at the VMA's. In 1989, comic Andrew Dice Clay's appearance to promote his new film landed him a lifetime ban from the MTV network after introducing Cher using nursery rhymes containing vulgar language and references and in 1991, a first fight broke out between two of the performers.

This information has allowed me to understand the importance of music videos and the way in which they can help shape the music industry, which will help me make more informed decisions when it comes to making my own music video. In addition, by knowing which videos gained awards I am able to find common themes within them which I could apply to my own music video.