Panos Symeou A2 Media Studies

In my group we have to decide on a song that we would like to sample and make a music video out of. One person in my group suggested a slow moving melodic rap called "Vice City" by Biig Piig. Another had another similar idea that he suggested wasn't as good as the rest of ours so ultimately decided to step down his idea for one of ours. Mine was an Alternative/Indie style song by the name of "Daft Pretty Boys" by the Bad Suns. Only one of ours can be picked and we must decide very soon. Here is the song I chose that we are considering: Here is the other song we are considering:

The general manger for the band "Bad Suns" has given me permission to use their song "Daft Pretty Boys" for my music video. his response was "Go for it! If you are using our audio though, please give credit to the band at the end of your video." Now it is up to my group and I to decide which song we'll use for our coursework as they have their own songs that they have permission for as well. Here is the song that I have chosen below:

In class today we learnt about audience in the general media and we came across the audience theory created by Jeremy Tunstall.  His theory is the idea that all texts have preferred audiences as well as additional audiences which can be engaged. Here are some of the classes  of audience: Primary audience        Watching films in a cinema involves a primary mode of audience engagement as the spectator is immersed with the narrative.  So for your primary, target audience they will have bought the song/downloaded it and will consume your text in this way. Secondary audience        While watching a programme at home on television may involve eating a meal at the same time, texting, using social media or other additional activities. Your secondary audience may be interested, but they haven’t bought the single. Tertiary audience        Tertiary audience engagement is using the text as background media like ...

  Today I asked permission to use the song called "Daft Pretty Boys" from the Bad Suns for my media coursework. In this I will be sent into a group where we'll use audio from our selected songs to create a music video. I sent an email to one of their general mangers to ask for permission and I'm now waiting for a response. Here is the song below:

Another type of music video according to Laura M. Schwartz is a film clip music video. This is featured when the song has a spot in the movie soundtrack. The video is mad up of a performance from the band mixed with clips of the supposed movie. This could be for added synergy to the movie as it can be linked to a famous band or singer. One example could be From Twenty One Pilots' "Heathens" which appeared in the soundtrack for Suicide Squad: Another example could be Wiz Khalifas "See You Again" ft. Charlie Puth which appeared in the soundtrack for Fast and Furious 7:

Another type of music video according to Lara M. Schwartz is a party or club music video. This form of music video features the band or singer preforming or just dancing in a club or party around several other actors who are dancing in an unsynchronised manner. One example of this could be a performance in a club such as Daft Punk's "Lose Yourself to Dance": Another one could be in general someone in a club dancing like 50 Cent's "In Da Club" directed by Philip G. Atwell:   

Another type of music video according to Lara M. Schwartz is an animation music video. This is essentially a animated sequence or story which can star animated versions of spoofs of the artist's or just someone else entirely with their song playing in the background. One example is Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" directed by Robert Hales: Another example which shows an actual cartoon animation music video is Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc." directed by James Hewlett:

Another type of music video according to Lara M. Schwartz is a dance music video. As the category states this form of video is mainly choreographed dancing with the song being very much something you can dance to and follow as well. There are many music videos that fit into this category one of the most famous ones could be Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" directed by Paul Hunter:

Another type of music video according to Lara M. Schwartz is a gag music video. This form of music video relies on visual tricks which can be shot live. An example would be is if a band or singer uses a lookalike doll to preform their song, or use make up and prosthetics to alter the look of the artist or actor for the video. These effect can also be applied postproduction to maybe morph the artist or actors features such as giving them an abnormal size eyes or tongue, this can also be used for the location so the it can be set somewhere we cant film in real life such as in space. One example of this can be Ludacris "Get Back" directed by Spike Jonze:

Another type of music video according to Lara M. Schwartz is a story music video. This is when the video takes a narrative which has its own beginning, middle and end. This could be starring the band or singer but can be an actor with the band performance intercutting the video or just playing in the background like a concept. One example of this is Hoobastank's "The Reason" directed by Brett Simon:

Another type of music video according to Lara M. Schwartz is a concept music video. A concept video is one where the band neither perform or appear in their video. The video only shows a story or images that do or do not express the songs emotion. An example could be Beastie Boys "Sabotage" directed by Spike Jonze:

According to theorist Lara M. Schwartz there are 8 different types of music videos. Performance is one of them where the video is a performance live or not. It relies on a band or singer lip syncing or genuinely preforming a song using various location and outfits. An example could be Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" directed by Samuel Bayer:

In 2007 a veteran music video director, producer, and teacher Lara M. Schwartz wrote a book on "Making Music Videos". In class we read a small portion of the book to learn how directors get the job of constructing a music video. The process of being awarded the job is usually up to the treatment a director has submitted to the artist. most of the time the treatment is the vision of the directors but can sometimes be based on what the artists see for their song. The reward of the job then goes to whoever the artist sees best for the job based on their written treatment. Rarely does a director not have to make a written treatment, this is called "single bidding", this is only reserved for the most successful of directors in the music genre.

In class today one of my classmates did a presentation on the Indie music genre. It was interesting to see the evolution of indie from its artists to how it reaches out to different sub genres. It is also quite interesting to see how it differs between the UK and USA in their taste of it.  Here is his presentation below: Indie Music

One of the conventions of a music video is disjuncture. This means that the lyrics have nothing to do with the visuals of the music video. an example of this is the music video  "White Knuckles" by Ok Go.

One of the conventions of a music video is to illustrate. This means that lyrics are shown through a music video. This is shown though the music video "hangover" by Psy and Snoop dog.

One of the conventions of a music video is to amplify. Which means that the lyrics are exaggerated through the video. This is shown through the music video "Wrecking Ball" by Miley Cyrus.

In class today we learnt about a theory created by Andrew Goodwin in 1992 in his book "Dancing in the Distraction Factory". The theory is about the codes and conventions of a music videos in a genre and in general, in the book he identified these features that occur in a music video: 1. Music videos demonstrate certain genre characteristics: There is almost always a stage performance in a Metal/ Hard Rock music video Dance routines for boy/girl bands Live performance for jazz bands or preformer 'Throwing signs' in early hip-hop videos 2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals Often illustrative but could amplify or contradict lyrics 3. There is a relationship between music and visuals Is also often illustrative but can amplify or contradict the music 4. The demand of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist 5. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (...

During my classmates presentation of pop music he introduced us to a theorist called Laura Mulvey who created the theory of the male gaze. She published this in 1975 and is about the way women are filtered through a mans point of view to become what ultimately men picture them to become. Although it has been discredited in recent years, it still reigns true in some aspects. this is said to have three perspectives, one is whoever is behind the camera, another is the characters' representation in a film and another is from  the person watching it. At the time this theory was made, in 1975, this was true as there was a huge male dominance in film and television giving them the opportunity to show what they wanted to see to the general public. In modern society this is discredited since in today's world women now have a much better opportunity to show their point of view.

In class I presented the jazz music genre in front of my class. I was slightly interested in the genre at that point of accepting to do this presentation and was interested to further my knowledge as well as others. It was tough to find any modern jazz that stood out as it is said to be a dying art, most of the substance of jazz comes from the era where people such as Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald stood out. It was interesting to see all different forms of jazz and  the different ways it is portrayed in different parts of the world. Here is my presentation below: Jazz by Panos Symeou on Scribd

In class, one of my classmates presented a genre of music which is Pop. He introduced us to pop through the conventions of a pop music video, he used famous artists such as Ariana Grade and Beyonce to show us the traits of the genre and the traits of a pseudo anti-pop. He also explained the origin and how it has developed. Pop Music by Billy Cancea-O'Duinnin on Scribd

This is my blog for my A2 Media studies portfolio. This blog will be about the music industry and the transformation of my very own music promo pack, which includes a music video, a website and a digipack.