Genre Research

Our genre is hip hop and R'n'B, the term R'n'B originates from rhythm and blues. This genre was created in the 1940's by African Americans and has developed throughout the years. This genre has never had a clear meaning, its been seen as 'black pop' music. However as black pop music changes; it has become a term that is often used define whatever black musical style it is attached to it at specific point in time. the term began to be used to refer to a modern version of soul and funk-influenced pop music.

Music Video Director - Jeffery Engmann

Jeffery Engmann is from north London (Tottenham) he is a artist as well as a video director and often directs many of his group 'Marvell's videos himself.

This Chipmunk video was directed by him, something that is dominant in this video that occurs often in his video is the use of slow motion in the cut-aways. This is a very effective way to tell the story and emphasises on specific things whilst simultaneously showing the artists performance. These cut aways being in slow mo highlights them making you focus and take note of all you see, along with setting a certain tone to the video evoking an emotional response from the viewer as they become more involved in the video.

Another thing i noticed in this video was the transitions, fades and the blending of different images. this is something i tend to often find within his work also.                                                   &

 In this video he has combined both the slow motion and the blending of different images, this gives the feeling of disorientation and them being quite wild due to the concept of being drunk and partying. I like this directors videos because they always have a bright, fresh feeling to them. They are usually energetic and colourful. I think the colours and how they are used play a huge part in the way both the video and the artist themselves are received by the viewers. the mise en scene, what is seen by the viewer in the background, what they are wearing and the colour of them both. whether that be in contrast or in harmony this is always used to give a certain perception.

influential videos

The rooftop shot in this video has been influential in our choice to do a rooftop shot in our video. This feeling of elevation it brings gives power and status to the artist whilst also a sense of achievement due to them reaching these great heights.

It also brings an element of danger as it feels as if they are close to the edge but still on top which connotes you have to be a risk taker to be successful in life. This links to the theme in our video of the journey through life and reaching success or achieving good things even through adversities. If you notice the camera movement whilst they are on the roof is  constantly moving to keep the feeling of disorientation meanwhile they're actions are triumphant and confident bringing a contrast between the two.

Along with all this, the rooftop shot is an establishing shot. It immediately gives the viewer and idea of where these artist are from or just where they currently are but either way giving them a better understanding of the context through to background which highlights the location.

Initial Pitch

Song: Angel ft Wretch 32 - go in go hard

 

Story: The maturing of a kid becoming an adult. The kid then is living up to his dream to become an artist.

 

·Showing the change from young to old

·The transformation of the dream; chasing it and then achieving it

·Use trees, cars and lifts for transformations

·Keeping contrast but also variety of performance shots

·Example: Kid writing lyrics with headphones on and in contrast of him grown up in the studio singing

·Instruments and dancing on stage

·Location: Car park roof, Stage in school, Park, Studio, College/University, Estate and Lift.

·Keeping the look of a grime but in contrast with pop and R&B

 

 

Opening shot: younger version of the singer walking down the road listening to music in his headphones. He will then turn a corner as the song starts and then he will become the older version of himself.

 

Establishing shot showing the kids whole body and the street, then show a close up of his feet as he is walking. Followed by a side on shot and a shot over the shoulder. Finishing with a front on shot as he turns the corner.

 

The singer would start singing for few seconds then it will change to the performance shot on the roof. The performance shots will be continuously switching between each other throughout the video. This will be in conjunction with the storyline.

In order for the performance shots not to be tedious, some of the performance shots will be introduced later on; there will be shots with each artist within them and shots were they are together in the shots a two shot.

Lyrics-‘cant give up the fight’- having the older version shadow boxing. Preparing for a run.

The different clip and cut away: writing lyrics on a notepad, microphone, drawing guitar in detention, practicing in front of the mirror, running for the bus.

Record label research

Our song including Angel and Wretch 32, angel is signed to both island records and universal republic. Universal republic is under Universal Music Group which acts as a parent company to many smaller labels. This is common with records labels for example sony have a string of record labels under them such as 'syco'... 'just jam records' and 'sony rca'. Island record also distribute for Universal as they are a part of the same conglomerate (Universal Music Group). Island records is a UK based label where as Universal is Global and therefore will handle his record distribution abroad, particularly in america

Other artist under UMG (Universal Music Group) include; Akon, Justin Beiber, Mariah Carey , Taio Cruz, Dappy, Jennifer Lopez.

Locations

risk assessment

One problem we may encounter is the fact that a lot of our locations are outside and therefore we become dependent on the weather, being that it is now winter and we are due to begin filming this is something we will have to take into consideration.

Another problem may be the storyline, it is important to have enough story in order to run throughout the video. In our case we may have to much, this is only if we successfully execute all the shots we plan to. If we do then we will have to ensure we maintain the balance between storyline and performance. Which is okay considering the general rule in music video being that it is better to have too much footage to choose from than not enough footage for what you need.

Along with this we have to establish a few main locations or shots that we often refer back to in order to give the video stability. If you used too many random locations the video will appear messy and har to grasp.

band identity

The main artist in our video is the singer, the singer has a unique image. This is because he is a singer who manages to maintain a reputation or an image of a very urban act whilst appealing to the mass audience also. we must think about this in deciding the way he dresses.

The original artist: clean cut, leather jackets, hats, slim fit jeans. No excess amounts of jewellery, often bright vibrant colours.



As you can see here he is wearing a bright jacket and sun glasses giving the impression of glamour however not displaying heavy jewellery, instead he wears beads around his neck maintaining his image as someone who is humble and down to earth.




This picture displays artist from a song in the same genre as ours, how they have represented this can be useful to us. this like ours is a unique situation because the song is a mixture of both singing (R'n'B/Pop) and rap. This means within the dress code you have to represent both sides. If you notice the singer is the man in the middle who is wearing a hat. He is wearing a hat to tie him in with the urban image of the rappers.. giving them chemistry. The positioning is also important as he is in the middle, between the 2 rappers, showing that they are 2 different acts and that he is slightly different to them as he is a singer but still able to relate to them therefore bringing there different images together.

intertexuality - music video analysis

This video is an example of intertexuality as it largely refers to the news. in fact this video is set up like a news reporter on his travels interviewing different people some way involved in the riots. The effects used to replicate and represent the news channel on tv will give the viewers the joy of recognition instantly as it is very clear. The mise en scene and constume's the artists are wearing adds to this intertexuality. This would have been very evident at the time this was released because these events were taking place at that time meaning all viewers would instantly be able to relate to and understand what they have attempted to achieve through this use of intertexuality. I am a member of this rap group and play a part in the video as the reporter, as one of the artist i can state that we actually sat down, discussed and planned the concept of this video and the effect it would have; all was very deliberate. from the constumes to the locations and the props and then the after effects representing the news channel.

Star Image - How it changes

The artist I've studied in star image is 'Chip' formerly known as 'Chipmunk'. This artist entered the music industry and the public eye at a very young age, in turn his innocence and age was emphasised in these early stages.



This video is in 2009, in this video the star is only 17 years of age and therefore the focus of his image was to do with his age as the video takes part in a school. The emphasis of his age amplifies his abilities as an artist as he is very young to be performing on the scale that he is. He wears uniform for the majority of this video promoting his innocence and youth. There are no profanities within this video and his image was very clean cut in order for him to appeal to the mass market which he did and managed to chart a few times and sell many records.



Here is another display of him exploiting a very clean cut image. its all very professional, they are smartly dressed to match the old school feel to the chorus (which may be a sample but i am unsure). At this point in the artist's career he was very young and it was appropriate for his image to remain free of swearing, drinking and the over objectifying of women in order for him to sustain his position as a successful mainstream or overground artist but in the space of 3 or so years this changed dramatically. Not only did the way he dresses change, the style of music he makes changed and he even changed his name from 'Chipmunk' to 'Chip' a shortening of that same name. This particular artist had received a lot of negative publicity from his underground viewers through his success in the mass market and he then decided after being successful that he no longer needed to make clean music that wasn't his favourite style or did he need to dress smart and his image became much more street. He left the major label he was signed to, changed his name and his image is now at 21 years of age is very different to what it was at the young age of 17.



He now makes video like this in which he wears gold chains, all black clothes and a crowd of people dressed likewise. He has tattoos all over his arms and his lyrical content has changed dramatically. He now talks about drinking, drugs and graphic descriptions of women being sexually objectified. He condones his associates or friends drug dealing and other criminal activities, all these things he would not have done if still carrying his previous image.

Goodwin theory - video analysis

Kanye West - All of the lights ft Rihanna, kid cudi


This video from the begging and throughout demonstrates Goodwin's theory as it illustrates the music constantly. It begins with the calm scene of the little girl walking down the snow filled road, this is a calm piece of music in which only the piano is playing. This vibe was matched by the slow pace of editing and the fairly simple or straight forward camera angles. The use of black and white also had an affect on this especially as the roads are filled with snow it made the contrast between the black and white more powerful and the large amounts of white helped represent the innocence of the little girl.

Then when the main part of the song kicks it and it becomes more upbeat and lively all the flashing lights are introduce this. Words also begin to appear on the screen many of which are lyrics, once again illustrating the song. There are also other shots emphasising the story the rapper is telling for example "I'm heading home" and "heading up the stairs" at 2 minutes 20 seconds.

The representation of this rapper is different to the usual flashy one or the egotistical one that is almost expected in this genre of music. In this case instead of the flashing lights glorifying him or his confidence they are used to cause disorientation and unease. This is representing the fact that the artist has a lot on his mind and is a bit all over the place mentally. The physical expressions show this as well as he holds his head in his hands despairingly. He is telling a story which isn't a particularly cheerful one and the lights are consistently flashing in different colours which is very distracting. I feel this is to show that although he is dressed normal with his gold chain and all seems well that in fact his  life can also be messy and difficult and his sun glasses almost protect him from all this 'light' which could be a symbol eluding to the fact the artists and there lives are hidden behind lots of things and aren't always as they seem.

Slight voyeurism is also used in this video through rihanna. She is not extremely objectified through the use of the camera however what she is wearing brings the sexual element, revealing a lot of her top half or should i say covering very little of it with that top or vest of some sort. Then it is her performance and physical gestures along with the camera cutting a few times drawing closer to her and including a close up on her face.

The camera work within the majority of this video is all fairly close to the artist, i think this is so the viewer can begin to connect with the artist and feel the emotion or message he is trying to put across. Being close up to him with the lights shining in his face gives us the feel of him being under pressure and coupled with his physical gestures and expressions allows us to relate to this feeling making him imperfect and easier to connect with which isn't usual for a rapper especially as they are usually very glamorous and boastful. This tone is set from the beginning of the video through the little girl who i assume represents his daughter, her walking on her own sets the tone of vulnerability which could mirror his feelings or could be emphasising his fathering instincts as he feels protective over her. He also mentions in his lyrics that there is restraining order meaning it is difficult to see his daughter so this could be to show how his point of view. As in that he feels almost as if his young daughter is walking alone in the big, cold (shown by snow) world or city all alone and he cant be with her to protect her.

video analysis - 13E8

The video is simple because the camera movement is very static. Although the slow pace of the editing is suited the the tone of the song i feel they could have been more creative in their camera angles and movement in order to avoid viewer fatigue. The storyline is kept very consistent which is good because it allows the viewer to engage with it and begin to be come involved with the character, coupled with all the close ups of the artist's eyes and mouth you do start involved with the artist which i assume was the aim of this. Very affective use of cutaways telling the story as the video progresses, often with music videos the most important thing is finding a balance between the storyline cutaways and the performance itself. This would usually be more contrasted but in this video they have the same tone and often similar setting which allows it all to flow quite smoothly. Parts of the artists performance was good, some of the physical and facial expressions seemed to be well acted and believable but some of the lip-sync wasn't spot on which lead her to look hesitant and lacking confidence in the song she is singing which will make it hard for the viewer to believe she means it, in music videos the viewers need to believe in the character of the star before they can fully enjoy the video itself; selling the start character is often very dependent of their performance and the mise en scene. In this video the artist is shown to be gentle and humble, she constantly looks down which is a sign of being unconfident and she doesn't wear anything too boastful. Her body language paired with the mise en scene show her to be vulnerable and allow the viewer to empathise with her as she is one of the only people in the video she appears lonely and hurt.

Voyeurism withing music video - nicki minaj starships

This particular artist 'Nicki Minaj' is well known for her sexual approach and is a strong demonstration of voyeurism. The idea of sexual pleasure through visuals is often expressed thought her videos.

The difference between her and other examples of voyeurism is that she is the main star and yet she is still sexually objectified. It is usually the main artist who is in power and is dominant with other people of the opposite sex being objectified and acting almost in awe of the star character. She however attempts the keep the balance between being the most important and powerful character in the video whilst still being the dominant sexual attraction or object.

There are other people being sexually objectified in this video including both males and females wearing very little clothes, girls shaking their bums and showing their chest and then the men dancing and showing their muscles. A few of this people were shown before Nicki was but when she entered it was made clear she was meant to be the most attractive person in this video and clearly the superstar. She appeared on the shore as if she was teleported from a 'starship', she was in a pink bikini and was literally glowing and shining, this glow bring connotation of being an angel, Godlike or possible being perfect; surely in reference to her body and appearance. There is lots of close ups and different angles of her body while she does a range of different dances and sexual physical expression. There is also a shot in the video more than once in which she is being carried by 4 guys as if she is a queen of some sort. Later there is another shot where she is on a platform putting her on a higher level to everyone else adding to the theme that everyone is beneath her and that she is in control all as a result of her feminine or sexual power.