Music Video Analysis: Arctic Monkeys - Snap Out of it

The opening shot of this music video is a mid shot of the main character (who is a women in a bikini) climbing out of a pool. This is before the music has even started. The woman motivates the pace of the editing because as she rises out of the pool the camera pans upwards towards he face, she then gets out of the swimming pool in a graceful manner that presents women as rather elegant and glamourous but still sexy and an object of desire.
Once the women is out of the water we get a close up shot of her body in a low cut swim suit, again this links to the common stereotype that women are to be looked at and are a sexual icon, this links to Laura Mulvey's Gaze theory.

Once she goes inside to her house we get a close up shot of the woman crying whilst watching what appears to be home videos of the band (Arctic Monkeys) whilst the camera specifically makes clear that she is thinking of the front man Alex Turner. She has tears running down her face whilst the band members are laughing smiling during this video. This represents women as weaker in comparison to men as she is clearly in distress whilst watching this home video and she is obviously going through a great deal of sadness. Whilst the men in the band members are seen smiling and in a positive state.
We then get a wide shot of the woman who is costumed in a tight skirt and just a bra, this may symbolise her current emotions and feelings, but could aslo represent her as bare and vulnerable. Whilst in time with the fast beat of the drums we see a quick montage of shots of the women watching the home videos of emotions and it portays a very wide range of emotions from laughter to crying or sometimes even just a blank face and no emotion. This represents women as emotionally unstable which also adds to the common stereotype that men control womens emotions and that they have more power than them.

After all of the womans mixed emotions throughout the video, the final shot shows her lying on her back in the swimming pool again so this could show us that no matter what she does she always ends up back in the same place, almost like a circular narrative that is never ending and that she will never get over what she is feeling for the band and the members in it.

Music Video Analysis: Artic Monkeys - R U Mine

The video starts of with a shot of a radio presenter in his studio who is announcing that they are about to play a brand new song by the Arctic Monkeys. This immediately contrasts the usual conventions of a music video as we normally expect to see shots of the band at the very start to help promote the bands image but in this video we see a radio presenter introducing the band and its new music so its almost as if you are hearing it on the radio for the first time.

The next shot, when the music starts, is a close up of the front man Alex Turner as he puts the camera down in front of him. The fact that Alex's face is so prominent and is the first thing we see after the presenter tells us that he is the star of the image and not only does it promote the bands image but also promotes his own image as he also has a solo career on the side and people don't just know him as Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys. So it is actually very clever marketing technique that gets both the band and himself out there. Also all the shots are in black and white which could be used to symbolise the lyrics "Satisfaction feels like a distant memory".

The next shot now includes band mate Matt Helders who is the drummer of the band, however we cannot see either of the band members faces in the shot which is quite surprising as in a production made video you expect every shot to be perfect and professional but this breaks the narrative and as the camera is seemingly being hand held by Alex and filmed on what looks like a phone or go pro. Both Alex and Matt are miming the lyrics in the car which compares to most music videos as miming is common in most music videos, however it is more apparent in this video as they are actually miming the song as they are listening to it on the radio whilst driving along.

A few shots a long is shows Alex putting the camera in the back seat of the car and as it spins around it reveals the Nick O'Malley who is the bass player of the band who also does the backing singing for the group so it shows him miming his part of the song whilst his arms are around two women in the back seat of a car so it portays women as a slight sexual icon and that they are expendable as there are two of them under his arm. At times it almost looks like that Alex is taking a slefie with the camera so the band could be trying to appeal to a wider audience by "keeping up witht the times".

Music Video Analysis: Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines

The editing of this video plays a key part in portraying the masculinity of Robin Thicke. There are many shots in the video that show superimposed block writing that spells out "#THICKE" which is the name of the artist, this is significant as the size of the writing connotes strength and machoism inferring that Robin Thicke him self is very powerful and macho. Also the significance of having half naked girls all around him throughout the video shows us that he see's him self as a bit of a sex symbol and that he is considered quite attractive and good looking to females. Also the writing "'#THICKE" also has connotations of the male reproductive organ so again it's him trying to portray a level of masculinity and machoism in front of women.

During the video there is a mid shot of a woman holding a lamb standing next to Pharrell Williams who is dressed as a farmer.
This is of great significance because the lamb represents the woman whos holding it which also represents innocence and since Pharrell is dressed as a farmer this implies that he is going to tend for her and look after her.
In addition the lamb also and important portrayal of the song as the main theme of the song and lyrics is this thought that women are animals and constantly referring to them as being wild animals and in a way the lamb represents that, at first glance a woman holding a lamb is a bit weird but then when you break it down it actually makes quite a lot of sense.

The lyrics of the song also reinforce masculinity. This is shown when the artist constantly labels women as "bitches" and the use of this derogatory term is to imply a sense of power that men have over women as the artist is claiming that these women are "bitches" and not actual human beings.
Also the high key lighting and the smug faces of both Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams suggest that everything goes right when men are around and that half naked women also want to be around these so called "powerful" and "masculine" men.

Music Video Analysis: Jake Bugg - Slumville Sunrise

I am analysing a video by Jake Bugg for a song called Slumville Sunrise which was filmed and directed by Shane Meadows. The whole video is set in and around Nottingham, the place where Jake Bugg is from. Jake Bugg is known for being writing more country/western music but this particular song seems to be a bit more vamped up and rocky, there is heavy but catchy quitar riff that repeats throughout the song.
The video opens with a black background with white block text on it that says "Slumville Sunrise" and underneath displays more writing that reads "a film by Shane Meadows starring Jake Bugg". The video then starts with a shot of a jewellers called "Michael Levin" then cuts to inside the shop where the shot is looking through a CCTV camera thats looking down on Jake in his tracksuit. On first impressions he definatley looks out of place as the shop keepers are wearing expensive suits whislt Jake is wearing a cheap tracksuit. After Jake is looking around the shop he asks to look at a ring and if he can "take a look". Jake then sees the oppurtunity to steal the ring and run out the shop pull a party popper in the face of the shop keeper, as the party popper is pulled this is when the heavy but

catchy guitar riff kicks in. Once the song starts it is then basically just the shop owner chasing Jake around Nottingham but they dont actually do the scene in Nottingham, they put up a green screen with shots of Nottingham whilst Jake is being chased by the shop owner and policemen. Slowly more and more people join the chase to catch Jake and the video slips between real shots of Nottingham and green screen shots of him being chased around. The lyrics arent really illustrated in the video but the melodic riff is emphasised by them running around sort of in time to the music, this makes the song and video extreamley fast paced. The song title "Slumville Sunrise" is backed up by Jake stealing the ring and being chased by police, as the title Slumville is obviously not a good name to have and as negative connotations attatched to it such as robbery, like in this video.
When the the chase is happening during the fast paced verses the video cuts to the beats, this makes it seem even more faster than the song already is as there are plenty of cuts which visually makes the video seem faster. The song keeps the fast pace throughout and so does the video so there is pretty much just a constant fast rhythm to it apart from the scenes at the begining in the shop and at they end when he gets home to his girlfriend.

There could potentially be star image motifs but i dont think thsi is what Jake was trying to go form although he is the main character throughout the song i think he was trying to put more emphasis on the song and the lyrics and trying to portray the city of Nottingham through how he sees it. However this is a completely different kind of video for Jake Bugg as it is a bit more up beat and looks like they are doing it for fun and just messing around whereas in previous videos they seem to be a little more tame and calmed down so this is something very different for this kind of artist however this is probably because someone else had filmed and directed it.
There is a reference to the notion of looking which is at the start where Jake is being filmed through a CCTV camera. Also I definatley dont think Jake is being put on display as in no way is the video like that nor do I think the artist would allow or want that.
All in all I think the general theme of the video is just Jake and the crew having fun and messing around, even though he is being chased for stealing they all seem to find it funny and have a joke about it. I also think the song and the video is just Jake trying to get his views across about what he thinks of Nottingham, the lyrics "Slumville Sunrise" and "this place is just not for me, I say it all the time" suggests that he wants to break out of Nottingham and does not like the place however it could be seen to some as more of a celebration of the town and how Jake is glad that Nottingham is how it is.

Music Video Ananlysis: The Last Shadow Puppets - Miracle Aligner

The video I am analysisng is Miracle Aligner by The Last Shadow Puppets. The video was created by Saam Farahmand / Black Sheep Studios and porduced by Dan Keefe. In my opinion I think the genre of the music is like indie and could be considered as soft rock, they use instruments like electric guitars and bass guitars but also have a string arangement too which contrasts with the rock 'n' roll type genre.
At the begining of the video Miles and Alex are sat out on a balcony whilst pink confetti comes down on them as they are speaking French to eachother. In my opinion this is quite pointless as it has nothing to do with the song or the video but im sure there is probably a hidden meaning in there. 

When the song actually starts it just shows a close up of Miles and Alex looking at eachother but not miming or anything but when the pre-chorus kicks in Alex starts walking to the camera miming the lyrics and dancing in time to the beat so the lyrics and the song are amplified by Alex's miming and dance moves. Further a long in the song as the second pre chorus starts both Miles and Alex sort of bop along to the bass line which coinsides with the music perfectly as they get the timing spot on. Also when the song says "he was born to blow your mind" Alex and Miles both point to Alex's head to signify his mind. When the chorus actually kicks in it shows them both sat down looking at the camera as it pans around the room singing the lyrics. After the chorus there is a small guitar instrumental where both of them pretty much just dance with eachother on tables and chairs, this contradicts the song as theres not really any rhythm or timing to the dancing.
After this the song breaks down again into the second verse and shows Miles leaning up against a wall and Alex stood in the centre of the camera with his arms out waiting for the lyrics to start again.

When the lyrics do start again he sings them into the camera whilst slowly making his way over to Miles. When the pre chorus starts up again the pair do the same dance moves as they did last time and time it perfectly with the music. Once the pre chorus finishes and goes into the chorus it is a similar shot as last time where they are both dancing round the room with no rhythm or timing to the song however this is all done in one shot and only stops after the last guitar solo where Miles and Alex end up on top of eachother.
The relationship between music and visuals is a very clear one. Although there a very few cuts in the actual video the pair both dance in time to the beat during the verses and chorus and also sing/mime the lyrics. However during the chorus and solos there is more freedom to their dancing and is less in time and less amplified than the verses and pre chorus's. The solos and intrumentals are illustrated in the video by the pair dancing together and basically throwing their arms about but thats about it. The video difinatley changes pace with the music, it starts of very slow in the vereses and as the song gathers pace through the pre chorus, chorus and instrumental the pairs dancing becomes more illustrated but then slows down again after the instrumental but then finishes on a very fast and energetic pace.
I think the reocord company are trying to sell this track by putting the two main 'stars' in the spotlight by having them dance and heavily feature in their music video. The video includes multiple close ups of the two and the camera never loses sight of them at all. However this is not surprising as pretty much every video done by this band has the same theme of focuses souley on them, for example the video for their song "Everything You've Come to Expect", the pair are never out of shot just like in this video.
I dont think that the artists are on sexual display but I can how they could be seen as sex symbols to women as they are both very well groomed and both use dance moves in this video which could be seen as attractive and alluring to some.
I believe that the video is just one big intertextual reference as no one really knows what they are doing there and the scene at the beginning really does'nt have anything to do with the rest of the video so its all very secretive but that is to be expected with Alrex Turner as no one really knows what is going off in his head so there could be multiple intertextual references and hidden messages in this video.
Overall I think this is juts a catchy video for a catchy song where the pair dance a long to the melodic bass line and just mess around really. Like I said there could be plenty of things i'm missing like hidden meanings but when your first see the video your first thoughts are that its just two rather camp men bopping along to their own music.

Digipak Analysis - Ben Howard

The front cover of the digipak is an image of the artist but the portrait has been distorted by layering it. His face isn't explicit but it is still recognisable for Ben Howard fans. The images inside the album have also been distorted this way as well.

One of the CD's has a flower pattern printed on it but has also been layered like the other images in the digipak have. The back cover is similar to the front, a very simplistic desing with no track listing. It may be that the artist doesn't find this a key element of a digipak and rather have the consumer wait till they open up the digipak to find out what the songs are called and what they sound like.
The main Cd has the title and the artists name placed in the centre to draw the most attention to it, however the floral pattern is still there on the rim of the CD which is a nice way to tie all the designs together. The black and white has remained the same as it is on the front and back covers.

Richard Dyer

Richard Dyer - Star Theory

Dyer says that icons, artists and celebrities are manufactured and moulded by institutions purely for financial gain. He beleives that they are constructed to represent normal people with real emotions and they do this through their songs and what they do away from music. However this is done to make money, normal people relate with the artist therfore leading them to buy there material.
Dyer said there are two paradoxes that makes a person a star:
The first paradox is that a star must be both present and abscent to the audience. So the star has to be accessible and present to a person through the availability of their music and material but also abscent to the audience as they cannot actually meet up and talk to the star.
The second paradox is that the star must be both ordinary and extraordinary to the audience. So in this case the star has to come across as a normal person whos down to earth and relatable just like every body else, but also need to possess an extraordinary talent or quality which can be idolised by the public. A classic example of this is Adele.

Digipak Analysis - Michael Jackson

This is the "This is it" digipak by Michael Jackson. It shows a reocuring decorative image that can be associated with this artist. It is a good marketing technique as when people see these images they will instantly think of this artist and the audience can relate the two together. However since this is Michael Jackson who already has plenty of images attatched to him this is probably more of just of a design technique rather than a  marketing technique as it will sel regardless. The digipak shows two of Jacksons most known dance moves which people relate with him and him only. 
This also relates to Richard Dyers stardom constuct as he says a star is constructed from a range of materials such as a song, album art, performances ect. This digipak links into that theory as the producer of the digipak has used Jacksons songs, dance moves and hit sillhouette to create this digipak.

Digipak Analysis - Jake Bugg

This is the debut album from Jake Bugg. The album is called "Jake Bugg" by Jake Bugg. The specific image on the front cover is a close up of Jake bugg so as you can see the main focus is the artist and he is the star image of the album. He has done this as at the time of the album he wasn't as well established as he is now so he wanted to be the main focus of the album so he got his image and himself out there for everyone. The title of the album and the artist name is in the top left corner so when some might be flicking through albums they are drawn to looking straight at the bold, balck, block text of his name and album. This is good advertisement as he'll be getting his name and appearence out there in a very simple and but strategic way.

Digipak Analysis - Arctic Monkeys

The front cover only features the band and their name. On the actual album the title of the of the album isnt actually used whereas on this version it is. Alternativley artists tend not to feature themselves on album front covers but the arctic monkeys have decided to on this occasion. The image is of the band hiding behind a corner and smoking so they give of the idea and image that they've done something wrong or there hiding from the police. They kind of give off a rough/indie kind of vibe, also they can come across as quite rebellious, they especially come acroos as this through thier lyric in their songs. The clothes that they are wearing reflects them as normal ordinary teenage lads that are just messing around and doing rebelious things, not at all do they come across as a very succesful rock band.
There are also strange reflections and images on the cover which could hint at possible drug/alcahol use, again portraying the band as rebellious and rough.

Digipak analysis - The 1975

The front cover is very eye catching. It shows a black bilboard with the bands name on and the name of the album on whilst surrounded by white illuminated light. This is good as it brings the name to life and brings it forward and makes it stand out and look more bold. This is also the case with the back of the digipak, it shows all the songs surrounded by white lights, again making them bold and brings them forward. The white line around the edge and around the letters gives obvious contrast against the black which makes thier band name "The 1975" stand out. The font is also very simple and clear but yet very recognizable and familiar. Many bands like this tend not to appear on their album cover and isntead opt to look for an image which this band has done with the illuminated white light which can be associated with this band.

Digipak analysis - Gorillaz

This is the second album from the Gorillaz, it was released in the UK on the 23rd of May 2005. The four artists from the band are shown as "gorrilaz" in a fictional animated world. The front cover shows the four characters from a side view, split into 4 sections to show the audience that there are 4 members in the band. Also what is quite different with this digipak is that it allows you to choose which member of the band you would like on the front cover of the album as you can take out each pannel and put it in as the front cover which is something i've never seen before on an album.

Prelim Photography Task

Positive vs Negative

 We were given the heading positive vs negative so to do this we decided to take photos of a dead leaf on grass and then in contrast we took photos of flowers as it shows two spectrums of life. Alive and dead.
For the photograph of the tree we used a white balance setting as it allowed us to take a clear photo of the trees but also get the sun shining through between the leaves and branches.
For all the others we used a specific outdoor setting that adjusted our camera to the outdoor lighting and made all our photos we took very clear and visible which is what we wanted as we wanted to show the clear positive and negative theme we were portraying.

Magazine analysis - Tom Odell

He has placed the title of the album and his name in the top left corner of the cover as its the most conventional place to have it as its at the top and thats generally where people will look first if they are flicking through albums in record shops, and since its in block bold text at the top it definatley does draw your attention to it and that will most liekly be the first thing you see when you look at it. The design of the whole thing is based on the artist himself so you know who's album it is and also to try and get Tom's face out there so when people see him anywhere else (e.g on the internet) they will know who he is and what he does. The designer has chosen a very simple mid shot of Tom Odell, he is the main focus of the shot and pretty much the only thing in the shot. He has an amateur/casual look to him but this is good since people may be able to relate and connect to the artist since he is so down to earth. The cover shows him in the middle of the album as this is a good way to market him as people are more likely going to remember him if he is the centre of attention and the only thing to look at on the cover. 

Magazine analysis - Arctic Monkeys

This Arctic Monkeys album is titled "Whatever People Say I am That's What I'm Not" and the only image on the album shows a man smoking which would usually be frowned upon almost everywhere but this shows us that the Arctic Monkeys aren't your usual boy band they are a bit more rebellious and they almost commercialise smoking on there album and ignore the fact that its a bad habit to get into. The picture has a black and white affect over it which compliments the bands music as grungy and rocky and a bit "old school", so the picture creates this theme which you will also find with their music. The representation of the band through this album could be argued that of a negative one as the picture shows a man smoking and they pretty much glam up smoking and it portrays them as a rebel band which sings about being rough. The only title used on the cover is a picture of the bands logo which is just a picture of the bands name which is put to good use as the audience obviously want to know who's album it is.

Magazine analysis - Jessie J

Jessie J is dressed up in black and white, everything she is wearing is black which contrasts with her very pale white skin. This could be a suggestion that the album itself could be quite dark and serious and maybe very personal to her and could mean a lot to her. Her name and the album name are placed right in the centre of the page below her face so it draws the audiences attention to it straight away, her name is also printed in gold which is placed on a black background so this definitely stands out and the fact that its in gold could suggest that she is special and maybe quite wealthy. The text is placed over the picture of her, this draws maximum attention to this information as people will usually look at the picture before reading the text so by putting the text right over the picture , people are essentially forced into reading the information. The website for the artist is given below the album information ensuring that she draws maximum attention to her and her merchandise and allows her to promote her self as much as she can. The key information of the album is printed in white and gold over a black background to make it stand out more and make it more appealing to the viewers eye.

Magazine analysis - Rhianna

Firstly, you can tell its a Rhianna album because of the huge "R" in the top left corner. The letter is covered in what looks like diamonds or some sort of crystal and is very bold and sharp which I think portrays Rhianna as the sort of person she is, so the "R" is used to essentially tell us who the album was made by but also maybe to give us a subtle hint of what to expect with the album.
The only picture on the magazine is an extreme close up of Rhianna's face to tell us the audience that she is the most important thing on the album and that your buying for her and her only. Also the small serif font title at the bottom suggests that its not as important as her as its pushed away at the bottom a little.
The picture of Rhianna uses direct address and it looks like she's looking at no one else but you, this could be a good selling point as its as if she's staring straight at you intriguing you to buy the album. Also the jewellery she is wearing shows us that she could be rather wealthy and shows us her kind of character and we can tell from the fact that she's smoking that she is very individual but also quite tough.

Research into the Target Audience

Below is an embedded link to from infogr.am/Target-audience-research-analysis that describes who my target audience might be and what they might like and it takes into consideration everyone and looks further into the target audience and sums up all the research in a PowerPoint...

who are The target audience?
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Genre Research

For my video I could potentially use a range of different genres, for example pop, hip hop, rock, indie/alternative are all genres that I am considering right now.

Pop
Pop music originated in the western world during the 1950's and 60's, deriving from rock and roll. The term "pop music" stands for popular music and is considered electric but often styles such as urban, dance, rock, latin and country. There are core elements that define pop songs, these factors often include short to medium length songs written in a very basic formant (usually verse- chorus structure), as well as the common employment of repeated choruses, catchy hooks and melodic tunes. A phew modern pop songs would include tracks like "We are Young" by Fun, "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga, "We are never getting back together" by Taylor Swift. These are just a phew, there are hundreds more that could be considered as modern classics.

Hip Hop
Hip hop can also be referred to as rap music and was formed in America in the 1970's and consists of stylized rhythmic music that often accompanies rapping or "MCing". Hip hop as music because increasingly popular amongst African/Americans residing in New York and became a hit at block parties. Modern hip hop songs would include tracks like "Panda" by Desiigner, "You don't know" by Eminem, "Candy" by 50 Cent, and plenty plenty more.

Rock 'n' Roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, from a combination of African-American genres such as blues, boogie-woogie, jump blues, jazz, and gospel music. Beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll, as seen in movies and on television, influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language and is derivative forms of Rock and Pop. Well known Rock 'n' Roll influences would include people like Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill Haley and many many more.
An example of classic Rock 'n' Roll would be Elvis hit "Jailhouse Rock", here is the music video for this priceless track.