Final edit - Digipak

Front and back cover:

Inlay:

The Digipak would open and on the inside you would see:

On the left hand panel there would be a small pocket in which the inlay would sit and on the right hand panel the CD would be held in the conventional plastic packing for CDs.

Final edit - Website homepage

http://mediaa2.george-spencer.com/Website7/

Final edit - Music Video

Below is my final edit for my music video.

Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Goodwin analysed music videos and came up with key points as to what distinguishes music as a form. One of these points were that : "There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals". I encorporated this when making my music video making strong links between my lyrics and visuals. For example, when the lyrics ask: "If you've got leave then why can't I come along too?" the artist is shown on screen typing those words into a Facebook comment at the same time.

Music videos in modern society are used as an advertising medium for new music tracks released by artists. They’re used primarily to sell the image of the artist to the consumer rather than the actual music track itself. My music track I chose fell into the genre of popular music and so therefore I researched into the conventions of popular music videos. I found that popular music videos typically involved the artist/s lip syncing to the track whilst performing and/or portraying narrative elements of the song eluded in the lyrics. The edits were typically straight cut, fast edits in order to portray a sense of continuity and naturalism. In order to sell the image of the artist effectively a lot of close ups were usually used of the artist in order to show off their image to the consumer. The artist would be dressed in a way that would appeal and best sell their image to the target audience.

Typically in a music video involving a female artist they are either dressed or act provocatively in order to sell their image in the music video. It will appeal to the sexual side of men and women will idolise them as someone they want to look like. Therefore, they sell the image, and the music, to a mass audience. However, in my video as the artist is young and her target audience would be younger, teenage girls rather than the mass I choose to dress her in the video with a “girl next door” look. She is dressed down in just jeans and a plain white top. However, her hair is up and she is wearing makeup which still allows her to be seen as beautiful and someone girls will idolise.

The fact she still wears makeup will still allow her sexual side to appeal to the male audience and in my ancillary texts she is dressed slightly more provocatively to ensure the mass audience appeal is not cut completely.

My music video involves the artist miming to the track and she also acts out the situation in the lyrics therefore providing the video with the stereotypical half performance half narrative structure that is typical of popular music videos. When editing the video I chose to use straight cuts to aid with continuity and keep the video looking naturalistic. However, when the artist is sat under a tree waiting I used a dissolve between shots to show the passing of time otherwise the shots would have been too static.

How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts?

To accompany my music video I constructed two ancillary texts: a website homepage and a Digipak for an album release. My website was based around aiming at a younger, teenage audience and the colours and texts I used reflect this. Pink, baby blue and white are the main colours used and these are colours typically associated with younger, teenage girls. My Digipak played on the idea of associating the artist with nature and the colour white to portray her as pure an innocent whilst still incorporating the same font and style of images as the website so that the two could be clearly linked by a consumer.

Richard Dyer writes: "A star is an image, not a real person, that is constructed (as any other aspect of fiction is) out of a range of materials (e.g. advertising, magazines etc as well as films [music])". Therefore, following this theory I have included my artist in all 3 texts in order to help promote and create a well rounded image of a star that can be sold to an audience.

When creating my website I wanted to stay as close to the norm as I could. This website was for a mainstream, pop artist, not for an underground alternative band. Therefore, like the popular genre it had to appeal to the mainstream and be easy to use and clear to navigate around. Typically, as I found out in my website research, mainstream websites for popular female artists have on their homepage: an image, usually provocative, of the artist, tour dates, an opportunity to buy merchandise and some sort of main navigation bar. I have managed to incorporate all of these into my homepage although the image of my artist is less provocative because her target audience is younger, teenage girls rather than young males. When taking the image I asked my artist to look directly at the camera because this makes the consumer feel more involved and therefore sells the image of the artist better.

Following on from my website I created the digipak for an album release. The font is consistent from the website and the artist is wearing the same outfit. Therefore, the consumer can make connections between the two media texts and easily recognise it as the same artist. After researching into album covers in the research task I knew when making my digipak that the use of images of the artist was particularly important. All the mainstream, pop artist, female album covers I had analysed consistently used close up images of the artist and images that made the consumer feel involved e.g. the artist looking at the camera. Therefore I used an image of my artist on every panel except one in order to sell the image of the star.

In terms of matching my main product my ancillary texts match in artist only. In the video she wears a different costume to match the mood and genre of the song. However, I feel this is not relevant as the consumer would be able to recognise the artist and it is more important that the website and digipak match up as these are the static texts that would not be replaced regularly: artists make new music videos with different looks all the time for new singles.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

In order to evaluate my work effectively I needed to gain an outside party view. As a class we showcased our videos and then e-mailed each other feedback, at least one positive and one improvement. In order to get feedback on my ancillary texts I had both up on the screen for the class to view, they then fed back and I wrote in Microsoft Word what they commented on.

My website received a positive response about how its layout and colour scheme made the page easy to use and suited the target audience well. I purposely made the layout uncluttered and easy to use as these are the main things that if not done well put people off using a website and returning. Therefore, in order to create a successful page that not only sold the artist but also products it had to be easy to navigate around and use pages. For my colour scheme I picked pink, white and baby blue because these are stereotypically “girly” colours and would play on bringing out the “girly” side of the artist. I could have picked darker colours and played on the mysterious and sexual side of the artist. However, I felt this would appeal more to the sexual audience of males which was not my target audience and also that this colour scheme would not match the ballad style of the song I had chosen. My feedback for improvements for my website homepage included using more images. I agree and if I were to improve the website further I would put more content in the middle frame, most probably including a montage/slide show of pictures. The improvements also included linking up the social networking links on the right hand side which I also agree with and were the website to be real and live these links would be linked to Jodie Jones’ real social networking pages. Furthermore, I had one comment on the approximate inch of white space at the bottom of my main webpage framing. This was unintentional and not noticeable in Adobe Dreamweaver when editing. However, it was suggested that I filled such a gap with a copyright claim and I agree with this, thinking it would work effectively to hide the bug.

My digipak received positive comments about the images used – particularly the background images. Although I did have one comment that the artist looked superimpose and too in focus compared to the background this was intentional and I personally like the effect it gives along with most people who gave feedback. I was also praised for the original way that the song titles are laid out on the back panel of my digipak: non-conventionally and creatively. As the font looked slightly like handwriting I purposely did not lay the song titles out conventionally so that it gave the audience the impression that the artist had written them herself and so therefore they felt they could relate to her and were closer with her than just a consumer. However, with the image of the artist on the back I had several comments that it needed re-proportioning in order for it to look less flat and more realistic. Furthermore, I had one comment that you could not see the rest of her body, including her feet which made the image look slightly un-naturalistic. I agree with this but personally found it very difficult to take a picture of the artist which incorporated her feet yet did not make it look like she had ears.

Finally, my video received a fairly positive response overall, especially about the lip syncing, storyline matching the lyrics and the screwed up paper stop motion sequences.

When shooting the video I had my actress to actually sing to the song to make the lip syncing easier and more convincing. When storyboarding my ideas, after receiving my audience questionnaire results which made it clear that the audience wanted a mix of performance and storyline in a video, I tried to plan a storyline closely related to the visuals. This meant audience understanding was easy, there were no questions to answer it was all told in the lyrics what was happening. Also, the situation the lyrics describe I felt is one a lot of young, teenage girls would be able to relate to and so therefore in making my video based around that situation they would be able to relate to the video and again feel closer to the artist because they are led to believe that the artist has been in that situation as well and can empathize with them.

The main criticism I received was that the ending shots lacked quality and were too dark. I agree with this and although the tapes provided by college made all shots slightly grainy, when I had to lighten the shots artificially when editing this did not aid the quality. It was due to bad planning that the end sequence could not be re-filmed and was I to do the project again realistic planning of time would be my main priority as when I set out to do start this project I did not comprehend just how long it would take to get the right shots I needed.

How did you use new media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

The course specified that we had to have permission to use the track we wanted to use in our music video and that the music track could not already have a music video for it. Without the internet and e-mail this would have been a lengthy process of writing to bands/artists individually and asking for permission with many hours spent writing letters and waiting for replies. However, with use of the internet research into the artist, whether they are signed and who you have to ask for permission is relatively easy and can take minutes if you know how to use a search engine. An e-mail can then be sent and is received by the recipient’s inbox instantly. Therefore, the process of finding a track and gaining permission to use it.

When analysing music videos modern technology, again, made it far easier to carry out this task. Before YouTube and other such video sharing sites were around on the internet music videos had to be watched on television. Therefore, when trying to analyse a particular video this task would have been made much more lengthy and harder to choose which video to analyse. When using YouTube there is choice of which music video you want to watch and analyse, the opportunity to pause it and re-watch it as many times as you wish. If watched on the television, short of sitting watching music channels all day you would be stuck analysing whichever music videos came on first and the only way to view them again would be to tape them.

For the planning of my project new media technologies did not benefit me so much in the construction as most was either drawn by hand or just typed text (therefore it could have been handwritten). However, using Blogger to present my planning allowed me to incorporate many images and my audio file which would not have been possible easily if present my work in a paper folder. Presenting it on Blogger also meant any changes could be dealt with quickly and easily rather then re-writing whole pages of handwritten text or re-taking photographs and waiting for them to develop.

When filming for the construction of my video I used a Sony Mini DV camera. By using a mini dv camera I made the process easier for myself because you can just plug the camera straight into the computer via a firewire cable and capture rather than having to use the tape in a special capturing machine. Using a digital camera also allowed me to use the digital screen attached to the camera to frame my subjects better and obtain better quality shots.

Once uploaded to the computer, editing consisted of using one program: Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. This program let me add audio, cut audio from the original shots, add special effects and titles if I so wished. Before modern editing suites were available the special effects would have either had to be added by hand or using separate programs which is both time consuming and difficult. Modern technology eased my editing process and allowed me to come out with a much more professional looking product without needing as much experience.

When finished my video had to be exported in order to allow me to upload it to YouTube and onto DVD. Whereas before YouTube and DVDs I would have had to have sent a tape to the moderator or had them come in internally to view my product these new digital methods of sharing media allow me to do it cheaply and easily.

When websites were first introduced there were all written in HTML by experienced web designers. They were difficult to create without thorough background knowledge of HTML and did not work particularly well. With the introduction of CSS and JavaScript many websites became more interactive, easier to use and generally just worked better. Although, without the prior knowledge of the coding involved were still pretty hard to make for yourself. Modern programs such as Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 allow you to create a website in a “what you see is what you get” style. In recent years these programs have become very popular with those who do not have extensive knowledge of coding, or perhaps none at all. Although I have limited knowledge of HTML and CSS, Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 allowed me to create a website much more simply and quicker. I was able to see what the website would look like without previewing it constantly and the program automatically wrote the code for me when I inserted an image, text or changed the background colour for example. The whole website was written for me when I visually created it and so therefore this program was a great help in creating me website.

My digipak again was massively aided by the advance in technology. I used Corel Paint Shop Pro 9 to manipulate my images and Adobe Fireworks CS4 to construct the main panels. Once obtained the sizes of the digipak I set about creating the panels in Adobe Fireworks CS4. When planning I had stated that I wanted images of my artist over a natural background of grass, I decided this would be easiest done by taking pictures of her against a green screen and then super-imposing her onto another image using Corel Paint Shop Pro 9. Again, whereas before image manipulation was difficult and a lengthy process image manipulation software now allows you to do super impose one image on top of another effectively and relatively easily. After taking my images with a digital SLR camera I uploaded them to the computer. Corel Paint Shop Pro 9 allowed me to use a tool to find the edges of my artist and cut her out easily from the background.

I then loaded some pictures of grass I had taken, also digitally, earlier, and simply pasted her on top. When creating my panels, due to my past experience with the program, Adobe Fireworks CS4 meant that I could add many special effects (such as shadows and bevels) quickly and effectively. Being able to save and edit multiple versions easily in order to compare them was also a great advantage when using modern technology whereas before they would have been drawn by hand and it would have taken a long time to get multiple copies.

Initially my evaluation was written in Microsoft Word which allowed for easy transfer between computers via e-mail and memory stick and also allowed spelling and grammar mistakes to be found and corrected easily and quickly. Compared with writing out the bulk of the text by hand, checking spelling in a dictionary and having to re-write it every time you re-drafted which is a lengthy process. When transferred over to my blog, to back up my points and to further explain my points to the moderator Blogger allowed me to insert media to my evaluation which, if handing the evaluation on paper in a folder, would not have been possible.

Draft Edit

Below is my draft edit for my music video. It's no where near the quality and consistancy I except from my finished draft and has a long sequence of leaves which I only put in to fill the gap where that sequence has not yet been filmed due to filming being delayed.

The feedback I receieved from my draft edit is as follows:

Hannah E
Shots of girl on bench tend to last too long and are too much in mid shot – more CU needed and cuts need to be much more frequent
Green screen shots are weak
Leaves shots need to be removed!
Final shots with boy are too dark – are they supposed to be in a relationship, or have they just met? – not clear. If in a relationship then need to be sitting closer and have more eye contact, if not, then what is happening???
Phone at start says Mine 5 minutes, so why does she go and sit on a bench?
CU cuts top of her head off – better framing needed
Try to get her to sing to camera rather than to the side
38 secs What’s on your mind is wobbly
1:24 camera bag in shot
Lots of lip synch out

Planning

Brainstorm


Permission

I e-mailed Jodie Jones requesting permission to use one of two songs and she e-mailed me back with the below reply -

Why I chose my track

I chose to use the track London Town by Jodie Jones because the song seemed very open ended. The lyrics were closed, yes, but the actual music itself could either lead to a happy or sad video. This meant lots of creative possibilities.

Also, the song was sung by a female artist meaning it would be easier for me to gain performance points as I would not have to find a male willing to be filmed and mime (I have plenty more female friends willing to be filmed than male).

Location Choices

For my filming I have chosen to main locations: a public park near me and Andrea's bedroom. Both are close by to my house and college and so therefore allow for easy access for filming/re-filming. The public park also has several different "settings" I can use making it a natural choice to allow variety of shots in my music video.

Risk Assessment

Performer choices

The person I chose to be the main female protagonist is Andrea Grimley -

- Andrea is a good friend and so therefore I know she will work hard and agree to dress/wear what is necessary

- She is conventionally "girly" and so therefore fits how I picture the main protagonist to look

- She is slim and will wear makeup to enhance her image - therefore in the video this will sell her image to the consumer rather than the music

Costume

Due to the nature of the track I feel dressing my protagonist provactiely, as is conventional for popular music videos invovling female artists, is innopropraite. Instead my main protagonist will adopt the "girl next door" look with plain white tee, blue jeans and Converse All Star shoes. This look, although dressed down, still allows the audience to relate to her therefore still selling her image to the consumer.

Webpage Mockup

CD Cover/Inlay mockup

Storyboard

Above is my storyboard for my music video accompanied by the track I am using. The storyboard does not run in time with the track however.

Treatment

After listening to the music track several times I have planned out a storyboard and come up with a final idea for my music video. The video will centre around the narrative of the lyrics and will therefore involve and boy and a girl falling for each other.

The video will open on the girl fixing her makeup in a mirror before receiving a text message asking her to be somewhere in 5 minutes. The name of the sender and the reason for meeting will be left ambigious in order to indulge the consumer and in order to enable the narrative to work effectively. The girl will then be seen leaving her house and walking down the street whilst miming - therefore incorporating the performance factor into the video. She will be seen to arrive at another house but it is not shown who opens the door.

The video will then cut to the girl with a friend looking at a guys Facebook profile. Who the guy is will be left ambigious but it should be pretty clear from the end of this sequence that the main protagonist is interested in this person and from the lyrics of the song that she has fallen for him. I then plan to incorpoarte some stop motion animation involving a piece of paper unfolding from being screwed up to reveal a love heart with a question mark. This piece of paper unfolding will become the main way for the audience to figure out the main protagonists emotions during the video.

The main protagonist will then be seen sitting under a tree with her friends - potentially talking about the guy. Her phone will be shown with a picture of the guy on it and her friends will show their dissaproval and at obsessed she is with him - again portraying her emotions for him to the audience. This will be followed by her writing notes, getting distracted and drawing a love heart which she then procedes to screw up and throw in the bin. Again, with the stop motion portraying her emotions the screwed up paper unfolds to reveal the heart she drew break.

The girl is seen to go and sit on a bench and mimes again to the camera as the guy comes and sits next to her. He begins to flirt with her and they end up leaving together - portraying the story the lyrics imply. The stop motion finalizes off the video with the screwed up paper now showing the audience just a whole heart - the couple have ended up together.

Research into Genres - Popular Music (Pop)

What is the definition of popular music?
"Music accessible to a wide audience, distributed through the mass media as a commercial product. It tends to be associated with urban rather than rural cultures, and is performed by professional musicians." - http://www.music.princeton.edu/~jeffery/Ellingtonvocab.html

"As a rule, pop music is music which is less rocky than 'Rock', less danceable than 'Dance', less heavy and metallic than 'Heavy Metal', less easy to listen to than 'Easy Listening', less blue than the 'Blues', less jazzy than 'Jazz', less funky than 'Funk', less jazzy and funky than 'Jazz-Funk', more musical than 'Spoken Word', and less likely to make you slit your wrists than 'Country & Western'." - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A156520

When was it defined/How long has it been around?
Popular music began in 1954 when Elvis Presley recorded "That's All Right Mama" at Sun Studios, Memphis.

"There were rock'n'roll records before this one, nearly all of them by black artists, but this is the moment when the embryonic form found its perfect embodiment." - http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/may/02/popandrock

In October 2003, " for the first time since the dawn of rock'n'roll 50 years ago, none of the artists in the official Billboard American Top 10 was white. " If popular music "has a figurehead, it is Beyoncé Knowles, the only woman in that Top 10 and currently the biggest pop star of the new century." -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/may/02/popandrock


What are the typical conventions of this genre of music videos?
"From a theoretical standpoint the popular music video has long been considered the ultimate example of the post-modern text. Music video is a depthless world in which musicians lip synch in simulated depictions of musical performance or act out the fragmented narrative elements eluded to in the lyrics." - http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415448239/rock-party.asp


Who is the typical target audience?
12-17 year olds (female biased)
http://www.mtvnetworks.co.uk/channels/music

In general the target audience is younger teenagers however popular music is usually marketed at the mass' in order to obtain maximum profit.

Research into the Industry

- I have chosen to use a track by an unsigned artist called Jodie Jones

- Jodie is 19 years old and is from Devon, UK.

- Jodie began songwriting at school and released her home recorded debut album in 2005

- Jodie lists "Suzanne Vega, Bruce Hornsby, Vanessa Carlton, Avril Lavigne, Counting Crows" as her influences on her Myspace Music page

- Her lyrics are upfront and confrontational

- As of yet Jodie Jones is an unsigned artist. However, if she were to be signed to a record label it would most probably be to a major record label such as Sony Music Entertainment or EMI

- She would more than likely be signed by a major record label because her music would largely be classified in the pop genre which appeals to the masses and potentially would bring in a lot of profit for the labels

- Major record labels have certain genres they would not sign e.g. alternative rock because they do not fit in the image of popular, widespread music that the company has created for itself

Research into websites

The two website homepages I have analysed below are relevant to the homepage I aspire to create myself. They are both of single, female artists appealing to a mass audience.

Reseach into Target Audiences

For my target audience research I decided to ask a series of 5 questions which would directly influence the style and content of my final music video. The 5 questions asked were as follows –
1. What is your age?
( ) Under 15
( ) 16-18
( ) 19+

2. Do you often watch music videos?
( ) Yes
( ) No

3. Do you prefer –?
( ) Narrative based music videos (ones that have a storyline)
( ) Performance based music videos (ones that show the band performing
( ) Bit of both

4. Would a music video made from stop-motion animation/containing stop-motion animation appeal to you?
( ) Yes
( ) No

5. In a music video featuring a woman is it important that she is provocatively dressed?
( ) Yes
( ) No

I asked the first question so as to pick out relevant results from non-relevant results. Anybody under 15 or over 19 would not fit into my target audience category and so therefore their answers would be less significant in influencing my final project.

I asked the second question so that, again, I could accurately pick out those answers that were relevant and that be helpful from those who wouldn’t – i.e. people who don’t often watch music videos won’t have as much experience in what they like from music videos and their effect.

I asked the third question so that when I make my final project I know I am appealing effectively to my target audience. Depending on the results given from this research I will alter the editing of my video to either contain more performance, more narrative storyline or an equal amount of both.

I asked the fourth question as making a video entirely from stop-motion animation, or even partly, was an initial idea I had. Therefore, by asking my target audience what they prefer I can see whether this idea is suitable or not – whether it would appeal to my target audience or not.

I asked the fifth and final question to help me decide on the costume for my protagonist female character. Although my target audience are girls aged 16-18 they may find videos with females provocatively dressed more “normal” in modern day context then videos where women are dressed down. Therefore, these types of “sexy” videos would appeal to them more – they would idealise the main protagonist/artist. However, they may also be put off by provocative dressing of the main women in videos, feeling that it downgrades them.

I conducted my survey over Facebook, a social networking site, so as to gather as many respondents as possible in a short space of time.


Results
Of all respondents 7% were not in my target age group and so their answers were not wholly relevant although they will still be taken into account/considered at the planning stage if I plan to appeal to the masses.

Of the relevant results 23% preferred narrative based music videos, 8% said they preferred performance based music videos and 69% said they preferred a bit of both (narrative and performance) in music videos.

From this result I conclude that my video will aim to be half performance half narrative as this seems to be the most effective type of video to appeal to my target audience.

Of the relevant results 54% said that a music video made from/containing stop motion animation would appeal to them compared to 46% that said music video made from/containing stop motion animation would not appeal to them.

From this result no result is overtly clear because the percentage for and the percentage against are so close. Therefore, because the percentage for was slightly higher than the percentage against I’ve concluded to use little snippets of stop-motion animation in my music video to either heighten the mood or had important humour a.k.a “feel good factor” to my video – if a video has this factor and is positive it is more likely to appeal to an audience than a depressing video.

The results from my final question are as follows –
30% Yes
70% No

These results are pretty conclusive and so therefore from these results I conclude that my main protagonist, although she should not be dressed down, does not have to be sexually dressed to attract my target audience. However, if I were to sell the image of the artist to a more mass audience, including males, then I may want to take into consideration the female protagonists interest to the male audience and what would entice them/attract them to watch the video.

Research into CD/DVD covers

- Both the first and surname of the artist are shown clearly. As it is his actual name this creates a sense of involvement with the consumer - they feel like they know the artist and feel closer to him
- His name is written in sans-serif font which portrays masculine traits
- His name is coloured red which portrays it's important. However, the fact it is red also connotes that the artist is hot and dangerous - appealing to the sexuality of women and selling the image of the artist.
- The artist pictured is looking directly at the camera and so therefore the consumer feels they are looking directly at them. This creates a sense of involvement again with the consumer and draws them in.
- The artist is the only image on the cover portraying him to be important and dominant. This CD cover sells the artist's image rather than his music. This appeals to the target audience because many of these albums will be sold on how he looks rather than how he sounds.
- The artist has a shadow down the left hand side of his face. If he were shown completely lit than this would portray innocence and purity. As he is shown with a shadow down the left hand side of his face connotations that he is mysterious can be taken. Having a mysterious side could be seen as appealing to the sexual nature of women and so therefore again, selling the artist rather than the music.
- The artist's clothing also helps reinforce this mysterious image that the record label are trying to create - black and grey compared to white which would portray innocence.
- The artist's hair is messed up and gelled. This portrays a rebellious image which appeals to the sexual nature of women and therefore sells his image. Which according to Richard Dyer is creation of the star image.

-Both the first name and surname of the artist are shown clearly - this gives the consumer a sense of involvement with the artist - they are on first name terms with them
- The artist's name is written in pink portraying the fact she is a "girly" girl - likes to dress up, wear make up etc.
- The title of the album is written in a handwriting style portraying that the artist herself has written it. As the title of the album is "Autobiography" to have the title handwritten again makes the consumer feel involved with the artist as is portrays she has personally written this autobiography.
- The artists pink bra is clearly on show but is mainly covered up with the artist's arm. The fact that it is a pink bra renforces the early connotations of her being a typical girl who is innocent and "girly". However, the fact that her bra is on show appeals to the sexual nature of men - therefore selling her image as an artist rather than the music.
- Her image is further sold to the male population by the fact she has messy, perhaps "after sex" hair and is in front of a background of graffitti - both these factors would appeal to the sexual nature of men, portraying her to be a rebel.
- The artist is looking directly at the camera therefore when the consumer looks at the album cover it feels as if the artist is looking directly at them and so therefore they, again, feel involved with the artist.
- The artist's face is airbrushed so as to hide any impurities - this again sells the artists image rather than her music - she is portrayed to be perfect.

Textual Analysis of music videos

On January 23rd 2009 Lily Allen released the first single of her second album entitled "It's Not Me, It's You.". The single was entitled "The Fear" and the promotional video for it was directed by Nez (The Streets, Kano). The single is classifed in the Pop genre by both iTunes music store and Amazon Digital Downloads.

The song opens with the line: "I wanna be rich and I want lots of money." As Lily Allen mimes this line she is shown in a long shot which shows the viewer that she is in caravan. Therefore, in this instance the visuals amplify the lyrics as typically someone living in a caravan dreams of having more money. Life living in a caravan is not potrayed as being partically luxurious because her washing is hung crudely on a line to the left of her and her furniture and curtains appear dated and old because of their floral pattern.

Just before the chorus Lily turns around, re-enters her caravan and is suddenly transferred to what appears to be a room in a large house. She is shown mostly in high angle shots throughout the chorus as she sings "I don't know what's right and what's real anymore." Therefore, the use of high angle shots to show her amplifies the lyrics in portraying her to be a victim, scared and confused. However, as it is a music video and is therefore designed to promote the artist as well as the song, Lily is also shown through mid shots throughout the chorus so that her beauty and image can be sold as well.

In the first verse after the chorus Lily sings: "Life's about film stars and less about mothers." at which the point the visuals straight cut to a close up on old childrens toys. They look untouched hence again amplifying the lyrics of the song that life is less about mothers now - toys and childhood, the needing of mothers, has been left behind.

Lily sings: "I am a weapon of massive consumption" as she is shown in a long shot skipping into a room full of wrapped items. The visuals again here amplify the lyrics as Lily sings about being a mass consumer she is surrounded by lots of items: therefore portraying that she buys a lot of things and is a mass consumer.

Again, for the chorus Lily is shown mostly in high angle shots portraying she is little and confused. Therefore, the lyrics she sings: "I don't know what's right or what's real anymore." "When will it all become clear?" are amplified through the use of this visual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hbm4G_7rGzQ

The second music video I chose to analyse had the embedding of the video disabled by request and so therefore a link to the video is provided above.

On the 15th November 2004 Avril Lavigne released her third single from her second album entitled "Under My Skin". The single was called "Nobody's Home" and is classified in the pop genre by both iTunes and Amazon Digital Downloads.

The video opens with a blurred close up of a girl gazing, looking lost, into the sunset. The fact that the shot is blurred connotes her state of mind: confused and hazed. The fact that this shot is a close up means no information is given about the girl, who she is and why/where she is. This intrigues the viewer and makes them want to watch on.

Director Research

Jonas Åkerlund

"Swedish filmmaker Jonas Åkerlund is known for his hard-hitting, frenetic and often violent takes on the darker side of humanity. The world's most controversial music video director, he has worked with the biggest names in the industry.

He started out as a drummer in seminal Swedish heavy metal band Bathory but switched to film editing in the mid '80s. He says, "I realized that cutting images together with music and sound effects was much more creative than banging the drums in a band, so I quit right away."
He moved into directing and has since worked with artists including U2 ("Beautiful Day", shot at Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris), Metallica, the Smashing Pumpkins and Moby.

Perhaps best known for his work with Madonna, on "Ray of Light", "American Life" and the documentary "I'm going to tell you a secret", Åkerlund hit the headlines when the out-of-control "Smack My Bitch Up" video for the Prodigy was banned by MTV." "

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2006/TRAVEL/10/11/stockholm.biog/index.html

As stated above Jonas Åkerlund is famous for his controversial videos and through having seen many of his videos you can see why.

The video for Christina Aguilera's song "Beautiful" which was released in 2002 contains images and short clips throughout of controversial images which would not usually be seen as socially acceptable for television. The video contains visuals of an extremely anorexic girl, a socially rejected alternative dresser, a transvestite getting dressed, a gay couple kissing and extreme bullying.

His most recent video for Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" single contains visuals of her being thrown of a balcony, poisening her boyfriend, engaging in a lesbian 3 way kiss and visuals of dead models.

However, his most controversial video of all time is considered to be his video for The Prodigy's 1997 single "Smack my bitch up" which was banned by MTV and the BBC for containing strong scenes/visuals of drug taking and violence.