Previous Students’ Work


Here I have closely analysed a previous student’s work. This will help me to understand
what makes a successful music video, and what things I should be careful of during production
and post production.

Holding a shot steady: The shots in the video are mostly hand held, but are intentional and for creative reasons. Some shots, mainly the close ups of the actors, are static, to increase the focus on the expressions of the performance.

Framing a shot: The video includes lots of different framing techniques, like two shots, over the shoulder shots, basic central framed shots, but no shots framed with another aspect of the scene. This is because the video all takes place in one digital setting, with no props or set dressing.

Variety of shot distance:  There is a good variety of shot distances, but no extreme long shots showing any entire actor. This isn’t necessary but may have been effective. Alot of close ups good for seeing expression in performance, two shots and over the shoulder shots of actors singing to each other, which is effective in constructing a relationship between the performers.

Appropriate to task: Yes, the video is very well done, especially in terms of visual effects. Although, there is no narrative, and the video is entirely performance. But the final product is very professional, and suits the genre of the music well.

Mise en scene selection: The clothes the performers are wearing are very stylish, and they do support the ‘pop star’ look artists go for in professional music videos. The setting is a series of digital backgrounds, that were created with chroma key. They are very easy on the eye, but also because they are basic, they keep our focus on the performers.

Editing for meaning: I really like the green screen work in this video, as well as the colourful triangle graphics used in some sections. Also, the animated lines used in some shots. These effects were good at keeping my attention and would work well as a reason to watch the video.  The editing is very rhythmic and in time with the music, and the editing makes sense in terms of the performance. No editing for narrative, as there was no narrative in the video.

Shot Transitions: There we no particular shot transitions in this video, except straight cuts, which worked well. No exciting transitions were necessary as there were plenty of exciting of visual effects in the video. Also the pace of the cuts are in good time with the music, and keep us up with the rhythm of the song.

Digi-Pack 

WP_20140709_001

Framing a shot: The framing is well constructed on all the pages, in terms of the rule of thirds. This is a very professional use of framing and would help the album sell as it appears to be of high quality.

Appropriate to task: This digi-pack is very professionally done and features most if not all of the digi-pack conventions. Even small details like the record label, and barcode have been added to the back page, as well as additional album art. Also album art has been added which is a convention of a modern digi-pack.

Mise-en-scene: The Mise-en-scene of the digi-pack is the same as the video, and features the same colour scheme and graphics as were used in the video. Smart casual clothing are worn by the performers, and microphones and instruments are pictured on the back and additional mini-posters.

Manipulating images: The front cover featuring the pictures of the performers has been edited to make them look more attractive and have been touched up to give them an almost angelic glow. Also the backgrounds are completely virtual and feature bright colours and graphics.

Language & register:  The language used in this digi-pack is conventional of a normal one, but there isn’t alot of promotional text about the stars or the album.

Intergration of copy and image: The text, particularly the title, fits the style of the music video and the rest of the digi-pack, in terms of the graphics, bright and lights, colours and trails. I think the title sits on the image comfortably, and doesn’t hide any aspect of the image behind.

Layout & page design: The layout of the digi-pack is done very professionally, with the images using the rule of thirds. Also the design is very well done using graphics that match the style of the music video. It comes across as a clean, and ‘pop’ style design.

Variety of fonts and text sizes: The text font on the back of the digi-pack used for the song listings is basic and small. The only other font is that of the title, which is a ‘hand written’ style, fancy, and features light flares. The size of the title is very large, whereas the song listings are smaller.

Use ICT appropriately: The designer of this digi-pack clearly has efficient skills in photoshop, as most of the backgrounds and graphics are superimposed. Also the two faces of the performers on the front cover have been airbrushed to look more attractive, like real stars.

Star Image

 

asas

Here is my Pinterest board featuring images & videos of the music star Kanye West.
I have used adjectives on various images to describe how he is represented in that
particular image. Common adjectives that appear are ‘Rich’, ‘Glamorous’ and ‘Authentic’. These display him a star who is rich, glamorous, and authentic. I have explored his meta-narrative and how he is represented as a star using Dyer’s theory which suggested that a stars image is constructed by the media. That Kanye is absent yet present, ordinary yet extraordinary. With his shows, he seems to bond with the audience, but as a celebrity as a whole he is constructed as a somewhat untouchable person.

 

ANALYSIS OF 6 MUSIC VIDEOS

Here I have looked at 6 music videos, and analysed them in terms of their performance to narrative ratio, the appeal/impact, sense of subject matter, inter textual references, and Mise-en-scene and genre.
Click the image to view my analysis sheet.

Untitled-2 copy

Here are the links to the music videos I looked at:
Kodaline – Love like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkAOasSJro0
Ellie Goulding – Figure 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNpBahr49mA
A-ha – Take on me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKspel3BEog
Smash Mouth – Im a believer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mYBSayCsH0
Iggy Azalea – Fancy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-zpOMYRi0w
Olly Murs – Busy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYTQU4KvhJM