Rebelling against Laura Mulvey’s and the future of music.

‘In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly.’

As analysed in a previous blog Laura Mulvey sums up the concept of music videos in terms of gender in the one quote listed above, however this has been brutally flipped around in the recent uproar of female UK artist OG Niki (satirically referenced as Hoe G Niki) where she raps in explicit lyrics far beyond the likes of a 17 year old female should, giving graphic detail on her personal sex life and just indirectly disrespecting her family as many UK based music websites have quoted her father saying that he is “ashamed and embarrassed” in which a video response had been put up by OG Niki responding to his reaction with disregard and a lack of care. It can be argued that perhaps she does not do as she speaks and merely used it as a plot to go semi-viral as her music freestyle reached the likes of www.Worldstarhiphop.com – the number one hip hop website on the net and received a barrage of expected negative reviews from the American public generally stating that she is too young. She has received countless video responses with the Youtube community posting their views more notably ‘Don’t Jealous Me’ giving a humorous review of her life. None the less if it was a ploy for publicity it has worked like a charm however the reason for fame and the constant insults she receives will affect her regardless of her “I don’t care attitude”.

http://www.spifftv.com/video.php?id=3499

Following the publicity OG Niki received, UK artist Skepta received similar notoriety with his highly explicit music video to the song All Over The House where we basically see a couple have sexual intercourse throughout the music video. It, like OG Niki’s freestyle got picked up on www.worldstarhiphop.com and received a lot of mixed opinions regarding it as well as the UK some demonstrating disgust, disbelief and entertainment. The music video really fits Laura Mulvey’s theory stretching far beyond the bar she would have ever expected. This somewhat clouds the UK music scene giving the impression that our artists both male and female are really sexually orientated leading me to ask the question where is the future of music heading to? When are people going to intervene and note what right is from wrong because  roughly 90% of people that have watched it agreed that if they wanted to see that they would watch porn and came to the conclusion that it went overboard, far beyond any ‘R’ rated legitimate music video ever created...

Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey

Laura Mulvey stressed on the representation in media, however in this case we are only addressing gender as it is a more than obvious representation in music videos. Laura Mulvey stated;

‘In a world ordered by sexual imbalance, pleasure in looking has been split between active/male and passive/female. The determining male gaze projects its fantasy onto the female figure which is styled accordingly.’ Which was perceived in my classes own words as; ‘In a world of stereotypical sexism, male and female representation is divided, dominance of males and sexualisation of females. Male fantasies are projected onto female who dress to fit these fantasies.’

A low angle shot from Sisqo's Thong song giving the viewer a clear view of a woman's cleavage.

 A screen grab reinforcing the female dismemberment as the models wear an illuminus bikini to accentuate their bodies.

This notion can be illustrated by viewing Sisqo: Thong Song. The title of the song speaks for itself in terms of visual expectations for the music video. We can note a high number of dismemberment throughout the video specifying heavily on their physiques which only strengthens Laura Mulvey’s theory but also reinstates the stereotype of males being sex driven due to the mass sex appeal in the song. 

in this screen grab we can note that in contrast to Sisqo's thong song the roles have been flipped from female to male, challenging Laura Mulvey's theory

However this theory has somewhat been flipped around as shown in Nicki Minaj: Superbass where we see rapper Nicki take on a male role by using all of the conventions of a male (rap) video including models, cars, pools etc. This can have negative implications as it can be perceived that females have no self dignity and have happily become accustom to being these sex symbols. 

Artists such as Alicia Keys and Adele however maintain the idealistic role models of women, addressing their lyrics to emotionally touch listeners and receive popularity through their songs rather than their physical appearance or what materialistic goods they possess which is often demonstrated as the base tracks of their music videos show them playing a piano which equally shows that they are multi talented.

However it is to be noted that music videos vary entirely on the genre of the music itself which is why I have chosen to use a number of examples from the Rap/Hip-Hop genre as certain genres such as rock and Indie do not focus as heavily on the sex appeal.

Carol Vernalis

Carol Vernallis

Carol Vernallis studied editing and camerawork closely in music videos in which she highlighted technical elements that occur throughout all music videos regardless of genre - all of which have been abbreviated;

·      Edits may be really obvious to draw attention to themselves such as wipes and special effects added

·      The usual rules of ‘continuity’ editing (editing usually found in classic broadcast fiction) are broken in order to draw attention to what is on screen

·      The camera may move in time with the music

·      Jump cuts are used often

·      A master shot (base track) is frequently used to give the video a structure

All of the above bullet points can be illustrated in Mark Ronson’s 2010 hit, The Bike Song . As the song initiates special effects are used to create a futuristic Tron effect already confirming the first bullet point listed stating that ‘edits may be really obvious’. We are next shortly introduced to the second bullet point as discontinuity editing is displayed when the camera is constantly switching between the man in the blue blazer and the man with the white hair which as mentioned is used to draw attention to what is on screen. Throughout the music video the camera shots and cuts remain in sync with the music confirming the third bullet point. The fourth and fifth bullet points are illustrated throughout the entire music video with the jump cuts being used to speed up the process of riding the bikes. There are a number of base tracks that occur frequently throughout the music video one of which is when the man in the blue blazer is in the phone box which as noted in the bullet points is used to give the video structure.

As well as The Bike Song, the bullet points can be illustrated in Drake’s 2011 hit, Marvin’s Room - simply proving that music videos of whatever genre conform to them. I have chosen to use this song as an example of the bullet points because they are heavily focused on the rigid edits, jump cuts and the special effects as they want the viewer to get the sense of being intoxicated and to feel involved with the club scene and the phone call.

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin’s theory on music videos highlighted a rhythmic structure of all music videos falling into the three categories Illustration, Amplification and Disjuncture, the three relations between songs and videos;

1.     Illustration – this is where the video tells the story of the lyrics. Dance is often used to express the feelings/moods in the song.

2.     Amplification – occurs when the videos introduce new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning.

3.     Disjuncture – this is where there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric.

Illustration is evident in Hollowman’s 2008 hit, Up In The Shubz. Where all lyrics correspond to what is being shown on screen. This video is entirely what the song is about, being up in a shubz (party in slang terms) and is demonstrated well as the editing give an authentic feel.

Amplification is evident  in Chris Brown’s 2011 song, Beautiful People. As the meaning states it does not contradict with the lyrics but adds layers of meaning which the video to the song accomplishes. The video shows many respected artist, fans and dancers enjoying themselves, smiling and having fun of all races conveying the message that everyone is beautiful.

In the Prodigy’s Song Voodoo People (Pendulum Remix) it is clear to see the is evidence of a Disjuncture video as the video is entirely random despite the minor near to none lyrics to the song, it conforms to the definition ‘where there is little connection between the lyrics and video.’

Our Mood Board

Research for music video

In lesson, me and my group got together to create this 'mood board'. We collected images of what we thought represented our artists (in this case me and Nathan). Below is the mood board we made. 

As you can see, we collected images of what we liked to wear, the food we like to eat, some of the items we owned and so on. 

My research skills development

Research on music videos

In AS, there was a lot of research I did before I actually starting making our thriller film with my group. I had to do research on diffferent thriller films, watch diferent ones, aanlyse what made a good thriller film, learn about the different techniques we could use to make our thriller film good and so on. However, doing research on music videos is a bit different. This is because making a music video is more difficult then making a thriller as the editing is much more detailed and more frequent than in films. This means we have to make sure we know how to edit our music video well, how to edit to the beat, how to lip sync and so on.   

This was why we made practice music videos at the end of AS. This was really useful as we got put to the challenge of making a music video and I became familiar on hw to edit, edit to the beat and so on. At firts it was quite tricky but after a while I got used to it!

The Future of The Music Industry

Research for music video

"What's the future for the music industry?"

Well, to be honest the future for the music industry is looking very bleak. In class we talked about how advanced technology has had good and bad impacts on the music industy today. One of the bad impacts is the use of the internet. The internet is the main reason why the future for the music industry is not looking very promising...

 Above I have created a small collage which shows some of the illegal/legal downlaoding sites, and programmes. Some I have included are Bearshare, Youtube converter, Lime wire and so on. Less than 15 years ago, the only way you were able to obtain music is if you went to the shops and brought an album, cassette or even a record for example. However, becuase nowadays nearly everyone owns or has access to internet and a PC, you can obtain music easily from the comfort of your own home.

Illegal downloading sites such as Youtube converter and Limwire has made it very, very easy for consumers to just simply download the programme and downlaod all types of music for absolutely free. Limewire, however, has been banned recently but there are still many illegal downloading sites accessible online.

In lesson, our teacher Annabelle asked us to raise our hands if we brought any CD's within the last year, and only about two people put their hand up! It was a very AWKWARD moment, as we felt quite guilty.. but it does go to show the reality of the impact of illegal downloading sites!

So what does this mean for the music industry? Well, because people can download free music online, this means a majority of people stop buying albums or singles etc, which mean that sales in CD's have fallen dramatically. Illegal downloading programmes even allow consumers to burn an unlimited amount of CD's too, and these free burnt CD's can be shared around with friends and family. So why buy an album when you can burn one for free?

Here are some statstics on the UK Musiic industry... The British Phonographic Institute (BPI) reported that the music industry had registered its first growth in sales for six years. The UK music industry grew by 5% in 2009 thanks to an upturn in revenue from concerts (Susan Boyle and Michael Jackson concert tickets), according to a report. UK Music sales "stabilised" against a global slide in CD revenues, it added, outperforming DVDs and computer games.

(Stastistics copied from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-10866830 )

...So when the music industry are reciveing a good revenue, its almost like a miracle, seeing as the sales in CD's seem to be slowly declining...


The music industry have to adapt to this as they realise that it is almost impossible to block all illegal downloading sites. This is why they hope to gain revenue from the sales of concert or gig tickets for example. Also, many record labels rely on the sale of merchandise.
If now, nearly all young adults and adults download all their music free, then what does this mean for the music industry within the next ten years? Will the sales of CD's decline all together??? This is a major question which the music industry worry about all the time, however only time can tell...

Copyright clearance

During our summer break were asked to think of a few songs we were interested to do a music video on and then contact their record labels to ask permission if we can use their artists song.
I sent three requests to labels asking for permission.

Architects - An Open Letter to Myself

You Me At Six - Stay With Me 

Kasabian - Underdog

All three of these songs i have asked permission for is all different genre's, although they are under the main genre rock there is many sub-headings of rock.

Architects are a scremo band, You Me At Six is a alternative rock band and Kasabian is a indie rock band.

These are all very different genre's when compared to each other, do not assume they are all just rock.

Short analysis of a students music video

Research for music videos

I went on vimeo.com  and watched some past students music videos's that they had created. most of them were really good and interesting to watch- and I have even gained a few ideas and inspiration from some. Below is the music video that I really enjoyed watching and I have done a small analysis of what I liked and what I didn't like. 

Zeynab Berouijel, Charlotte Moore, Kim Nguyen, Yasmmen Ismail from 283goswell on Vimeo.

What I liked about this video

I really liked the editing they used at the beginning of the video. They split the frame into four parts and edited it perfectly on the beat of the song. I think its a good way to really grab the audience's attention. 

The performance was very good too. Some videos I watched, the performance was a a bit dull and some people looked shy. However, the performance of the girl in this video was good, she performed with confidence and made the video believable.

They used a lot of close ups to show the singers face, and she also looked inside the camera. I think this was really good as close ups and eye contact help the audience to connect with the artist and also makes them feel involved in the video.

They used a transition which i thought was really good. As she sang "It has no appeal", they added in a transition that peeled off the shot a=to take us to the next shot. I think this was clever as it actually contradicted to what she was singing.

They added words in the video like 'live' and 'fly, which was some of the words she was singing and I thought that was nice technique to use. 

What I didn't like about this video

I think the park they used as a location didn't work so well. I have taken a screen shot of the shot i'm talking about below.

This is because the camera shot stayed the same, was quite long and was a bit boring. To make the shot look better, they should have done some close ups or medium shots for example. 

When they used the green screen for one of their shots, it wasn't doen properly as some bits of her hair disappeared and you could see the green fuzz inside the gaps of her hair. Below is a screenshot, however its not so clear what I'm trying to explain. 

Analysis Of A Music Video

Analysis of a music video that I feel is a great example

The music video that I felt deserved to be quoted as a great example of a music video is 2010 hit single reaching 27 on the Billboard Hot 100; Diddy Dirty Money Ft. Rick Ross, T.I. – Hello Good Morning. Interestingly the music video to the song was inspired by the 1995 movie Heat starring Robert Deniro and Al Pacino. The reason I rate this music video so highly is because you can really note the level of effort that has gone into the production of this music video from the props used to the editing, although some sloppy such as the transition from P Diddy rapping the chorus to the club scene at 1:04 – 1:05 however it really shows great editing to the beat which is essential in producing any music video. It also conforms to the Amplification style music videos, not necessarily following a  narrative but hinting the audience with slight gestures that come up in the song which I feel I may look to produce when shooting our music video but that is all for another blog. I have analysed the key scenes which I have particularly enjoyed that can reference more in detail to what has been mentioned in this introduction...;

As the music video commences we are quickly introduced to remarkable panoramic camera shots of a helicopter flying over Los Angeles to establish a form of dominance over the “City Of Angels”. What follows shortly after the panoramic view is a rapid edit (0:08) creating an almost blinking effect according to the beat of the music delivering an effective transition to Rapper Rick Ross who fluently raps his lyrics for the first verse. We see rapper Swizz Beatz (light skin man with hat 0:11-0:12) bumping his fist in time with the music demonstrating intricate precise edits with sharp detail. Shortly after we view a transition which links to the lyrics of the song (0:22-0:23) reinforcing the precision of the editing and conforming to the characteristics of an amplification music video which is also evident later in the song where the video visually quotes rapper T.I’s lyrics (1:40). As the chorus approaches, we swiftly begin to view rapper P Diddy driving a black Buggatti Veyron that has been dissected with different camera shots, composed together in order to the beat creating a base track for the song fitting the conventions of music videos – using discontinuity editing to make scenes eye catching. During the conclusive climax of the music video, edits become far more frequent as well as fireworks  being ignited in the background to create an atmospheric scene that awes the viewer, as the music dims out the video fades to black concluding the music video.

Functions of a music video

FUNCTIONS OF A MUSIC VIDEO

Music videos follow a regimental series of characteristics that really make a music video a music video. The first of which being close ups - this possibly being the most important characteristic in the list for new artists especially as it is a way to promote and establish themselves amongst their fans. Also really constructing a bond between the viewer as they look directly into the camera giving the impression that they are performing for the viewer personally.As illustrated from the screen grab below we see artist Nicki Minaj make direct eye contact with the camera, as previously mentioned communicating with the viewers at a more personal level.

The second characteristic and the one I feel that is very important on a professional level is the fluent editing, this including - discontinuity editing, the video being in sync with the music and great executed transitions which all account for the professionalism in a music video. The discontinuity editing accompanied with the transitions create back to back realistic scenarios and keep the viewers in tune with the music video. It is also great for picking up the pace at the climax of a music video. It is mandatory that the music is synced with the video, otherwise it does not look authentic and becomes evident it was not edited well. Base tracks also act as a major contribution in the hope to identify their artist, you will often see music video breaking from the narrative to return to the artist singing the chorus.

In the music video for Dizzee Rascal's "Dance Wiv Me" we see him accomplish all of the above characteristics ranging from looking into the camera and ticking off all of the editing necessities. In this illustrative style music video Dizzee Rascal and featured artist are in a club singing/rapping about dancing. Delivered with the transitions and discontinuity editing it picks up the pace and gives the viewer the effect that they are in the club with the artist - this is where looking into the camera compliments their motive. In this music video, Calvin Harris sings the chorus and as stated, this is the base track in which the camera draws focus to the chorus singer and or band/group varying on the genre - We see Calvin Harris fluctuate throughout the video at the bar of the club. It is no surprise as to the fact that the music is synced with the video, otherwise it would look poorly dubbed; 

In my personal opinion I feel that music videos in the past was a necessity regardless of genre as music was not as easily accessible to viewer demand so many would rely on music channels such as MTV to exhibit them. In this day and age it is not rocket science to produce a fairly decent music video with the correct equipment and video streaming sites such as youtube alongside social networking websites making music easily accessible and allowing them to perhaps even go viral. We can also note the increase in the level of technology, increasing the quality of the finished product 

Copyright Clearance

Copyright clearance

Alternatively rather than seeking copyright clearance from a major music record label I am fortunate to personally be friends with a semi famous rap group from London that have been producing music on a UK mainstream level since 2006. Reaching the number one on the ChannelU urban charts and remaining there for six consecutive weeks, and spending a further 13 weeks in total in the Top 5, followed by another 12 weeks in the Top 20 establishing their place at a very young age.(ChannelU being the former music channel that predominantly played Grime and UK rap music) After a 4 year intermission from fame the previous Lil Rascals "reintroducing themselves" as just rascals have taken the UK rap scene by storm with a new updated persona, style and lyrics with there latest promo video "First Date" which aired on all major music channels including MTV. Speaking to Marcus 'Merkar' Mbye a few minutes before blogging this, he assured me that there are a lot of collaborations, new projects and music yet to come.

Lip Sync Tutorial

Lip Sync

During the lip sync tutorial we learnt to  apply a base clip and sync the music to match the lips or actions of the artist/band. This proved to be quite simple as when you click a button you can see the sound waves and match it rather than trying to visually sync. However the difficult part of this task was to catch the beat and mark it at a consistency which sometimes proved for the markers to be misallocated.

Our lip sync video was a classic case of using editing to make something out of nothing because we had the lyrics to Surfin in the USA however we had did not have the track to hear so instead we diverted into using a different but similar track called fun fun fun. Where the best we could do would be to sing the chorus and improvise on actions to correspond to the bubbly song itself such as surfing on a bench and generally acting like an over excited student. But as mentioned the editing saved the task as the lips were perfectly synced and the actions met the beat. Overall I feel that it could have been improved simply if we had either of the lyrics to the songs as we could  have developed a far more professional looking video as well as not using the same clips over and over.

Overall I am pleased with the conclusive outcome of the video, regardless of the recycled clips as I was really able to grasp the task and familiarise myself the tools I needed to use. If we had longer I would reshoot the clips and fluster them through the video, I'd also ensure that we had the correct lyrics.