Coursework: Summer Project 2024
1) Research: music videos
You need to write a 150-word close-textual analysis of SIX music videos that will inform your production work. The music videos you analyse are up to you but focus on a different aspect of media language for each one (see guidance below).
Music videos
Music Video 1: Narrative
Music Video 1: Narrative
How is narrative used in the music video and what impact does this have on the audience? Can you apply any narrative theories to the story in the music video?
Music video: Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus
In this music video were given a stereotypical teenage rom-com or coming of age story where the "nerd" wants to have a chance at going out with the "popular" girl. Throughout the video numerous conventions are used such as the addition of a live performance and matching lyrics. A theory that could link to all of this is Goodwins music video theory as we can talk about how the stereotypical rom-com/coming of age idea is an intertextual reference to the 00s where these said films were most popular, such as American pie. Additionally we can talk about how the video quite swiftly establishes its genre convention of rock through the use of live performance. This overall could give audiences a feeling of relief as it holds the same satisfaction a rom-com would hold for audiences, the relief of watching the two main characters being with each other in the end.
Music Video 2: Camerawork (shots, angles, movement)
Look for particular camera shots and movement - remember that movement is a critical convention of most music videos and camerawork can contribute to this.
Music video: Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai
The thing that really grabs the viewers eye in this music video is its amazing camerawork through the fact that its only five scenes long, through all the dancing and moving floors and walls there were only five cuts in total, and seamless ones at that where the camera moved down to the ground for a few seconds and once up to the ceiling, every other moment in the video the camera remained completely stationary while Jamiroquai and the setting were moving along to the song. Additionally whats fascinating about this video is how he creates his own camera shots without the camera or himself actually moving as the floor is pushing him towards the camera at times, creating a close up of him singing, and also moments where hes pushed to the back of the room creating a longshot of the entire setting.
What do you notice about the use of mise-en-scene to create meanings for the audience? Use CLAMPS to help you here and think in particular about how mise-en-scene is used to communicate the genre of music and the personality or brand identity of the band/artist.
Music video: All the Small Things by Blink-182
One of Blink-182s primary gimmicks is that that like to take the mick out of all other genres of music and their videos, and in this song that gimmick is clearly represented through the use of mise-en-scene. A first example we can talk about is costume where at one point their wearing all white suits while leaving their plane, a direct copy of Backstreet Boys in the song I want it that way. another example of costume is where the lead singer is wearing a flat cap and white underwear, nothing else, a funny take on the typical idea of male and female gaze in music videos as the way hes dancing is a direct attempt to break the gaze. Another example of mise-en-scene is the use of setting where a beach is used, which is stereotypically associated with an idea of relief and romance, where here instead we watch a man being attacked by a dog.
Music Video 4: Editing
For editing, analyse pace, transitions, the number of shots and juxtaposition. How does the music video create pace and excitement - or does it create a different effect for the audience?
For editing, analyse pace, transitions, the number of shots and juxtaposition. How does the music video create pace and excitement - or does it create a different effect for the audience?
Music video: Sandstorm by Darude
In this music video for the song Sandstorm, which is quite a fast paced song typically associated with dance and rave, we are given an equally pacey music video where the primary focus of the video is a woman running from two other people. This overall idea helps create an overall excitement factor through the idea of mystery, why is she being chased and what is she holding as were given numerous close ups of the briefcase shes holding. away from pace now where through out the video were given numerous different editing features such as slow motion shots and other moments where we see the camera zoom in rapidly to the beat of the song which also helps the overall excitement factor as even when were at the slower part of the song there is still a lot going on that keeps viewers engaged.
Music Video 5: Conventions
Think back to our Introduction to Music Video and our work on Andrew Goodwin's theory on music video conventions as part of the Ghost Town CSP. How many key conventions of music video can you find in your fifth music video example?
Music video: Rock this Party by Bob Sinclair
In this music video the primary example of Goodwins theory is through the very heavy use of intertextuality. This use of intertextuality also heavily helps create numerous different genre conventions through its uses of performance. Before i go into the performance however a first example of intertextuality is the use of a sample from the song "gonna make you sweat" by C&C music factory, an iconic house track from the 90s which immediately brings viewers in as they will recognise the sound in an instant. Now talking about performance we watch as the children recreate iconic moments from different genres of music video, such as the genre of rock with the recreation of "smells like teen spirit" by Nirvana and a cosplay of the band ACDC, Then the genre reggae through a cosplay of Bob Marley, Additionally rock and roll through a recreation of the Beatles, and a final reference ill talk about is through the pop genre with a recreation of Justin Timberlakes "Cry me a River" music video.
Music Video 6: Visual effects, intertextuality or product placement
Choose a video that has interesting visual effects or intertextuality and analyse the effect this creates and how it is constructed. Alternatively, you could look at product placement here and see how a band or artist has incorporated a brand or product into their video.
Music video: Walk this Way by RUNDMC and Aerosmith
The fascinating thing about this video is that it was a first of its kind, combining two completely different genres together into one song, rock and rap. A small intertextual point that can be made is through the fact that RUNDMC basically took the original song of "Walk this Way" by just Aerosmith and remade it with multiple elements of rap. This overall created a song that brought the best out of both genres, a rap drum loop combined with the riff of an electric guitar creating a song thats adored by millions and creating their own. This also gave RUNDMC a chance to add their iconic branding placement through the use of closeups on their trainers, shelltoes by Adidas which was a staple piece in many of their previous music videos. going back to the combination of both genres however, a notable use of visual effects is the wall thats used at the start of the video to separate the two rooms, which is symbolic for the two genres being different and with that wall being broken down later in the video, a sign that their genres have now combined.
You can find a range of notable music video examples in this blogpost or you are free to select videos of your choice. You may wish to write more about one video than another but as long as you have 800+ words of music video research in total you will be fine. Feel free to use bullet points if this is helpful.
2) Planning: music video treatment
A treatment is like a script for a music video - it tells the band or artist exactly what will happen in the video and the kind of style or effect the video will have. You'll need choose what song you are going to use at this point - remember, you can use an existing artist's work but it needs to be appropriate for the brief.
You can find further music video treatment guidance here plus an example of a genuine director's treatment for the brilliant alt-J video Breezeblocks.
For this aspect of your summer project, write a basic treatment that gives your reader a good idea of what your three-minute video will look like. The most important thing is to keep in mind the brief - the music video must feature the artist or band (likely to be a performance element) plus a focus on footwear for the sponsorship deal specified in the brief.
Start your treatment with the following key details:
1) Artist/band and song you will use for your video
2) Original name for artist/band you have created - MUST be completely original
For example, Ed Sheeran - Shape of You is the artist and song you plan to use but your original name for your artist will be John Smith - Shape of You.
The song I am currently planning on recreating is All the Small Things by Blink-182 however the original name i use will be STARE. The overall reasoning for me choosing this song is the fact that even though the music video is a large gimmick, the lyrics are still normal and therefore gives me the perfect opportunity to create a video based on whats being said in the song. a blend of live performance and narrative will be used to show the story being told by the lyrics and a live performance of the band singing along that has no mick taking in sight.
3) Statement of Intent
Write the first draft for your genuine 500-word Statement of Intent. This will be submitted to the exam board alongside your media products and is worth 10 marks of the overall 60 marks available.
The original AQA brief is here: NEA Student Booklet - Brief 4.
The song I am currently planning on recreating is All the Small Things by Blink-182 however the original name i use will be STARE. The overall reasoning for me choosing this song is the fact that even though the music video is a large gimmick, the lyrics are still normal and therefore gives me the perfect opportunity to create a video based on whats being said in the song. a blend of live performance and narrative will be used to show the story being told by the lyrics and a live performance of the band singing along that has no mick taking in sight.
3) Statement of Intent
Write the first draft for your genuine 500-word Statement of Intent. This will be submitted to the exam board alongside your media products and is worth 10 marks of the overall 60 marks available.
The original AQA brief is here: NEA Student Booklet - Brief 4.
We also strongly recommend you look at our Statement of Intent questions to consider document too (you'll need to log in with your Greenford Google account to read this).
This is just your first draft of the statement so try and keep it under 500 words if you can. That will leave a bit of room to add later when you do your next draft.
The video I am creating for my brief is a take on All the Small things by Blink-182 with the new original band name of STARE. My decision to use this song in particular is the lack of narrative the original video holds in regards to its lyrics which has I feel given me the perfect opportunity to use said lyrics to create a music video with a mix of both narrative and live performance. The footwear I plan on using is any form of Nike trainer, most likely an air force as those are their most profitable shoes and the name of my original music magazine will be called "The Weekly Beat" with the idea that it will be a weekly small magazine with segments that break down each major release of the weak, creating an idea that my original band are already well established in the music industry and therefore warrant a page in said magazine. I plan on meeting the brief through numerous ways, to start the original song has a runtime of 2:48 seconds which can be stretched to 3 minutes which fits the brief on the length aspect. Now talking about setting two locations that will be set in stone for the video will be an area for the live performance and most likely a public area where the two main characters can interact, a school or house. Talking about editing now I plan on using stereotypical techniques you would see in old 00s music videos such as quirky transitions such as a fade and also jump shots and zoom in with special effects to create that old nostalgic atmosphere of a love song, which then also helps me convey my genre of pop punk and pop rock. Talking about representations now one thing id like to prioritise is a lack of any kind of gaze, male and female as I want my narrative to take priority and nothing else distracting a viewer. This also means a lack of representation for current social and cultural contexts as firstly the video will be set at a different time period [2000s] and secondly because again I want to focus purely on narrative and nothing else. The brief then talks about how our target demographic is mainstream music fans, this however contradicts with my idea for a song thats set 20 years ago but in the end I see this as a positive as it gives me the opportunity to create a direct contrast on what the world looks like, giving viewers a new and nostalgic look at what music was like. My current idea on creating this look is through the use of costume and the current popular "Y2K" fashion trend where older clothing styles are what are seen as new and trendy which can also count as an audience pleasure as it is giving people a new insight on something that they like. The primary way people would access the song in general is through Spotify, Apple Music and of course You Tube where the music video will be shown. This means that a primary advertising point will be to watch the video before listening on any music streaming platforms as its the only popular way to watch music videos anymore with MTV focusing more on reality TV instead of music.
The video I am creating for my brief is a take on All the Small things by Blink-182 with the new original band name of STARE. My decision to use this song in particular is the lack of narrative the original video holds in regards to its lyrics which has I feel given me the perfect opportunity to use said lyrics to create a music video with a mix of both narrative and live performance. The footwear I plan on using is any form of Nike trainer, most likely an air force as those are their most profitable shoes and the name of my original music magazine will be called "The Weekly Beat" with the idea that it will be a weekly small magazine with segments that break down each major release of the weak, creating an idea that my original band are already well established in the music industry and therefore warrant a page in said magazine. I plan on meeting the brief through numerous ways, to start the original song has a runtime of 2:48 seconds which can be stretched to 3 minutes which fits the brief on the length aspect. Now talking about setting two locations that will be set in stone for the video will be an area for the live performance and most likely a public area where the two main characters can interact, a school or house. Talking about editing now I plan on using stereotypical techniques you would see in old 00s music videos such as quirky transitions such as a fade and also jump shots and zoom in with special effects to create that old nostalgic atmosphere of a love song, which then also helps me convey my genre of pop punk and pop rock. Talking about representations now one thing id like to prioritise is a lack of any kind of gaze, male and female as I want my narrative to take priority and nothing else distracting a viewer. This also means a lack of representation for current social and cultural contexts as firstly the video will be set at a different time period [2000s] and secondly because again I want to focus purely on narrative and nothing else. The brief then talks about how our target demographic is mainstream music fans, this however contradicts with my idea for a song thats set 20 years ago but in the end I see this as a positive as it gives me the opportunity to create a direct contrast on what the world looks like, giving viewers a new and nostalgic look at what music was like. My current idea on creating this look is through the use of costume and the current popular "Y2K" fashion trend where older clothing styles are what are seen as new and trendy which can also count as an audience pleasure as it is giving people a new insight on something that they like. The primary way people would access the song in general is through Spotify, Apple Music and of course You Tube where the music video will be shown. This means that a primary advertising point will be to watch the video before listening on any music streaming platforms as its the only popular way to watch music videos anymore with MTV focusing more on reality TV instead of music.
4) Ignite presentation
Prepare a 5-minute, 20-slide presentation using the Ignite format in which you present your coursework project. In effect, this is your statement of intent in presentation format. You must cover:
- Your music video and music magazine concept: your new original artist, genre, song and music video treatment. Then, your print brief: music magazine title, double page feature, additional page, photoshoot etc.
- Media language: how you will use music video conventions and music magazine conventions - e.g. camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene to create meanings for your audience.
- Media representations: how you will use or subvert stereotypes in your music video and music magazine; applications of representation theory; social and cultural contexts - how your coursework will reflect contemporary media culture and society.
- Media audiences: your target audience demographics and psychographics; audience pleasures - why they would enjoy your music video and magazine; audience theory if relevant.
- Media industries and digital convergence: the potential record company that would promote your band or artist; the publisher for your music magazine; the brand identity for your artist; how fans would engage with your products etc.
Your Ignite presentation will be marked out of 30 on the following criteria (each worth a possible 5 marks):
1) Research (through the presentation AND your blog - make sure it is posted before you present)
2) Coursework concept
3) Language: terminology and theory
4) Representations / social and cultural contexts
5) Audience and Industry / digital convergence
6) Presentation delivery
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