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Music Video Analysis 2

Demi Lovato; Made in the USA

Demi Lovato is an American singer/songwriter that usually releases pop style music. Her  albums have debuted across the globe scoring herself many awards for there talent. The Made in the USA song was part of her album DEMI which was released in 2013 and follows the Pop genre. It was directed by Demi herself alongside Ryan Pallotta.

This video contains both semantic and syntactic elements suggested by Rick Altman in his genre theory. The variety of medium two-shots and close ups of the man and women together implies to the audience that video is following a love story which is conventional to the pop genre. Syntactic elements are themes which the director has produce to engage the audience. This video follows the theme of love and romance which is conventional in the pop genre.



The audience demographic for this video is mainly straight, white american females aged 12-18 that enjoy love story narratives. This is because its following a traditional love story of a man and women in america. Also fans of Demi herself would watch this video as she appears performing the song alongside the narrative. This music video offers this target audience an escape from everyday life along with entertainment and a connection through music. Young and Rubican would categorise the target audience for this video as being in the mainstream group as they connect with other people through the music. The socio-economic status of the target audience for this music video would be D/E.

The Director has decided to the follow a non-linear narrative to keep the audience engaged and give them a chance to be apart of the story line from the start till the end. A montage is used to follow the love story of a young American couple through their dating phase until the man leaves to fight in a war and leaves the girl at home waiting. Angela Mcrobbies theory can be supported through this as the man going away to fight for his country represents him as powerful and superior where the women is shown as weak staying at home waiting for him to come home. Meanwhile in the video flashbacks appear from the carnival where they initially met. Having the flashbacks give the audience an understanding of the whole story and allows them to connect and develop sympathy for the characters. The climax of the video (Disruption according to Todorov's narrative theory) is the chaotic scene with the boy in the battlefield where he appears to be dying. However the resolution then appears when the girl and boy are reunited at the end of the video giving relief to the audience. 

Different camera shots have been used in this music video to strengthen the narrative and allow the audience to see different perspective in the scene.

An establishing shot is used at the beginning to introduce the audience to the setting of the carnival. This sets the scene ad allows the audience to become familiar. This followed by single shots of the couple making it easier to identify the main characters.


Close up shots of them both adds emotion and give the audience a connection. All camera shots are eye level to the audience making it more real and the camera is always still looking into the scene from the audiences perspective.

The costumes in this music video are very basic and stereotypical of an american couple. In the carnival scene the women is wearing denim shorts and a USA flag top. This top reinforced the lyrics 'made in the USA'. The man is wearing a basic white top and jeans. Theses basic outfits are what's in fashion at the moment making it relevant for the young target audience. When the guys at war he's wearing the army uniform with the american flag yet again putting emphasis on the song title.  The American flag is very Patriotic to a lot of Americans and having  them witness it brings of pride and satisfaction enabling them to enjoy it more.  Being in the army makes you automatically a hero so having the guy at war in the narrative allows the audience to praise and have a positive image of the guy.

The whole video is based fully on low key lighting with the carnival scene being lit by artificial lights. This contrast acts as a split between the future and past making it clearer to the audience which part is being shown. This makes it easier fore them to follow and enjoy the video.

During the low key shots lens flares have been used. These lighten the image and give focus on the scene making them more effective. 

The fast editing used in this music video is used to convey lots of information in a short space of time. Fast past editing has been used throughout this music video cutting from various locations, shots and time enabling the audience to gather a perspective of the narrative. Although its been edited fast throughout when the boy is shown dying it's cut faster creating a chaotic atmosphere for the audience. It then slows down again at the end where everything is back to normal (Resolution/New Equilibrium).

Although the narrative and performance is separate it still fits together as Demi is performing at the carnival where the couple meets. Having a different actor to act the narrative puts Demi in the position of an observer just like the audience. This will allow her fans to relate to her and feel on the same level making them equal.

Wings Lyrics

In class we printed off the lyrics to Birdy's song Wings and annotated it with specific notes of our first ideas on camera shots and location settings.

Narrative

Narrative-Pp by Georgina Huggett on Scribd

Rick Altman Theory

Rick Altman suggested that there were two factors that show what genre something is.

1) Semantic Element
This is the psychical things within a music video. For example camera shots, sound, the props and costumes. This is more easier to identify because it's a set way which all audience will be able to identify.

2) Syntactic Element
These are not visual and aren't always obvious. They are themes or moods that appear through the lyrics and video. Examples include rage, anger, love, passion etc. This is more difficult to identify because not everyone interprets the song in the same way giving it different meanings to different people.

EXAMPLE:

Meghan Trainor - Al about that Bass

This video contains both elements which tell the audience its apart of the pop genre.

Semantic- The Mise-en-scene is very bright with different colours of pink and blues standing out toward the audience. The video also contains different dance moves and the bass of the sound is very upbeat presenting the pop genre.

Syntactic- Its about  not caring what you look like and how much they weigh. This sends out a positive image to the audience conveying the pop genre.

MY WORK:
For my music video I will be trying to incorporate both elements to enable the audience to gather a basic perspective as well as having their own view of the song or video. Semantic elements will include different camera shots, instruments and certain costumes. However the syntactic elements will be more hidden and not fully explained to allow the audience to identify their own views.

·     

Angela Mcrobbie Theory

Mood Board Final

After changing song i decided to create another mood board to gather ideas about costumes, locations, camera shots and lighting. I've done it on a Pinterest page which I've linked below. This enables me to continuously add to it throughout my research.

https://uk.pinterest.com/georginahugga2/mood-board/

Copyright Letter

Andrew Goodwin Theory

Andrew Goodwin

Previous Student's Work

In class we looked at some examples of previous students work and made some notes on what worked well and what could be improved. It allowed me to understand different camera shots and how efficient they work along with sound and editing techniques. I went beyond this and went on YouTube to find some more from around the country to analyse further. 

Ideas of Narrative:
They have used a linear narrative adding elements of performance.
Camera Work:
A lot of close up and establishing shots have been used, which is conventional for a music video.
Editing:
Fast paced editing has been used to allow the audience to follow the flow of the music and narrative.
Mise-en-scene:
A lot of different locations have been used which is good to attract a wide range of audiences. Costumes are very simple and everyday allowing the audience to fit in and relate. Props have been used to create the story line adding to the realness of the scenes. For example shots of cards and alcohol bottle add to the party scene and reinforce the location/setting of the scene.
What i like:
This thing I like about this video is they went above and beyond to re-record the song so the main character fitted the voice. He also was very confident in front of the camera making it look professional. Along with this the locations are very diverse and fit within the genre convention. Additionally, the camera work is great with various camera shots and angles to pick up the emotion in the song. The jump cut editing allows the video to flow better and make it not look like a short film.
What i don't like:
The only criticism I can make from this video is the filming at the party outside in the end. The picture is very gritty and doesn't have the right set of lighting on it to see whats going on. However it could convey a mystery and keep the audience guessing which engages them further.
Overall this music video is excellent with the match stick really standing out making them deserve the grade they got.


Ideas of Narrative:
Not a clear narrative in this video but they have used a non-linear narrative to show the effects of the past. No performance has been used.
Camera Work:
A lot of mid-shots and long shots have been used.This puts the audience at an viewers point of view looking into her personal life.
Editing:
Fast paced editing has been used to allow the audience to follow the flow of the music.
Mise-en-scene:
Costumes are very simple and everyday allowing the audience to fit in and relate.
What i like:
My favourite part of this video is the graphic/editing technique where they layer the words/drawings over the camera shots. This really impacts the video and creates a real narrative conveying the message to the audience.
What i don't like:
However the camera shots are very repetitive and the long take editing at the end lets the video down. I feel the first half was really good but ending the graphic layers let the video down and make it quite boring to watch. Also the video could have included a performance side to make it not seem to much like a short film.

Music Video Analysis 1

Target Audience Description

Age-
We feel our music video would be suitable for young adults preferably the ages 15-24. This is because our theme is a love/relationship which people of this age would find this appealing to watch.

Gender-
The typical gender of people who watch music videos based on a love story are female and our music video has elements of love which females will aspire to have.

Social Demographic Group-
Our video is aimed at people from B-C2 as the song we have chosen is less mainstream so would appeal to people of a lower class. Additionally, these groups are more likely to enjoy alternative songs like ours.

Occupation-
We feel students and people in the art and performance industry would be more likely to enjoy our song as they're most likely to be signed up to music apps such as Spotify and apple music  to see the latest music. Similarly, these types of people are fans of the artist and would be aware of a new song through advertisement such as Twitter or Facebook.

Hobbies-
People who are into art, playing acoustic instruments and performing arts will appreciate our music video as it will include dancing and artistic elements. People interested in photography will also be interested in the video as we aim to achieve high quality camera skills that will create a good picture.

Style-
The song style will be Alternative as it isn't very mainstream and not many people have heard of the artist.

Media Grouping-
Film: 'The Fault In Our Stars'
          'The Hunger Games'

Tv: 'Made In Chelsea'
      'Vampire Diaries'

Uses&Gratifications-
To Entertain,Escape and Identify
The video would be enjoyable to watch from an audiences perspective as it will include a minor narrative story hidden within the song. It would also help audiences to escape from their life's as the video will be very personal and opening to the audience.

Solutions-
Boredom- our music video will provide entertainment to the audience relieving their boredom.

Relationships- The lyrics provide hope for the people struggling within friendships and relationships. It allows them to escapee from their real world and get inspiration. 

  

My Genre

By Georgina Huggett

INDIE FOLK

Conventions- 

Establishing shot to allow the audience to familiarise with the location so the story line will flow           naturally to them.

Features of nature introducing green, open spaces. This open space, with minimal action, helps             the audience feel the emotion and create a connection with the artist.

Panning shot to help the audience follow the characters adding to the connection they will feel to         the artist.

View of sky is normally used to show passing time or action allowing the audience to keep up             to date with the narrative of the story. Its also calming and therapeutic way of relaxing the                   audience making them feel comfortable. 

Natural lighting making the audience feel connected with the artist as its more relevant and                   familiar with them. 

Instruments- 

• Acoustic Guitars
• Violins
• Pianos
• Ukulele

Examples:

Bon Iver

The Paper Kites 

Music Video Research

Artist Profile

By Georgina Huggett  

Music Video Industry

A music video is a short clip pairing a song and video, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings.

324015536 Music Video Indusrty by Georgina Huggett on Scribd

First listen

With a piece of paper and pen me and Isla sat listening to Wings twice through and wrote notes on  what was going through our mind at this time. This enabled us to gather specific ideas and start thinking about ideas for our music video.

NEW SONG!

After joining a group with Isla we combined ideas and found we were looking at the same genre of music. The Indie Folk genre is very wide spread and after listening to a variety of songs and discussing ideas we decided to follow through on Isla's original idea with the song from Birdy's 'Wings'.


We decided on this song because it's very open to ideas and can be interpreted in a number of ways.
The original music video above has no narrative and is entirely performance based which we are going to change in our video. The fast paced editing allows the audience to gain insight into the location and join in with the chaos of the scenes. This allows them to feel involved and enjoy it as if they were present. There is loads of people surrounding Birdy which helps gain a wider target audience. However the many close up camera shots of Birdy allow the audience to connect and feel the emotions dismissing the other characters. High key lighting has been used to attract the audiences attention. Scenes of fire and fairy lights draw the audience in making is catch their eyes and focus. We are looking to have a more slow pace, low key music video containing minimal people to allow the audience to fully interact with our characters. I think this will help get the message of the lyrics across.

Combining Ideas

After working on the preliminary task I realised creating a music video by myself would be challenging so me and Isla have decided to come together and combine ideas for a music video. This will enable us to work as a team to create an even better video to get the best marks possible.