Hi my name is Christmel Ylagan and this is my A2 Media Studies Blog. On this blog I will be making a promotional package for a new artist/band, In turn I will be producing a music video which will clearly show the artist/band however this process will be recorded so that you will be able to see the progress we make as we start to do our research, planning, constructing and evaluating of our A2 portfolio. In addition, this blog will be of a much better standard then last years because since then I have acquired more experience and methods of which to use for my blog and further creations.
This here is a summary of my A2 Media Studies, the points below show all of the things which I have to do. In other words everything below shows the majority of what you'll be seeing on my blogs such as the build up of the music promo video, the planning for it and its research and development.
Your task is to produce:
¡A music ‘promo’ video
¡ Up to 5 minutes
¡Either working on your own or in a group of up to four members
You also need to produce:
¡A ‘digipak’ (Six panels) for its release on CD
¡A magazine advertisement for the digipak
In addition to your ‘promo’ video you will have to produce:
In total there are 2 people in my production team including myself, the other person is Laura Felstch. I believe that she will work well being part of my production team because we both have similar taste in music. Both of us like all music however we largely prefer music that consist of very nice beats. In addition Laura is in my production team because in my opinion Laura's strengths are in her editing as well as filming. On the other hand I feel I am better at directing but I do think that I am less professional at filming. In terms of editing I think we are both equal and so when it comes to editing we may share the responsibility. As a result my production team only consist of me and Laura with the added addition of us already working with each other for last years project.
This exercise was completed with very little time as well as with only a small amount of planning and help. The good thing is, we were able to shoot enough clips very well that you can clearly see we are attempting to replicate "Abba's" music video however I believe that it could have been better if the lip syncing as well as the whole co-ordination of the team was more in time and in beat to the song. In addition the clip with the guitar in focus should have been angled a bit more as it would appear more like it did in Abba's music video. On the good side, the section where the chorus plays is where most of the editing is good and where the shots compliment the editing. Sadly after that section I believe that the editing could have been changed a bit because the lip syncing isn't in sync with the audio. However the only real problem we had and cold have executed better with more time was remembering and rehearsing the music's lyrics and dance but as a whole it was a very good outcome considering the time we did it in and the resources we had to do so.
Our Don't go breaking my heart video was filmed using a camera, tripod and a dolly. We shot in total 5 whole shots in 5 different angles, the angles were straight, low angle, angle facing male singer, angle facing female singer and a dolly shot. To make our video seem more realistic we decided that our lip syncing should be carried out by singing out loud, this would help us as it would help to sync our mouths with the song.
The clips were then edited using the layers method whereby we firstly placed all the clips in sync of the song and then cut pieces of each layer to show the clips that we desired to be shown. This was done through the use of the razor tool which allowed me to delete sections of the clips in detail.
This is what the layers looked like before editing.
This is what the layers looked like after editing.
Mistakes:
I had bad continuation due to different actions between each whole takes so as a result the Lip Sync video wasn't as smooth as it could have been. In addition I feel that I lacked some energy during the filming so I believe it didn't help the video that well. Finally I don't think that my editing was very smooth in some cases the clips I used didn't do too well in matching actions between clips, also when I was lip syncing I think that my mouth lacked expression so the lip syncing in the video wasn't believable.
What I learned and could apply to my final production:
I learned that the focus of making music videos is continuation, as a result I learned that I need to take note of my original actions and should keep it consistent if I am attempting to match the actions on clips when editing. Moreover I also learned that I need to take it slow when editing and analyse which clips and angles are best for each section of the song as this will help to create flow and structure within the video. Finally the last thing I learned is that when and if I am going to be shown in a music video I have to have confidence so that the videos quality does not decrease and so that the audience will be kept intrigued.
This exercise took place so that we could practise using photoshop and find out how we could replicate an album cover. In this case we replicated Michael Jacksons BAD cover whereby we used a range of tools, such as the quick selection tool, magic eraser and the text tool. In addition we also messed around with the opacity of each layers so that we could achieve an outcome that looked a lot more blended and professional. It was honestly very easy to do but it isn't as good as Michael Jackson's album itself. In total, due to my experience with this exercise I am confident and now have a better understanding of the skills and techniques we will need to use in order to make our own Digipak and advert.
In this post I will be explaining the birth of music videos as well as what life was before they existed and this will all be shown in the power point that I have created below using the presentation device PowToon.
The main and most common purpose of the music video is to make money, and this is mainly accomplished by using the music video to promote and publicize artist or band it's focused on. This means that the single and album will also be promoted so as to ensure that the most potential money is produced. The music video has to be able to persuade and influence the people watching to buy the CD or download it from the internet. As a whole it also raises awareness of the artist by making the song popular and viral. In addition the music video can synergies with other products and companies in order to gather the most amount of potential customers therefore allowing the music video to gain more money as well as help the other company or product by also giving their share of their audience.
The music video is only really one part of a multimedia campaign, which suggest that there are several ways in which to promote the song. Radio, TV, Print Media, Film and New media are all in some relationship with the music industry as a result there is a very clear sense of Synergy across several platforms. This means that more than one of the people contributing to each other will benefit for example if a film had synergy with a music video, then both types of media would gain more audience and in turn end up with more profit and success.
Robin Hood is a very good example of that kind of synergy as during their film they let Bryan Adams synergies with them by including his song "Everything I do" within it. In a similar way the new Jame's Bond film had synergy with the song "Sky fall" by Adele.
Robin Hood
Skyfall
In conclusion to make a successful music video it has to be artistic and original because in my opinion the audience will always like to hear and see new and visually and mentally appealing things, when looking for a new music video to keep replaying or add to their collection of songs. In addition I agree that synergy is good nothing bad will come out of it unless you're having synergy with a a bad company or product. So that is important to be able to create a good music video. However the key thing is the way the song is hyped and advertised. As long as the song is advertised in many ways on large scales. The song will be bound to have many potential listeners and in the end there will be fans. To make sure these fans remember the song and the band, the band must have a catchy and attractive name as well as the fact that all their songs must be named appropriately and in relation to common issues or happenings in the world today. The first music video Bohemiam Rhapsody is evidence of this as their song and the way they presented it was very original and enjoyable or the eye. As a result they had big sales and were number 1 for a week.
•Andrew Goodwin in Dancing in the Distraction Factory (1992) has identified the following features of music videos:
Key features of Music Videos
1.Goodwin maintains Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
e.g. stage performance in a heavy metal pop video,
dance routine for boy/girl band).
These genres are different types of music videos such as heavy metal
In heavy metal the costume is often leather and in term of Mise-en-scene the editing of their videos are often fast and use a lot of close up of the guitarist, singer and drummer.
An example of a band like this would be Iron Maiden. Here is a performance of them in concert performing "Hallowed By Thy Name"
On the other hand another genre would be boy bands who have different types of members which appeal to different types of audience yet their videos are also fast paced but their clothing isn't always the same. In addition they have dance routines included and an example of this would be N - Sync's "It's gotta be me"
Here's their music video with them dancing in unison.
There is a relationship between Visuals and Song
Illustrate - Music videos can use a set of images to illustrate the meaning of lyrics & genre, this is the most common.
Here's a music video which Illustrates the actual words of the music video and shows a ship actually being built. So as you can see it's a direct reflection of what their music is about, in turn letting the visuals help and blend with the music in the background.
Amplify - This is where the images of the music video do not contradict the lyrics but add additional meanings not necessarily intended by the song.
Here's a music video which Amplify's the meaning of their video. "Man in the Mirror" does this by using showing visual footage of the negatives around of the world that could be avoided if we looked at ourselves and changed our ways.
Ignore - This is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored.
Here's a music video which Ignore's the meaning of their music video as most of their visual footage has nothing to do with what makes someone beautiful. It's literally just a video of One direction on a beach singing towards the camera.
The demands or record labels will include the demand of close up's of the artist in this process artist may develop motifs which recur across their work.
Here's an example of a close up of an artist in a music video. This is a close up of the artist "Rihanna" and as you can see the close up's are often made to make the artist look attractive and appealing for it's audience.
On the other hand an example of a band which developed a quite sad/intense emotional motif would be the band "Linkin Park" where all their videos are alike in terms of its Mise-en-scene and it's music. You can see this in their video effects where their videos look unsaturated in colour and dark as well as gloomy.
Intertextual Reference
This is another key feature in some pop music videos where they reference something pre-existing and incorporate it into their music video. For example in the song " She walks like Rihanna" by the Wanted they created a parody which made fun of older boy bands and their music videos. They did this by copying the other boy bands concepts and presenting them as unsuitable ideas for a music videos towards their manager who in relation to making fun of is a women not wearing suitable clothes that a manager would.
Here is their music video whereby they imitated Nsync, Take that and Backstreet boys concepts.
Here are pictures of the concepts which The Wanted have referenced within their music videos.
As you can see The Wanted had used a intertextual reference by taking the other bands concept and using it in their own music video for "She walks like Rihanna" such as the puppet idea, white clothes and the long coats and singing in the rain. However the inter textual relationship can also be related to Tv and films not just music videos.
Reference to the notion of looking
This is when there is frequent reference to the notion of looking i.e. screens within screens, telescopes, mirrors etc.
The song "You belong with me" uses windows to express a notion of looking and we see this in the music video when the two characters communicate via notepads through the windows of their rooms.
Bruno Mars "The Lazy Song" also proposes a notion of looking as at the beginning of the song we see them set up the camera. Bruno Mars uses his hands to make it look as though we are the camera he set up facing them and recording them.
Some notion of looking, look from a mens perspective showing the male gaze. for example in Shikaras song "Can't remember to forget you" the camera focuses on the female artist through a sexual perspective which the men desire.
Narrative & Performance
Goodwin says Music Videos should have coherent repeatability. Narrative and performance work hand in hand. It makes it easier for the audience to watch over and over without losing interest.
Goodwin refers to the artist acting as both narrator & participant. He says this helps to increase the authenticity.
However, the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.
An example of a narrative performance music video would be Michael Jackson's "Beat It" wehre he is telling a story yet is also a part of it.
In the same way the song "Grenade" is told by Bruno Mars with Bruno Mars included in the story.
In the song "Hot or Cold" Katy Perry also sings about the story and is included in it showing narrative performance towards the music video.
Lady Gaga is a very unique music artist. Lady Gaga's music videos are very surreal. They have high production values and cost a lot of money to make. When watching her videos the viewer enters a world of gloss, sexuality elaborate dance routines. Her brand is such that the videos often have a 'dark' side. Lady Gaga often appears in various revealing costumes that would never exist in the 'real' world.
Her target audience isn't specific, in fact her audience is quite balanced due to her personality as well as her appearance. She still attracts men through the male gaze however looking through her music video her fans are mainly attracted to her music videos theme. There is a consistent pattern within her music videos which reflect dark and twisted emotions. I would say her music videos are very emotional and so sh attracts and connects with people who understand the same emotions shown within her music videos.
Lady Gaga - Applause
Similarly Adele is also a unique music artist. However, Adele's unique selling point is that she is ordinary. She appeals to the average girl who can identify with being unlucky in love and overweight.
In order to highlight her unique 'ordinary' appeal, her music videos take place in ordinary situations. There are no elaborate costumes of dance routines.
Adele's other unique selling point is her voice. The videos do not distract the viewer from this and there are lots of close ups of her singing.
Interestingly, Adele's music is more on emotions to do with love whereas I would say Lady Gaga's emotions are more focused around the pain that comes after love.
Many songs have been given added value thanks to their music video, here are some examples!
Originally the song "Take on me" by A-Ha didn't do very well however thanks to their decision to hire a very good video creator to create a video for their music video. There single ended up becoming the number one single. Luckily the person they hired was very unique and was able to combine their music video with animations, making their music video more interesting leading it to become more popular and intriguing.
Another Music video that ended up gaining added value was Sinead O'Connors song called "Nothing compares to you". Like A-Ha's song "Take on me" the video was able to lift the song itself from the depths of failure. This was thanks to the the video which displayed her and her beauty as well as her enormous display of emotion and passion, where she was shown singing with tears running down her face. Nevertheless the video added value to her song making it seem more interesting than it originally appeared whilst allowing her song to rise up and stand out from the others.
Katy Perry - how her Pop Videos reflect a brand that appeals to her target audience and reflect her private life.
Her main audience/ target audience are young girls aged 14-17
In order for her to achieve her target audience she has to appear like:
an older sister as well as a best friend
a person with the same anxieties that young girls today's modern society
a person that young girls would aspire and admire to be like ( Whilst being sexy but in a non threatening and over revealing way).
This is what her target audience usually looks like.
Hot N Cold Music Video by Katy Perry
Katy Perry uses all 5 characteristics which Andrew Goodwin has explained to be used by most artist in their music videos.
She reflects her self to be feeling the same pain young girls experience when they have had a fallout or misunderstanding with a boy, so she reflects herself as one of the young girls with a daily life. In addition she also adds a notion of looking in her music video by appearing when her boyfriend pulls up his mobile phone however she also expresses the male gaze when she rips her wedding clothes skirt in half to show more of her legs. In relation she also imitates a young girls daily life when she appears in different outfits and different areas however she lets her audience relate with her by presenting herself as the victim which most young girls experience in their battle for love. Her video amplifies the contrast in boys behaviour and emotions when confronting girls.
Last Friday Night Music Video
Here Katy Perry connects with her target audience by playing out the role of being the ugly duckling which most in today's society feel they are however within his music video she performs a transformation which most young girls now a day dream would be possible for them and that they would at least have one day where they would be the popular and have fun with other good looking people. On the other hand we also see how Katy Perry tries to grab the male audience by representing how the geek who was in love with the beautiful women was able to knock out the bully who presented signs of threat towards the one he loved. Overall this music video amplifies what most people would or would like to do on their Friday's and how Katy Perry stands out as someone young people can relate with in the struggles and dreams they have in their lives. She does this by wearing braces, bra pads and by getting rid of facial hair which emphasises the process most young girls would have to go through in order to make themselves look good.
Firework Music Video by Katy Perry
This music video portrays Katy Perry as an older sister explaining that she's weird and it's ok to be strange, different and yourself. She expresses this by including a large variety of people in her video facing several troubles due to their fear of being different however in the music video they overcome this and they shine in the darkness like fireworks. She has several closeups within this video however the performance is mainly narrative so that she can appeal to a much larger audience by letting other people go under the limelight within her music video. This music video of hers amplifies a message in that you should be proud of who you are no matter what you look like or feel. In this video she also includes notions of looking within the main characters of her videos by looking at their problems and facing them upfront also she appears to be free when dancing further presenting how you should not be afraid of who you really are and rather you should be free.
Katy Perry's I'm Wide Awake
This music video begins at the ending of the cast of California Girls. After she successfully shoots it she goes into her changing room and takes of her wig, I believe that this represents her wanting to leave that past behind and return to her old and pure self. In addition later on she appears in a dark purple dress which I think shows her as a widow and reflects what has happened in her life when she got a divorce with Russel Brown also reflecting how she might have felt and been affected after experiencing it. There was also a scene where she appeared to look like she was in a mental hospital, displaying the amount of mental pressure and pain she had to bear during her moments of sadness. However she later meets herself as a young kid, then connecting hands showing her fans that she's returning to her old self and leaving her alienating change behind. After that a prince walked up to her and it looked as if he tried to ask her out however the camera then switches to a close up of his fingers being crossed presenting how Russel Brown had lied and not really thought much of Katy Perry when they got married, however Katy Perry then countered this by punching the prince expressing how she conquered the pain that she suffered from Russel Brown and how she now stands as her old self for her fans as well as her pure self. Overall this music video was a very good idea for Katy Perry to create as it reflected her life and her experiences and how she felt after waking up from her nightmare.
Katy Perry's Roar
This music video was created with a high production value however it's lyrics were still connected to her past experience where she had a divorce with Russel Brown. She sings about being knocked down, getting back up and then brushing it off. These phrases and words show how she has moved on from her past and how she is recovering and has come back to being more natural, for example her hair is now natural as it is black and she is now wearing more natural makeup. In fact during the music video we see her put on cherries as her lipstick. In relation to her lyrics she also says that she has the "eye of a tiger" in my opinion this reflects how she is displaying herself as the hinter now and how she won't ever be the prey again. In turn I believe the whole music video is meant to tell her fans and viewers that she has now fully recovered and that she is now bolder and stronger than ever. In addition to this, Katy Perry is shown at the beginning of the music video as a assistant however we later find that her cruel, self obsessed boss is eaten and devoured by a tiger. Katy Perry survives this event and later out-roars the tiger, expressing how she is much stronger than the tiger who devoured her boss and how she can make it on her own. However throughout her music video we see that she still possesses a sexy element however she does not possess so much so as to threaten or offend her fans or viewers.
There was a media theorist who analysed the nature of stardom.
Stars as Constructions
He believes that Artist were constructed through the use of artificial images. Which is used in advertising, films, magazines, music and music videos however Dyer believes that that consumers would rather prefer if the 'Artist' convey their true feelings and emotions rather than being artificially programmed to feel, look and act a certain way.
As a result Dyer thinks that a 'Real Artist' can use the portrayal of their true emotions and feelings as a unique and strong selling point as compared to the other artist who were made into a false image. Bruce Springsteen would be one of the so called 'Real Artist' because he sings as himself in his own way and with his own emotions about what he thinks is right and wrong. In particular he voiced topics concerning the working class 'Blue Collar' workers in the USA who were pretty poor and didn't have much say.
The River - Bruce Springsteen
Promotion - Industry and Audiences
Some 'Stars' are not 'genuine', and Dyer agrees with this because he knows that some of them are 'synthetic'. In order to make a lot of money for their record label, some companies manufacture their artist so that they'll be appealing and attractive to the audience watching them. Usually the target audience would be a small yet niche group. A group who were synthetic would be the group called 'The Sex Pistols' who were promoted as challenging authority and targeted an alienated young so called 'punk audiences'.
Sometimes the audience would be large and or mainstream and as of right now. This is still the case with the band 'One Direction' who achieved success on a global scale by targeting young girls aged 10-15.
Drag Me Down - One Direction
Promotion - Ideology and Culture
According to Dyer and his beliefs, some artist are trend setters whereby the artist imitate the style of the audiences hair and clothes. The Beatles are considered trend setters too, as they themselves had their hairstyles and clothes change quite a bit depending on their audience and where they were.
Representation in Music Videos
Dyer maintains the idea that within the music industry, artist are promoted using clear genres such as rock, rap and pop etc. This is the reason as to why boy bands appeal to girls as their genre usually includes a song to do with "fun loving" as well as dating and its problems. However their songs will avoid reflecting serious issues so as to keep their target audience i.e. the teenage girls.
Sometimes the genres offer signifiers in relation to race as well as gender identities. Usually in Black American rap music, males are often portrayed as being materialistic and highly sexualised where they include a number of partially clad women in the background of their video to satisfy the male gaze. Moreover they are usually undressed so as to put a lot of emphasis on the woman's bottoms. This type of representation is often presented in Rihanna's music video's where she usually has collaborations with other rappers so as to be sexualised by them in their music video.
However not all of Rihanna's videos reflect this, for example her music video collaboration with Calvin Harris called "This Is What You Came For" doesn't really present herself as a sexualised object to the male gaze whereas in her other music video called "Love On The Brain" opens with her in a bath naked. She is clearly and immediately sexualised in this music video but only to a certain extent as her whole body cannot be seen as most of it is still under water. In conclusion Rihanna's music videos sometimes represent her as a sexual object for the male gaze and in fact her music video collaboration with Shakira called "Can't Remember To Forget You" displays her with partially revealing clothes as well as her being on a bed with another sexualised female. In addition in this music video her dance and actions have been mad very sexy so as to emphasis her as the sexual representation in the music video.
This Is What You Came For - Rihanna
Love On Brain - Rihanna
Can't Remember To Forget You - Rihanna
Deconstructing Britney Spears
If we deconstruct Britney Spears experience we'll see that Dyer's star theory applies. Her main and original target audience was teenage girls and initially she was known to be a role model for teenage girls and for some maybe even an older sister. However this was because her image was constructed accordingly so as to attract their desired audience like One Direction.
During her early days the music industry was dominated by males leading to her identity being constructed around them because of the fact that there were limited stereotypes for femininity. As a result of this she developed an identity of a girly icon relating to dolls, pink possessions, rooms and beds. In order to complete this image she had a teen pigtail as well as the fact that she wore a school uniform in one of her music videos which helped to complete her stereotypical image of a teenage girl. In addition to this she also included a choreographed dance routine so as to suggest that she belonged in a gang to help relate and create a connection with her target audience.
Her music video "Hit me baby one more time" fits to Dyers star theory as even in her early days she was sexualised by wearing short skirts and school shirts. However she was still able to maintain her target audience because she still at the same time appeared innocent as well as the ideal role model to most teenage girls.
Most teens wanna be like her due to her choreographed dance routines which create the desire to be part of 'her gang'.
However later on as she got older you could see that she left the teen girl identity behind and was known as the half naked woman who performed for male audiences. In fact she appears to not appear innocent at all, reflecting her freedom of choice as an adult and not as a teen anymore. Her music video applies to Richard Dyers theory of the female stereotype whereby the woman is still only shown as a sexual object and Britney Spear's choice to clothe half naked amplifies this theory.
In conclusion, Britney Spears is a great example of Richard Dyers Theory because most of her audiences are drawn in through the use of female stereotypes. She is shown to be a idol for teen girls as a young teen yet later on in her career as she became more mature she was displayed as an object for men to gaze at within her music videos.
This video was edited by firstly adding markers in accordance and sync with the music of the music video. As you can see I have placed a large quantity of them and all of them are placed on a certain beat or change in music. These markers are vital as they help to see where about's I am supposed to place different shots and at what length until another shot takes over.
After adding the markers I then began to look at all of the footage that I had available to me and through my imagination I then began planning on how I would place each footage based on the beat of the music. I previewed all of this footage using the preview window on the left hand side of Abobe Premiere Pro
As you can see on the picture on the left. I started placing clips just before the beats. I did this because the clips I had chosen only fit to the beat with the last movement that they had made.
For example landing a flip in sync with the beat or posing on the beat.
On this window you can see me watching all the clips on the other window opposite the preview window. Within the window I was able to see all the clips which I had compiled and put together allowing me to see what effect adding that clip at the time and area did to match with the beat of the music video.
In the image above I have edited at a much higher detail trying to match the clip exactly with the beat however based on how I wanted to edit the video to the music I found myself running out of time on some of my clips. As a result I used the clip again and placed it back but at a time where it would seem that the clip had left of. The clip I am talking about is the clip with the shark driving the car above and I had used this clip twice so as to create the illusion that it continued for longer by also adding a separate clip in between in sync with the beat.
Later on my editing became less intense however this was because the music also slowed down in speed making my editing and clips longer in size.
The final thing I did to edit to the beat, was add a split screen which worked well with the clips I had as well as the music video. In this process I used the basketball clips and one of those clips was the shark defending. I had made the specific clip a split screen overlaid on top of the tiger who was trying to score so as to show both perspectives within the music video.
This Animatic was produced by firstly creating a storyboard. This was done at first by watching the Foo Fighters Video and then by pausing it during each new shot that would come by. After drawing the shot I would also record what type of shot it was as well as how long it would be displayed and this would all be done in order so as to simplify the process in creating the animatic. Within this process we recorded the following shots:
Establishing shot
Long shot
Long mid shot
Mid shot
Close mid shot
Mid close up shot
Close up shot
Extreme Close up shot
When we started creating our animatics on Adobe Premiere Pro we referenced our story board so that we would not make a mistake as to where and at what time a clip would need to be placed in. In addition we also added in the actual music video and overlaid it on top in a corner so we could also make a reference to that and match up the clips exactly how it was in the music video. This helped quite a lot as it showed as at what time each clip entered and when they would leave. After adding all the clips in order at the right time and scale we the just rendered the whole video with the audio of the music video and exported it.
What is it? It is a term that defines how, when acquiring audience feedback not all of them respond in the same way because of how differently each person receives and responds to the text that they consume. Due to this, a variety of responses are acquired. In short it is "the way we react" and audience reception allows us to group together all the unique consumer interpretations.
Encoding Decoding Theory
Stuart Hall, 1973
Producers encode meaning/ideology into texts, this is then decoded by the audience/consumers.
Thankfully, audiences are active in their interpretations and can decide whether or not they want to accept a producers message through those text.
Encoding Decoding Model
Encoding Decoding Theory
Body language can be used to decode texts which will allow understanding of relationships and emotions like in TV shows and films today. They do however have several meanings and can be understood or decoded in numerous ways which suggest that the way each consumer decodes the message might be different due to all their unique experiences.
When audiences agree and accept what the producers are encoding this is known as:
Preferred Reading When audiences partially agree with the messages encoded by the producers this is known as:
Negotiated Reading When audiences completely reject/disagree or decode the text in a completely different way this is known as:
Oppostional Reading
Preferred Reading
Is when the text is aimed to encourage feelings which are familiar to the consumer such as hunger, love or victory. These are feelings which the consumer may recall while they are on the move which may lead them to want to go watch a romantic film, buy the latest action game to play and or buy food at a food chain store.
"Scott Pilgrim" is an example of a film which I have a preferred reading with because I recognize and personally like its unique gaming idea and that fact that its adventure and action.
Negotiated Reading
Is when the consumer will be satisfied to consume the products however the consumers who are more aware and concerned with their health and safety might consider the text an annoyance, though they would still understand that eating the products after long break periods wouldn't be that dangerous.
"Mc Donalds" is an example where I may oppotionally read their text because I am partially concerned with my healt and safety in terms of food diet etc.
Oppositional Reading
" He is purple - the gay pride color; and his antenna is shaped like a triangle - the gay pride symbol" This is how some people may differently decode the TV show called Teletubbies which could lead some people into not wanting their children to watch the show. Due to the characters "magic pink bag" some people decode the text in the show as a model for a gay lifestyle which some people who do not agree with the gay lifestyle may find threatening for their child to watch.
This is an example which I do not agree with however I do understand how some people may decode Teletubbies text that way.
Encoding Decoding Music Videos
Personally our music video is meant to encode a message of rebellion and standing together as one however based on how well we use Mise-en-scene, some people may be able to completely decode our message the correct way and they may agree with it however if we fail to do this and people are unable to decode the message or do not find the message to be agreeable, then our music video might appear like some others that only have random footage with not context.
In a similar way I like some genre and of music whereas some I totally do not adore. For example I personally am not too into Rap songs especially if they are about popular contexts today like money and drugs. However some song artist or bands I do like, like "Panic at the disco" which I feel is a very unique band with amazing and strong reflections of emotions.
In the beginning, when Michael Jackson was still in a band with his family he was featured as the lead singer in a song called "Rockin Robin" on TV. The video was fairly ordinary and there was no use of narrative nor was there any relation in the visual and the music. In fact I personally speaking, the sole focus of there clip was an attempt to promote their song.
Rockin Robin - Jackson 5 1971
On the other hand the song "Rock with you" was Michael Jackson's first music video whereby Michael Jackson sang solo. Away from from the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson was the focus of the attention. At this point he was now more mature both physically and mentally and this shows in difference of the clip with Jackson 5 compared to Michael Jacksons "Rock With You". The music video is still like the "Rockin Robin" In terms of the variety of shots used however Michael Jackson later improved his music video in "Rock with you" by wearing an interesting costume and an abstract use of light during the video. This in my opinion displays a more professional attempt at a music video with a bit more structure than the counterpart of the music video "Rockin Robin".
Rock with you - Michael Jackson 1979
In like manner lip syncing is also used in Michael Jackson's next music video called "Billie Jean" however the main and most intriguing difference, is the fact that there is now a narrative within his music video. A story which is being told expressing how his music videos are developing because he is now implementing a storyline for which the viewers can hear hear but also now see visually. In addition to this it is clearly evident tat Michael Jackson has a lot more structure within his video concerning cinematography, costumes and choreography. All are put together in harmony creating a way more advanced and successful music video than his previous two. All of these improvements are shown in his use of continuity shots, split screen and story line.
Billie Jean - Michael Jackson 1982
Michael Jackson further develops his music video in "Beat it" with a much higher quality of choreography. Nevertheless this is supported through his amazing use of camera, editing, sound and Mise-en-scene whereby he uses his dance choreography and story in synergy with each other, creating a very smooth transition from each sequence of the music video. In addition to this he uses the dance even to an extent that it replaces the actual violence that can't be displayed however doing this enables all people of different age, gender and culture to be able to interpret and understand the situation in a more enjoyable and less graphic manner.
Beat it - Michael Jackson
In 1983 Michael Jackson's music video called the "Thriller" was released and became the most famous music video. This was according to the Library of Congress, which added "Thriller" to it's National Film Registry in 2009. Making it their first music video within their registry. Michael Jackson's use of Camera, Editing, Sound and Mise-en-scene helped to introduce another level of high quality and captivating choreography. In addition the choice of costumes and dialogues, I believe has helped to increase the choreography's impact. Furthermore this music video was the first to introduce the concept of a long-form music video, lasting nearly 14 minutes due to it also possessing a mini movie. When it showed on YouTube it easily racked 100 million views. However the music video would, based on circumstance be shortened down to 5 min depending on where it would be shown. For example when MTV ran it they played the short 5 minutes version with a minute of non-sing content to keep some of the narrative.
The music video was produced with a total budget of $500,000 which Michael Jackson suggested he pay himself because his company was unable to do so. However the main reason as to why Michael Jackson suggested he'd pay it himself was because he really actually wanted to turn in to a Monster. In relation John Landis saw this as an opportunity to revive the short film industry which he adored. Luckily Michael jackson didn't have to pay for the video because he had made deals with Showtime and MTV to cover those cost. An hour of the "making of the thriller" as well as 14 minutes of the film was given to Showtime to air before the "Thriller" was broadcasted anywhere else.
As soon as MTV discovered this, Bob Pittman their executive decided they would not allow the Michael Jackson video to be lost to Showtime. In turn leading them into paying $250,000 for exclusive broadcast rights as soon as Showtime's window ended. This was surprising because MTV was founded around not paying for videos, thankfully Pittman worked around that issue by paying for the documentary instead although the money was actually used to pay for the film.
The "Thriller" ended up winning Best Performance video, Best Choreography, and Viewers Choice at the first MTV Music Awards which took place in 1984. Michael Jackson's music video the "Thriller" was able to then also inadvertently trend group dance scenes in Pop videos. The Thriller ended up being the best gift to offer at Christmas, seen as though it was sold a few weeks before then and because of the fact that it was the best selling music video at the time.
Thriller - Michael Jackson
After the "Thriller's" success, Michael soon became the biggest pop star in the world. The news featured his videos and for the first time on BBC the major event "Bad" was shown. Most people wanted to see this because they wanted to discover his new image and his new ideas for dancing.
Bad - Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's "Bad" music video, was significantly different. It included Michael jackson with his new image however you could clearly see that within his music video's the dancing was a lot more prominent. Although there were some narrative, that wasn't the focus. In Michael Jacksons case it was more focused on the new trend he started which was the group dances that captivated peoples attention. This idea was also reflect in his use of camera work where the Michael Jackson and his dancers were tracked most of the time.
On the other hand a few years later in 1995, Michael Jackson released his most expensive music video called "Scream". In total it costed 11million today which wasn't surprising considering the amount of preparation that was needed in order to end up with a futuristic and abstract music video.
Scream - Michael Jackson
In conclusion, Michael Jackson's pop videos have evolved in so many significant and unforgettable ways. He started so small in "Rockin Robin" and now he's making high quality, professional standard expensive music videos. Inspiring and encouraging people over the world to follow his trends and steps. In fact Michael Jackson has developed in his creation of pop videos so much that he really is the king of pop videos and this shows with his "Scream" music video being the most expensive to date.
