Track Treatment - Can't Stop (Maroon 5) and Response to Pitch

The track "Can't Stop" by Maroon 5 is a very upbeat song and is less than three minutes long, which makes it suitable for us to create our own music video to as we should be able to come up with enough ideas to keep the video varied throughout, so it does not become stale and repetitive. We feel that we would benefit best by creating a performance themed video (due to the typical conventions of rock songs - requiring scenes of the band playing), with a narrative running throughout the verses, considering the nature of the track and the feedback we got from our target audience. The narrative would contain an amusing sequence of events around the fact that it appears to be about a man obsessing ("all alone in my room" and "think of you at a rate that is truly alarming") over a woman. Due to the audience response we received, we will portray this in a humorous way. The most obvious element in the track that would make it more "comical" would be the idea of the woman being uninterested in the man, with him attempting to win her over, getting increasingly desperate along the way.
This could lead to certain situations, such as the man appearing outside the woman's house with a bunch of flowers, which she closes the door on, leading to him increasingly attempting to win her love by going more over the top with chocolates and increasingly lavish gifts.
We have decided that we want the performance shots to be filmed in a large empty space, with us seriously considering using the top of a car park. It would give us more freedom and space to shoot.

Our pitch in class went very well as we were thoroughly prepared with a detailed Powerpoint presentation outlining our initial ideas, reccies and moodboards. The feedback we got back was very positive and some people have really helped us develop our ideas into exciting, more complete ideas.

Here is a YouTube link to the track we are going to be using (it does not have a video already, this 'video' on YouTube is just the track with a title screen runing throughout):



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgpR42JWYdY

Location Reccies

These are location shots of the roof of the car park in Tunbridge Wells, which is a location we are considering to use as an ideal location for the lead singer performance shots. It would be interesting if we shot at night or at least early morning, especially seeing as we do not want masses of cars in our mise-en-scene, although a few would be ok, but ideally we want a large space to be able to play with. It could look edgier at night anyway and some of the views could be improved just by the fact it is night. There are lights on the roof (as seen in some of the pictures) so we would have enough light to shoot, however, these could give a horrible orange glow, which we would not want. The last picture of this section is of a doorway on the roof which I thought we could have the lead stand/pose in for a few quick cuts:

The following are location shots of a rural area in Tunbridge Wells with trees and grass on a hill, where we could get some great shots of an idyllic setting. If we go for the idea that all the band members are in different locations, I can see this being a good one for the guitarist for some reason:

Audience Research - Focus Group Question Sheet

The idea behind our focus group is that we will play the track first of all, let the group answer the first three questions from their first impressions and then allow them to either write down any ideas or draw a mood board for question four or five while the track is being played for a second time.
We felt it was important for the group to hear the song at least twice - we will probably even play it a third time if we have enough time - so that we can engage people's initial recations as well as what they think once they've had time to appreciate the song a bit more.
We also wanted to give the participants as much freedom as possible so that we get their true feelings about the song, rather than just simply answer questions we put across. This is why the main focus of the question sheet is questions four and five where people can write whatever they want. Questions one to three are there because we hope these will help us resolve issues we have with the track/video already.

Listen to the music track and answer the following questions:

What category do you think the music video would fall under: ‘Concept’ (abstract), ‘Narrative’ or ‘Performance’? (You may pick up to two of these options.)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

When doing performance shots, do you feel it would be suitable to focus on the lead singer solely or do you feel it would be necessary to have shots of the whole band?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

What connotations do you already have with this genre of music and band? ie. What you expect to be in the music video.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Listen to the music track a second time and while doing this either answer question 4 or 5:

Write down any comments about what you think should appear in the music video (eg. narrative ideas or where to perform) and/or stylistic techniques to use.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

5. Use the back of this sheet to illustrate and draw any images that you think of while listening to the track. This is known as a mood board.

Technical Analysis - The Delays - Hideaway

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS0im89Arnc

This video is mainly a narrative focus. The idea itself is very simple; a couple running away from a man in a suit (connotations of government-type figure with earpiece.) So there is an obvious relationship between the lyrics and visuals (Goodwin) as the couple are trying to 'Hideaway' from this man. This relationship is presented through amplification, rather than literal meaning. The editing is quite fast in some places with some shots lasting only one or two seconds to make the narrative seem quicker, more varied and exciting. The video does also have elements of performance in it as the band are present, but this not the focus of the video.

0:00-0:02 - Long-shot of lead singer walking down stairs at the side of a house. As part of the mise-en-scene, the house contains the colour yellow to connotate a light-hearted side to the video. Just because the song is slow-paced does not mean that the video is gloomy. This contrasts with the singer's costume of a black jacket, dark trousers and a white t-shirt, which has been used to emphasise the lead's star motif and present him as being cool and sexy - female gaze (Laura Mulvey.) This shot establishes the lead singer as the focus of the band for the audience, which is more prominent when watching the video than their matching costumes to try and represent equality.

0:02-0:03 - Mid-shot of the lead singer on the stairs putting his sun glasses on, which connotate him as being cool and enigmatic (what sort of man is hiding behind the glasses?) and also has connotations of having a good time when viewed with the mise-en-scene as it shows that the sun is out and the mood is light and cheerful. This is an example of the demands of the record company (Goodwin) by setting up a recognisable star they can commodify (Dyer) to promote and sell records.

0:03-0:05 - Mid-shot of the lead singer being given his guitar by another member of the band. It is a generic convention of a rock video for the band to be playing their instruments, even though the song itself may be slow paced. However, the video later subverts this convention as there are relatively few shots of the band playing their instruments. There's no organised performance within a studio. The two members' costumes are identical, showing that the band have a distinct look and style, which acts as their star motif. They are a union rather than just a male solo star or a lead singer who dominates the lime-light - the costumes represent equality.

0:05 - Medium close-up of another band member, this time wearing a green jacket, which contrasts with the other members' matching black jackets. Could be an example of meta-narrative - is this member the rebel of the band? However, another interpretation is that he fits in with the mise-en-scene of bright colours. He does also conform to the band's style as he is wearing the sunglasses to show he is cool.

0:06 - Close-up of the fourth and final band member walking - he is wearing a black jacket like the first two members seen and is wearing sunglasses to reinforce the star image.

0:06-0:08 - Close-up pan - very voyeuristic shot and an example of dismemberment. The shot begins with a close up on a woman's breasts and pans up to her face with her eyes shut to protect her eyes from the sun - she is not a band member so does not wear sunglasses. It is also more seductive; by having her eyes shut and leaning her head back towards the sun she is there purely for objectification - male gaze (Laura Mulvey, 1970.)

0:08-0:09 - Long-shot of the blond woman, leaning back on the car, facing the sun. Her costume is a bright blue summer dress cut to show off her boobs, legs and arms for male pleasure. The fact she is leaning back on a white car raises enigma as to what she is doing leaning on the car - waiting for someone? Going to make a getaway? It also makes her more sexy and voyeuristic - leaning back connotates her seducing the men, but at the same time the car connotates her as being independent. The notion of looking (Goodwin) is obvious here.

0:09-0:11 - Extreme long-shot of a black car driving down an empty suburban road towards the camera. The colour is chosen to contrast to the girl's white car - good versus evil. The mise-en-scene sets the scene as everyday life; the message applies to everyone, even if it is presented in a dramatic way. This makes it easier for the audience to identify with video and therefore the song and band, which is an audience gratification identified by Blumler and Katz, 1974.

0:11-0:12 - Medium long-shot of boy sitting in a living room on the sofa looking down at a table, where he opens something, which causes light to being emitted. This is a very enigmatic shot to catch the audience's interest as to what is in the box. His costume is a red top to connotate danger.

0:12 - Long-shot of the black car pulling up outside house - sense of danger and foreboding.

0:13-0:14 - Close-up of the boy's face in the living room looking down at the object he has got out on the table, light still being emitted on his face. He leans down to get a closer look, which is, again, very enigmatic as the audience want to know what it is he is looking at and have the feeling that it is important enough to make the black car pull up for it as well.

0:15-0:16 - Long-shot of man in suit getting out of car and looking around while the camera zooms in slightly. Connotations of danger - he is looking around to make sure there is no one about - a fact that the audience know about due to the long shot of car driving down the street. Enigma building - is man going to attack boy? Steal whatever the object is?

0:17 - Close-up of boy looking up from the object he is holding - the light gets brighter on his face. Enigmatic - why is this? Also, why has he looked up? Does he know he's in danger? Is it a look of self-satisfaction on his face - blissfully unaware?

0:18 - Extreme close-up of government-type files the man in the suit is holding, with a picture of the boy with the object on it and the name 'Spartacus' written in bold letters with something crossed out - enigmatic - what is crossed out? Is Spartacus a code name? Confirms that the boy is in trouble and the man is after him - but is it because of the mystery object?

0:19 - Close-up of man's face from the left hand side looking at the documents. The camera pans around the man's head so the focus goes from the documents to his face - it is visible that he is wearing an earpiece like a secret agent or government body. Intertexual reference to films such as Men In Black or James Bond. Shows his status is high - he is an important man not be underestimated - serious threat.

0:20-0:22 - Close-up of man's face from the right hand side, focus is of the back of the head with the documents visible in the background. The man walks off towards the house - heightened sense of danger - the camera stays in it's position so the man walks away from it, but the camera does pan to follow his path.

0:22 - Mid-shot of band member with green jacket sitting in a chair with his sunglasses on looking moody. Cut away from narrative to put focus back on the band and the song - the music video is meant to promote the band as a commodity.

0:23-0:24 - Mid-shot of lead singer - not actually singing, but playing the guitar - relationship between music and visuals (Goodwin) as guitar melody is prominent part of the song running all the way through. There are two other band members in the background standing on the porch of a pink house. Again, the mise-en-scene has bright colours when the band are on screen to contrast to the dark enigmatic nature of the narrative. This technique makes band more appealing and enhances their star quality. The member in the green jacket jumps off the porch, which could be seen as part of the meta-narrative again as it shows he is the rebel trying to draw attention to himself and not conforming to the group.

0:25 - There is a quick cut, which is shorter than a second, of a bag being zipped up. The bag has a bright light being emitted from it, so it is obvious that this is the boy ready to go and hideaway - relationship between lyrics and visual (Goodwin.)

0:25- There is then another very quick cut showing a high angle view on the boy zipping up the bag. The room is very dark to create enigma and reinforce the sense of danger. The light is dimmer to highlight how dark the mise-en-scene is.

0:26- Long-shot of man in suit approaching front door of house - danger getting ever closer. It's like a game of cat and mouse - the cuts are getting a lot quicker to emphasise the increasing tension.

0:27 - Another high angle shot of the boy, but this time he is going up some stairs with the bag. He looks behind him, acknowledging that he knows he is in danger and needs to hideaway - relationship between lyrics and visuals (Goodwin.)

0:28 - Extremely quick cut back to man in suit at front door - reinforces connection between the boy looking over his shoulder with the man the approaching door.

0:28-0:29 - Mid-shot of lead singer putting on his sunglasses and then beginning to play his guitar; an example of a genre characteristic (Goodwin.)

0:29-0:31 - Jump cut - the camera has moved to the right and upwards a bit so the lead singer is not in the bottom left of the screen with another band member walking from the right of the screen to the middle. The attitude of the band is very laid back - not taking performance very seriously - subverts genre characteristics but at the same time inflates their star motifs as being relaxed and cool.

Product Analysis 2 - Red Hot Chili Peppers - Can't Stop

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldMUEJBA1tk

• This video is very concept based, with lots of weird and wonderful shots of things that have nothing to do with the lyrics. This lack of relationship between lyrics and visuals (Goodwin) reinforces the abstract aspect of the video, however, a slight relationship is present in parts. There is a strong element of the band performing in the video as well though.
• The audience see the band performing, which is juxtaposed with abstract images. The video is not quite an example of disjuncture, as it still has many genre characteristics, but it can definitely be classified as amplification as a lot of the video ignores the lyrics and shows random sequences.
• CGI is used for the opening shot with the camera travelling through the giant yellow tube.
• The tone of the video is fun, upbeat and energetic, to reflect the song's nature and fast tempo.
• The genre characteristics (Goodwin) that are seen include the band performing, reinforced by iconic shots that are very stereotypical of the rock genre.
• The guitar is held in a way to give connotations of a 'Rock God' as he holds it outwards away from his body.
• The lead singer is seen topless, which is an example of a 'star motif' as he appears like this in many other Red Hot Chili Peppers' videos and it has almost become a convention for them. It is also common within the Rock genre as showing off arm muscles and torsos displays masculinity and enhances 'star image.'
• This is likely to be a demand of the record company (Goodwin) as it gives the band a unique selling point and allows the video to appeal to a wide audience; boys want to be like him, girls want to be with him (female gaze - Laura Mulvey.)
• The video has a strong sense of rebellion as the lead does not want to conform to what the other band members are doing. Examples of these rebellion motifs are when the lead puts his middle finger up to camera. There is a further sense of rebellion related to the connotations of the way the guitar is held in the 'Rock God' manner mentioned above - it is as if the guitarist is saying he is ready to 'go wild.'
• When they are breaking things, it is a very strong characteristic of the rock genre, once again emphasising rebellion.
• Although a lot of the visuals are very artistic and random, there is still a sense of there being a relationship between music and visuals as the chaotic action and fast cuts fit perfectly with the upbeat song and continuing 'rock' music.
• The performance part of the video also creates a strong link between music and visuals (Goodwin) as the audience see the band playing their instruments synced up with the soundtrack - especially the drums and guitar.
• When the harmonies are being played we see the members harmonising in the bins, highlighting how it still keeps the concept side of the video prominent.
• Some of the 'random' concept shots also have a relationship with the lyrics (Goodwin.) For example, when hands are mentioned, there's an extreme close up of a hand. Also, when "stumbling" is mentioned, one of the band members falls over.
• The demands of the record company in terms of selling the band to the fans is prominent in the video as the band are the main focus. Lots of close-ups are shown of every member, but especially the lead singer, who the audience are going to recognise most as the front man.
• The grain of voice theory is very prominent here as the lead singer has a very distinctive voice unique to the band.
• The 'star image' is enhanced by a lot of extreme close ups of Kiedis' tattoos and half naked body - examples of dismemberment and voyeurism are present in this video as his torso and arms are focused on in several shots.
• There are many close ups of lead singer's face singing and looking passionate about song and excited, authenticating him as a performer.
• Kiedis is very energetic in the video, which is a convention of the rock genre, as well as being a feature seen in a lot of Red Hot Chili Peppers videos - it's part of his star persona.
• The drummer also makes the stereotypical 'rock-on' hand sign to show energy and enthusiasm, which is a generic convention.
• The 'notion of looking' is also prevalent in this video when Kiedis is in a house of mirrors with glow sticks - he is watching himself in the mirrors with the audience who are watching him.
• There are also shots of him looking into a circular mirror - the security ones in shops - where he is looking in the mirror at the camera, watching the audience watch him watch himself!
• The video can be seen as a postmodern text as there are many intertexual references to sculptures by Ervin Worme, which is credited at the end of the video.
• There are also intertexual references to Bjork when the lead singer is in a black dress, which looks like it is made out of bin liners!
• There's also a reference to Barney The Dinosaur when someone is wearing a giant purple dinosaur head.

Product Analysis 1 - Hot Hot Heat - Middle of Nowhere

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64wOKm1FCfk

• This video uses a grey filter to wash out a lot of the colour and actually leaves the finished product looking brighter and more in-your-face.
• The focus of the video is on the performance; especially the singing of the lead singer, but the performance works around a narrative of the lead singer being isolated and alone in the world. This narrative is used to break up the performance of the lead singing into the camera, so that the video does not become stale and repetitive.
• The video starts with a long shot of a building to set the location and gives the audience time to register the colour tone used.
• The second shot is inside the building in a room where the band are performing. The shot is a classic example of the screen within the screen showing the band. The audience are positioned to look at a camera man's screen filming the band's performance. This reinforces the 'notion of looking' identified by Goodwin.
• This shot pans into a long shot of the whole room to set the scene for the audience and make them feel like an onlooker in the room themselves; as if they were a member of the crowd surrounding the band.
• The band are surrounded by people watching their performance, this enhances their star status and makes them look popular and makes the audience feel that by watching the video they are entering this exclusive gang as well and getting close to the band.
• All the listeners are women as well, reinforcing the band as 'Music Gods' who women regard as sexual objects - men want to be them, while women want to be with them.
• The video can be seen as providing a hyper-real experience to the audience, as the editing allows them to experience the performance from varying angles, and the use of close-ups allow the audience to objectify the lead singer. This makes the performance more interesting to the audience watching the video, than it is to the women that are seen sitting there in the video itself.
• There are quick cuts throughout the opening either showing mid-shots of the different band members to set the scene of the performance and allow the audience to appreciate the 'stars.' There's also an extreme close-up of the keys of the keyboard being played as well as a point of view shot from the people sitting on the ground listening to the band - this emerges the audience into the world the video is representing and makes them feel like they are sitting by the band as well.
• The lead singer then steps from behind the keyboard and begins to sing, which sets him up as the star of the video and the audience's main focus, which is reinforced by a close-up of his face.
• There is a relationship between music and visuals (Goodwin) as the pace of the cuts are edited to follow the pace of the song, meaning that the cuts are steady, but regular.
• There are still cuts to the other band members, but they are given mid-shots so that the focus is on their instruments as well as them as a person. Long shots are used to give a view of the whole room - the invisible fourth wall technique is used here, which is unconventional for music videos and more typical of television programmes. Music videos usually break the 'fourth wall' rule, giving the audience a more panoramic view of the location.
• There is further unconventional techniques used when the lead singer leaves to go to the toilet! He is left alone, allowing the audience to identify with him because from this point onwards he becomes the center of attention of the video. This unconventional technique is used to make the video stand out against other similar videos that will be streamed on the music channels. This means that the video lives up to repeatability, as people will want to watch the video as it is different and unique. The sound of the music changes to make it seem like it's coming from the next room, while the vocals sound live with a mixture of lyrics and humming. This 'live' sound authenticates the lead as a performer.
• When he goes back to the room where he was previously performing, he is all on his own as the band and girls listening have gone. This is where the narrative aspect of the video starts and the lyrics have a strong relationship with the visuals (Goodwin) as the lead singer is now left alone as if he is in 'the middle of nowhere.'

Possible Tracks - Collaborate Post From Ed & Matt

Ed's Contribution:

We Can't Rewind - Feeder.

• Isn't a single, doesn't have a music video so we can create a good one.
• There is a clear concept within the song - Time, basically. Lot of ideas open to us there.
• Would enable us to do a Performance narrative (fast paced song - fun as well) as well as a narrative.
• Would allow us to try and use certain effects to help the video.
• Matt's response: I think this may be a bit too long, we may be able to get away with it but would be difficult given time-frame of planning.

Hands Open - Snow Patrol

• No music video (Matt's response: actually it does Ed, look it up on YouTube, it's an international video, not released in England.)
• Lyrics have a lot of meaning - would enable us to act out in a narrative.
• Chorus would be good for performance narrative as it's a fast paced fun song.
• Could allow us to do a "fun" sort of video as I can't identify any clear theme.
• Matt's response: I like this song, good length - 3:20 - but would need to develop some definite ideas on narrative.

My Kind Of Guy - Kaiser Chiefs

• No video
• Fun song - not the fastest, but the lyrics are fun.
• We could attempt concept based for this. Narrative may be difficult.
• Theme may centre on one particular person - a rebellious sort of person "You're my kind of guy, "'Cause I like your style, 'Cause you sound as horrible as me" - may promote something in our music video which could be enjoyable e.g. destroying something etc.
• Matt's response: This song is over four minutes and I think we need to pick something shorter otherwise we're going to be making it a lot harder for ourselves to film enough interesting and varied footage.

Why Do I Keep Counting? - The Killers

• Slow start, but it builds up into a very good song.
• There is a theme - something to do with a phobia of flying apparently.
• Could allow us to choose between all 3 narratives.
• Once again, we could have some fun with the video - particularly if we used a concept based narrative.
• Matt's response: Again, this song is too long lasting around four and half minutes and I think we should only do something about three to three and a half minutes maximum because doing another minute will be so hard to come up with original ideas for.

Matt's Contribution:

Can't Stop - Maroon 5

• This is an upbeat song that lasts for just over two and a half minutes and it would be suitable to do narrative during verses and performance during choruses. I was thinking maybe performing on the roof of a car park?
• There is a clear and definite narrative of a man obsessed with a woman, which can have comic elements in it, such as the woman being uninterested in the man who is obviously a bit desperate.
• First verse - "all alone in my room and I'm thinking of you at a rate that is truly alarming" - obvious what we can do with lyrics like that - man at end of bed looking a bit distraught - lays down - curls into pillow?
• There's an electronic jingle bit as well which only lasts for about one second, but we could do a tracking shot following the lead singer from his house to the girl's sped up.
• I've got a good idea for a montage in second verse - set camera up pointing at girl's front door from inside house - she has to repeatedly answer door to man presenting her with weird and wonderful presents - flowers, chocolates, dog!!!
• For mid-8 have slower cuts between performance - all close ups and narrative - girl goes to car park after seeing performance on TV - brings in idea of watching stars. Once at car park can have security camera shots of her entering& walking up.
• At the end of the song we could have quick cuts of varying angles of the performance. On the last line - "Can't stop thinking about you!" - the lead could come face to face with the girl on the roof. For the last shot we could have a high angle close up of the lead singer laughing to show the fun side of the video, like a 'don't take life to seriously' message.

I Can't Control Myself - Pigeon Detectives

• Can use a lot of the ideas above for 'Can't Stop' - but this one could have shots of boy and girl arguing and then trying to be friends but then boy tries it on with girl and she pushes him away. Eg. hands touch when eating popcorn or play fighting then goes to kiss but girl pulls away.
• When I listen to this song I visualise sped up action during the instrumentals.
• Unfortunately, it's not a particularly strong chorus, so we'd have to integrate performance with narrative more - lots of close-ups of singer - could be really good and lots of opportunities to do lots of different angles of him singing line to keep it varied.
• Lively song, quite short - 2:49 - so shouldn't run out of ideas.

You Know I Love You - Pigeon Detectives

• Probably not as good as other PD track, but again, similar narrative could be used to 'Can't Stop' - keep the obsessive nature of narrative with girl not being interested in boy.
• To have an illustrative representation of the lyrics may be inappropriate though; "You know I love you, take off your clothes, it's alright, it's alright."
• Again, it's a short song - 3:04 - so hopefully won't run out of ideas whereas I can really see that being a problem if we go for a 4 minute song. If we did, it could end up being repetitive and boring.

Technical Analysis - Feeder (Buck Rogers)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TataYXStVr8
0:01 - Establishing shot of the set. Dark covers most of the place - light is placed in contrast in parts of the place. Figure can be seen approaching camera.
0:03 - Close up of figure shows that it is an elephant. Contrast with darkness - adds a light-hearted element to the video which fits nicely with the opening sound to the song.
0:04 - Establishing shot returned to as the elephant gets nearer - heightens the audience's wondering as to why there is an elephant.
0:08 - Various close-ups of the elephants eyes, backside etc. - Changes the video's nature into a very light-hearted theme - audience don't know what to expect anymore.
0:14 - Close up of a ladder descending from underneath the elephant - only adds to the hillarity of the situation. The elephant is being used as a spaceship apparently reflecting the futuristic music. The band are seen for the first time.
0:22 - Mid shot of the three band members standing outside the elephant studying their surroundings. They are dressed very casually and are holding and eating various food and drink. This shows the video as fun and casual.
0:26 - The music changes and the camera zooms in to close ups of various band members in a form of "dismemberment" and shows their foods and drinks flying through the air - resembling the futuristic feeling of no gravity. The band are also frozen in a type of freeze frame with their expressions extremely comical.
0:31 - A mixture of midshots and closeups as the band begin to play the chorus of the song. No freeze frames are used, and the band are shown playing in a very fast and impressive pace.

Product Analysis 2 - Billy Talent (Devil In A Midnight Mass)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfEmbIaaBU8
Director - Sean Michael Turrell
The track is a Performance/Narrative based video.
There is a clear grain of voice in the video as the lead singer of the band has a unique singing voice, which is instantly recognisable.

Genre Characteristics

• The band are seen playing in dark clothes, screaming the lyrics and playing the traditional rock instruments (guitar and drums) in a fast-paced and enthusiastic manner.
• The mise-en-scene of the video is very dark, taking place in a church room, and the narrative shows a boy haunted by a form of evil, symbolically represented by black smoke.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals

• The word "devil" connotates darkness which in turn, is represented in the dark setting and is contrasted with the clever use of light occasionaly.
• The line "silent night for the rest of my life" is represented by the images of children in the video who don't appear to have mouths, which is oddly unsettling and is reflected in the lyrics.
• The line "getting closer to my door" is represented by the young boy in the narrative in his room, scared, as black smoke approaches the door. This creates tension which is exploited by images of the band playing.
• The line "whisper whisper, don't make a sound" suggests that these children have been silenced by whatever is haunting the young boy.

Relationship between music and visuals

• The camera moves very quickly around the band as they are playing. This represents the fast pace of the song and the bands actions.
• Split shots are used to create drama and as the tensions builds at the end, the air becomes more tense as the resolution is acted out.
• The music reflects the dark nature of the song. It is a very fast song though, so it adds to the rock element rather than any sort of scary element.

Artist close-ups

• There are close-ups of the boy in the narrative. It shows him as a very normal looking boy and represents his innocence in everything.
• Close-ups of the band are very fast and shocking. They aren't looking at the camera, as they are very into what they are doing, which creates an impressive feel to it.

Intertextual Ref.

• There is a reference to the movie "The Shining" which is seen when the young boy passes a picture which appears to be bleeding.
• The black smoke is often used as a connotation of evil in other media's such as TV programme "Lost."

Product Analysis 1 - The Hives (Tick Tick Boom)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwhU99_66R8
Director - Kalle Hugland.
The track is a Performance, but mainly Concept based video.

Genre Characteristics

• The music video contains many generic conventions of a rock video, with the visual element of fire and a number of explosions which create tension, and a humorous effect.
• The band are all seen wearing what appears to be school uniforms as well. This is more connected with rock bands and shows the playful nature of the band.
• Though it is not seen, the use of guitar (etc.) is heard throughout.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals

• The title name, and chorus involves the word "boom" which is portrayed very visually in the video. A great use of special effects are used to cause explosions in a very humorous way though. The lead singer causes a small explosion to occur in his outstretched hand the first time, the second time it causes a mans shoe to disintegrate, and the final "boom" causes the museum the video is set in to explode dramatically.
• The "tick, tick" line is represented with the use of clocks in the video, and leading up to the various explosions, causing the light-hearted tension. The clocks appear in various ways, such as appearing out of one of the band members' head.
• The line "the man you tried hard to be, but it's too late" is represented towards the end of the video showing the band have resorted to being the rebels and not the men they "tried hard to be" and they begin to destroy the museum.

Relationship between music and visuals

• There is a general crescendo before each explosion takes place, setting that tense atmosphere and expectation.
• When the explosions do take place, the music seems to stop to let the audience appreciate the aftermath.
• Towards the end when the band are destroying the museum, the music is very fast paced reflecting the disruptive nature of the band as the destruction takes place.

Artist close-ups

• Various close-ups of the band are used throughout to establish the members as stars to be objectified and make the audience identify with them.
• It also makes them appear bigger than the people in the museum, as they are meant to be statues for people to view, which suggests a superior element that fits in with the band's arrogant background.
• Extreme close-ups of their eyes show the clocks ticking away as well, which empathises their cheeky and disruptive nature before they begin to destroy the place.

Intertextual References

• The name of the track is taken from a musical with the same name.

Institutional Context - Why Are Music Channels Commercially Viable?

Whilst Creative Zen Micro continues to be second place to Apple's iPod in the MP3 player market, it has raised the awareness of the brand that owned the sector. It has established itself in the minds of 16-34 year olds as a unique and desirable product. It is clear to them that young people spend more time watching music TV than any other channel genre, and music consumers make up Creative's target audience. This led them to pitch the EPG (Electronic Programming Guide) strategy which was a media first and broke the mould in TV advertising, sponsorship and promotions.
When Emap advertising created a partnership with Sky TV's music channels, Creative Zen offered a solution that enabled them to own the majority of the 22 music channels, at the most relevant times of the day for their audience. It gave them a presence on 13 consecutive channels on the EPG (60% of music channels available at the time.) It cut across music genres providing unique access to the diverse musical tastes of the 16-34 audience. This inspiring execution was designed to fit specifically with the essence of each community and varied depending on the genre of music being played. Separate sponsorship bumpers were created to ensure the association was relevant for each community, with 272 hours per week being sponsored and within these hours, 2,000 break bumpers were shown. The content being sponsored was focused on the idea of 'downloading.'
This shows how music channels are commercially viable because the 6 week sponsorship reached over 76% of the core target audience of 16-34 adults and reached over 46,991 entries. This caused the Zen Micro to be sold out nationwide within weeks, proving the commercial power that music channels have, meaning that music channels are justified in charging companies large amounts of money for advertising time.

Pigeon Detectives - I'm Not Sorry

This is a great example of a video that was created on a low-budget. This could be useful to us as we could take some of the performance elements from it, such as how they use different camera angles to create variation. It has an interesting style with the contrast turned up high with a black and white filter used.
Although the main focus is on the band performing, it has a narrative running through it. The cuts are extremely fast though, so it would take a lot of editing. But all the varying angles are a good concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0GaFD9SeA0

Audience Consumption Patterns Research

There are two main categories that audience consumption can fall under. The first is 'active' which means the audience are normally channel loyal. This can also be described as the audience being 'focused' which means that they are attentive and form deeper relationships with the content shown, allowing adverts to suit audience needs, which is rewarding to them as the audience consider adverts to be a creative form. With regards to Music TV, this type of viewing is normally attributed to the audience wanting to see recent music videos or their favourite artists. The other type of audience consumption is 'passive' which is used to describe content hunters and therefore partake in menu rotation. This can also be described as the audience being 'ambient' which means they treat the programmes as an audio background. This poses a problem to advertisers as they have to target an audience where repetition is tolerable, providing it is rewarding or relevant, as they are audio-triggers for half-watching audiences. With regards to music TV, this type of viewing is normally attributed to people wanting non-stop background music, or watching the music channels because there is nothing else to watch.
Music TV is seen as exploratory because it creates zones that all can explore, like a club entry with no door policy, where people can discover new music by crossing over styles and ideas. It acts as a source of new ideas, providing stimulation and social currency. This is when someone experiences being a member of a community at home, which highlights how Music TV is postmodern as it allows people to express themselves to a range of people from the comfort of their own home without actually meeting these people, eg. voting for your favourite video or texting in a message to be shown on screen.