Representation of men in music videos

In the pop genre, men are represented as dominant and confident. An example of this is in Jason Derulo's 'trumpets' where a woman in underwear is dancing seductively in front of him, with pictures of him in the background emphasizing his wealth and 'macho'ness. He is also watching her, taking control and taking the role of a sexual predator. There is also the contrasting view of males in boy bands for example One Direction are presented as role models this is portrayed in their video, 'story of my life'. This is possibly because they have a younger target audience so they want to present males in a more positive way.

The pop genre is similar to the RnB genre in that men are presented as powerful having control over women and caring mostly about money and cars. An example of this is in 50 cents 'candy shop' where women are compared to sweets and wearing very little clothing all for 50 cents pleasure.

We have opposed stereotypes in our music video, our male character is certainly not portrayed as being dominant or disrespectful towards women, we have gone more of the boy band route by trying to present a positive representation. But we didn't go over the top, we have tried to portray the male character in our music video as an average teenager who has hobbies and enjoys seeing his girlfriend.

Location

Part of our video is filmed at house of vans in London. We chose this location to get some skating shots to add to the ending of our video, and it goes with the general theme of the video. It also, includes elements of the skating lifestyle that we wanted to include.

Behind The Scenes

To get our opening shot we attached our camera to the front of a bus with a gorilla grip, because of this our camera could shoot from a high angle, including lots of the scenery. In our video we have sped up the footage to create a time lapse, we believed this would suit the opening. We filmed in the day so the lighting was successful.

Behind The Scenes

This is us filming one of our shots that we are going to edit into the chorus where we will have changing backgrounds. We liked the lighting here as it was bright, and we chose this background because of the  colours. Our camera angle was a mid shot which had to be in the same place for different backgrounds so it wouldn't look jumpy when we put it together.

Shooting Schedule

Here is a more detailed schedule:

Saturday 28th November 2015	We plan to: Film our time lapse in 2 different areas. Shoot outdoor shots with the lead actress solo, mainly located in the market area. Include the outfit changes. Scenes of close ups of props (e.g. money)
Saturday 5th December 2015	The train scene.    Performative shots to be shot, located in the graffiti filled area. Shots of the extras. Scenes of skateboarding.
Saturday 12th December 2015	Extreme close ups of lead actress. Final shots of the outdoors. Re-doing of certain shots (if need to be improved).

What To Do Next

We have now been out for a day of filming although we need to do our lip synching shots. We have started to edit what we have and we have done a bit of the chorus' on-beat editing of our character in front of changing backgrounds which we believe works well.

Inspiration

Here are some pictures we have for ideas of shots to use in our video, we are going to try to film some of these things and add the in our music video.

Music Video Analysis-Eyes Shut

Years and Years-Eyes Shut analysis

The editing in this video consists of one shot; it is of the lead singer walking through what looks like a post-apocalyptic place. This sequence shot allows for realistic or dramatically significant background activity, which is going on in this video.

The video starts with natural lighting, exposing only one half of the characters face. This could suggest that he has something to hide. Also the background is dark which demonstrates that the place he is in could be dangerous.

He then leaves a door and the lighting is now unnatural, with a blue tinge, which suggests melancholy and sadness. He then goes outside where the lighting is natural but still has a blue tinge and there is fire in the background which conveys a sense of danger and destruction.

The character is wearing a casual outfit, although it is a little rough around the edges which could suggest that he has been affected by the post-apocalyptic world. The props in the video such as the old computers show that the building is abandoned and run down and people have just dumped their belongings

This mid-shot is effective as you can see the run down building. There is graffiti on the wall showing that the building is abandoned, also down the corridor you can see rubble and ore abandoned computers implying that no one has been there for a long time. This mid shot is of two women praying to a man. The high key backlighting of the man portrays him to be a godlike being and the women praying to him emphasises this. The shot suggests the characters are seeking hope in a time of need. This long shot shows a variety of characters to portray the desperation of them. There is a man praying on rubble, a person hitting objects, a man with a dog and women marching. This range of character sis used to convey a manic world and possibly the end of the world. Overall, the song is quite slow which matches the slow shots although, the visual are manic and portray destruction which opposes the slow beat. The video opposes Goodwin’s theory as the music does not match the visuals.

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Music Video Analysis- Thinking Of You- Goodwin's Theory

Katy Perry- ‘Thinking Of You’-Goodwin’s theory

Goodwin's theory suggests that there is a visual relationship between the lyrics and the visuals on the screen. This is true in thinking of you’ as Katy Perry is missing her partner who died in war. One of the lyrics is ‘he kissed my lips’ and as the lyrics occur the visuals are mirroring this.

Also as Goodwin suggests there is a relationship between the music and the visuals, as the music is quite slow which matches the slow editing and fading in and out.

As Goodwin suggests, there is also a number of close-ups on Perry as this will make her ore well known and recognisable.

There is also voyeurism in the

video as there are personal shots of the couple in the bedroom and Perry wearing minimal clothing. Also, Perry is shown vulnerable and crying, which we would not normally see as well as lots of framing shots where we see her through mirrors and in doorways which makes it look as though she is being spied on.

There is also some intertextuality in the video such as it being set in 1940’s wold war 2.  Also there are similarities between the video and a film called ‘dear john’ as they have a similar narrative.  There are also similarities between flashback shots and the film ‘the notebook’.

The video has a clear narrative as it is clearly about Perry missing her old boyfriend, the video being narrative also show Perry’s stage in her career as she is big as a pop star enough not to do performative videos.

Although, the music video does not fit into all categories of Goodwin’s theory as it is not stereotypical of its genre as it is a narrative this isn’t conventional of a pop ballad.

Lighting Analysis

Jessie ware- wildest moments- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMJkddvJ4L4

The video starts with a dark background and only her silhouette; this could show that she has something to hide, as she is facing the other way so she is hiding her face. 

Although this changes when a light fades to show her. The lightness could represent her going through different moments of her life, these being the happier moments.

The background continues to get lighter, suggesting that she is getting happier but also the white could symbolize her being freer and moving on in her life with as white has connotations of purity, innocence, wholeness and completion. Also, the camera zooms out, suggesting that she no longer has anything to hide as she is showing more of her body. Also, she is wearing white which portrays her to be innocent as white has connotations of this. 

 The lighting finally goes to a bright white, suggesting she’s at her happiest, but also as she is blending into the background this would also symbolize her fading away.

Lastly the lighting fades back to black which could suggest that she is still unhappy and just pretending to be happy as she goes back into the darkness.

Jessie ware-night light- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyY5upiRO8Q

The opening shot shows another silhouette, which is intriguing as she is in an interesting position with the dancers. The background is also quite dark, so we have the idea of starting on a mysterious, gloomy note as black can represent mystery. The audience will have with anticipation of what is to come as it has just started.

The background immediately goes to white, focusing on the dancers and the singer, this shot puts a bolder focus on the people in the middle as they now stand out and are the main focus of the shot.

This shot makes the character look like an angel or as if they are going to heaven because of the bright white lighting in front.

This shot makes the couple look innocent and pure and very much in love as white represents innocence and purity.

The background is again very bright, which emphasizes the dancers and what they are doing as they are completely contrasting colours.

Azalea banks-212- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Jv9fNPjgk

The almost plain background makes the audience focuses on the singer, and the black and white, makes the video look more professional and sophisticated. Also, black and white gives the video a more urban style as it is more authentic, which works in this video. 

 The black and white almost makes the video look like an old film which makes it look more sophisticated.

Jay Sean-down- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUbpGmR1-QM

The shades on the blinds cover the female characters face which makes her look sad, the blue tinge adds to this effect as the colour blue has connotations of sincerity and reservedness .

 The dancer wearing white t-shirts gives them emphasis and enhances them compared to the rest of the party who are wearing dark clothes, so the dancers stand out.

The purple tinge gives a sense of luxury and the dark background suggest mystery as we can’t see what’s going on.

The blue tinge shows the intimacy between the characters as blue can also symbolize trust, loyalty and faith, and the darkness and shadows suggest that they are alone as we can’t see anyone else.

Here, the lights are on exposing everyone at the party and the dancers, this is to show everyone having a good time and could symbolize the party going from a serious place to a friendlier one.although, there are  shadowy figures in the background which keep the nostalgic feel.

Target Audience Profile

Audience profile from ilanaday

Music Video Ideas

Audience Profile Research

What are your aspirations in life?

Person 1: I hope to end up in a stable career that I am happy with.

Person 2: I would like to go into law.

Person 3: I would like to go to university.

What are some of your interests? E.g. do you like art, film, sport. Etc.

Person 1: Yeah I like art...I am quite creative

Person 2: I like films and things in the media.

Person 3: I'm into art and media

What are your opinions of music videos? Do you like them?

Person 1: Yes, I enjoy watching them

Person 2:  Yeah, they’re good

Person 3: Yes

What do you believe makes a good music video?

Person 1:  A good story line and interesting shots.

Person 2:  Good shots of the band.

Person 3: Yeah...a good story line.

How do you believe youth are presented in music videos?

Person 1: Sometimes negatively they are seen as partying the entire time

Person 2: I guess it’s a mixture. Youth is mostly viewed as like partying all the time and being into illegal things such as drugs.

Person 3: I guess it is a misrepresentation as most of the artists are in their mid-twenties.

Music Video Proposal

Music video presentation from ilanaday

Target audience table

Characterisations of target audience	What will be in your music video to engage them
age-15-25	young character so the audience can relate to them

gender-target both genders-mainly female	female lead- females can relate to her
income level/class- lower income	song includes lyrics such as 'all i wanna do is take your money'

race-any
geographic location-London	filmed in London

Thinking Of You analysis

Music video analysis 'Thinking Of You' presentation from ilanaday

Director case study

Director case study from ilanaday

Purpose of a music video

Purpose of a music video from ilanaday

Star icon case study

Madonna from ilanaday

Music video analysis-Robbers

The setting seems to be in a deserted area, possibly because it’s early morning which shows them to be uncaring of the outside world and only focusing on eachother.. This emphasizes them being a couple, so the isolation is romantic which introduces their love story. The mid-shotalso shows the couple holding hands which emphasizes their love also the fact that they are slightly angled towards each other, portrays that they are interested in each other. They are also walking into the distance together which suggests they could be on the run or don’t know where they are going.

The lighting lights the background focusing on their silhouettes, which is typically romantic as it’s as if they are the only people. The silhouettes could also suggest that the couple are hiding something more important which foreshadows what is to come. He is also standing above her which implies that he has power in the relationship.

The editing of the video puts scenes in a non-chronological order, which could cause confusion but also interest the audience to show things that they haven’t seen yet for example the wound on the lead character, this style of editing keeps the audience’s attention as they will question where he got the wound from.

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The mid shots emphasise the extent of the couple’s relationship, the picture above shows the female character staring lovingly at the male showing they are very much in love and that the song is focused around a relationship, possibly one that is more one sided as he isn’t returning her gaze.

The mise-en-scene is important in this video, for example the musky lighting and a colour scheme consisting of mostly red, black and white. which shows that the video isn’t just about a relationship but other more serious things such as crime and with the title of the song being ‘robbers’ the video fits very well. The alcohol and gun in the main characters hand entices the audience and gets them interested in what they are planning. Drugs are also heavily featured in the video showing that the couple’s relationship isn’t as simple as it first looks.

Overall, the music video is very well executed and fits perfectly for the indie genre of the band and song as it has a narrative. For our group could use aspects of this for example the editing in non-chronological order, although filming a full narrative would be difficult.

Music video analysis-Greek Tragedy

Music video analysis-Greek Tragedy

In the wombats ‘Greek tragedy’ music video in the opening shot below, the girl seems to be enjoying the music, but as the background is  black, this could indicate that there are darker things on her mind or that she is not as innocent as she first seems.

In this mid-shot the character is spotlighted, showing she is what the audience should be focusing on. Also her emotions suggest she is captivated in the music and the singer. The surrounding characters in the darkness show that they are not affecting her and her only focus is on the band, the lighting could be used to trick the audience into thinking she’s an angel.

This low angle shot of the lead singer evokes the sense that he is a Godly type being and this suggests how the character might feel towards him as the shot suggests this is from her point of view. The Godly image is exaggerated in the lighting as he is being back lit which makes him almost a silhouette which is mysterious and shows he is of importance.

The video also has on beat editing in time to the music at the beginning. It goes from the character to home video and fast clips of what is to come in the video which foreshadows what happens. The pace of editing will confuse the audience but intrigue them to carry on watching the video as the editing is too fast to get a clear picture and it helps the audience to remember the song.

The video also contains violence which consists with the tragedy title as usually in tragedies the main character dies, but this contrasts the ‘Greek tragedy’ title as usually in Greek tragedies the main character lives. The violence is also overdramatised which adds a comical effect and also fits with the idea of traditional tragedy plays.

At the end of the video the female character strings the bands corpses up like puppets so she can have her own concert which she has probably been fantasizing about. The idea that the bands are puppets shows that the girl is on control which could represent something deeper e.g. the music industry and the idea that bands are so commercialised they are not themselves or in control of their own music or image, so the use of the character stringing up the band like puppets could suggest that the band disagree with major record labels controlling their artists and they believe bands should create their own image.