Symbolism

Production Diary #5

After analysing a previous student's work much like when I analysed the Primadonna music video; I learnt that an effective music video would be one that visually displays the song by following the lyrics, the editing has to match the beat of the song, the whole 'image' of the music video has to be based on the song's genre e.g. Eminem's music videos can be controversial, personal or humorous but all together it conveys his hip-hop rap star persona often evoking his life in the beginning which was tough and his current successful life which he portrays from his split personalities Eminem/Slim Shady (evil) and Marshall Mathers (nice). Beyonce also does this by having an alter ego 'Sasha Fierce' in effort to separate from her own shy personality to in-cooperate to the R&B, hip hop, pop genre that conventions involve a strong performer. Also, I think it's important to hold connotations and symbolism throughout the music video which is what the student did when I analysed her music video, holding connotations of nostalgia and innocence with the props of a balloon and ribbon.

I came across music videos by The Neighbourhood that I thought held good symbolism and editing. I thought the music video successfully, visually displayed the meaning of the song to the viewer which the viewer might not have thought when listening to the song alone as the lyrics can hold different interpretations.



The mise-en-scene of the dark lighting and the dark shadows masking the characters' faces adheres to the theme of the music video: evil and death. Although, the filter is black and white the colour black is heightened throughout the music video especially on the scary woman who looks like death, who violently drags the girls to what looks like her burial. The opposition of the girl attempting to fight this woman off reinforces the symbolism of evil and death and how she is vulnerable to the woman this coheres with the lyrics 'die die die' and 'I think I found hell'. The contra-panel of the shot of the normal, suburban houses juxtaposes to the child's life which is anything but normal due to her parents who constantly fight in front of her, the violence put on her and alcoholism conveyed by her dad. This could also suggest how everything may appear 'normal' on the outside, like the houses but on the inside there is a lot that no one knows about which corresponds to the lyrics 'don't tell them anything'. The child is living two lives. However, towards the end of the video of what looked like her burial was in fact the child burying her tragic past and moving on. This is realised when a close-up of her holding someone's hand is illustrated with the lyrics 'I think I found love' instead of 'I think I found hell'.



Much like the music video above, in this music video 'Let It Go' there is dark lighting and shadows to enforce the mood of the song 'depression' and the editing consists of contra-panels to evoke what the protagonist is feeling on the inside which is different to what she is appearing on the outside. When conveying the outside, it almost looks like an old 50s advert, staged and forced with a stereotypical woman in the kitchen cooking, cleaning, doing her make-up to look appealing and fending for her husband with a big, fake false smile whilst she is doing all this. At this part, there are no shadows, although there is  a black and white filter the lighting is bright and the lyrics at this point are light. As the dynamic and tempo of the song increases into the chorus it reveals the true colours of what the protagonist is feeling with dark shadows highlighted on her face, a miserable facial expression, the breaking of objects and the protagonist screaming is a evident juxtaposition to how she was before. The lyrics 'let it go' suggests of her dismissal to everything she desires as it is not important in the 'ideal world' she lives in. Perhaps the band is proving a point of feminism that a woman's opinion is not as important as to those of men. I like the use of the prop at 2:16 when the protagonist takes off her glasses as if she is putting it on the viewer to portray the reality of what is happening in the scene. This involvement with the viewer allows the viewer to see matters in the protagonist's perspective. In this case, when the businessmen, one which is also the woman's husband is shovelling money down their throats in a greedy manner revealing their true intentions. Proving they are materialistic and corrupt for money. The fast paced montage after this displays all the struggles the protagonist has to face on a daily basis permitting the viewers to emphasise her.

Although, I have not yet determined the song for my music video as I want to be 100% certain, thus I'll be working with the same song for the next couple of months and don't want to regret it later on. I have a few songs in my mind that I would possibly use and would probably post later on to this blog.

Analysis of Previous Student's Work

Inspiration

Production Diary #4

I spent the day analysing Marina and The Diamond's music video 'Primadonna'. It took me quite a while as there were a vast majority of different shots contributed, the mise-en-scene constantly changed and there were  many editing techniques and conventions to discuss. However, it did benefit me by making me aware of all the different techniques I could use when it comes to my music video. Especially since I know I'll be doing a type of song that is upbeat like 'Primadonna'.

Although, I have not chosen a song yet for my music video, I do like a newly released music video by Charli xcx called 'Boom Clap' and will probably take inspiration from it.

Minus the footage from the film, 'The Fault in our Stars', I can imagine my music video to be set out like this. What I liked the most about it was the doodles around the artist during the chorus which cohered with the 'boom' 'clap' lyrics and the camera shots were corresponding with the pace of the music. Also, every time the pace would pick up there would be a jump cut or when it slowed a long pan would be distributed. Creating a fluency with the video and the song. The song itself would be in my list for possible song choices for my music video.

So far, I am researching and collecting ideas. I haven't come to any final conclusions yet but my next step would be to choose a song and create a storyboard for it by using a software called Celtx.

Primadonna Music Video Analysis

Marina & from osnapitsalina

Summer Plans and Music Labels

Production Diary #3

Over the summer I intend to have the majority of my planning completed for my music video where the song, theme and location is finalised which would provide me with an idea of what costume and props I would need to use to meet the conventions of the music video. Also, I plan to further my research and to regularly post my progress onto this blog.

So far I have researched into current major music labels such as Universal Music Group, this has allowed me to see the success of artists from different genres who are signed to the music labels and given me an appreciation to why their music videos are so successful. For example, Cody Simpson who is signed to the Warner Music Group has a surfer image, he has used his Australian

heritage to his advantage and applies beach conventions to his music videos wherever possible. Also, Eminem signed to Universal Music Group was brought up in a bad neighbourhood and had a tough life in the beginning tends to use this in his music videos and songs wherever possible too. This has taught me when it comes to my music video I need to stick to a theme and the artist's image that corresponds with the song which will later also apply to the digipak that I would have to create.

What is a digipak?

1. Digipak is a type of packaging for CDs or DVDs, typically made from cardboard with an internal plastic holder for one or more discs and is a registered trademark of AGI-Shorewood, an Atlas Holdingds LLC company. 
2. 
   

Digipacks can flip open like a book, or it can have three parts, so that one portion of the packaging opens to the right and one to the left, with the CD in the center portion. Usually, the portion of the digipack that hold the CD is made of plastic like a traditional jewel case CD - the plastic part is simply attached to the paper background.

Since DigiPaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packagaing made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak is often used generically, even when the media is a hub or "soft spot" rather than  a full plastic tray.

Digipak-Style packaging if often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak) is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets. Such packagaing is less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, so it tends to convey signs of wear relativley quickly. Licensed digipak manufactures such as domestic U.S printed and disc replication Oasis Disc Manufacturing recommend coating the raw printed paper with a protective UV coating, thus ensuring greater longevity.




 

Research into existing music labels

Conventions of a Music Video

Conventions of a Music Video from osnapitsalina

Conventions of a Music Video

Production Diary #2

In my second lesson, we were presented with a check list of all the coursework we have to complete for A2. We were able to choose what we should begin with. I chose 'conventions of a music video' I thought the research would provide me with a better understanding of the type of music video I would want to create.

From doing the research and creating the powerpoint, I learnt that you use certain key concepts and conventions for the genre of the music video. For example, pop music videos usually have bright lighting, it tends to be based on performance, long shots of partying, many close-ups of the artist/s faces and they would typically wear a lot of make-up and fashion accessories. The narratives usually consist of break-ups/relationships, parties or they just tend to be based around a theme. Whereas, Indie/Rock music videos tends to be black and white, dark locations, fast-paced and consistent extreme close-ups and long shots.

I also learnt about the elements of a music video; performance, narrative, mixture, cameo, thematic and symbolic and what they would consist of. This gave me a real insight of what I should be expected to do when I choose my song depending on its genre.