Track Idea

Kid British-Sunny Days

I think this song could work really well for our music video. It can have a good bit of performance as well as a narrative. I was thinking that the song could just be about a guy who's on his way to work and just a normal day in London. It's really rainy, dark, just not a very nice day. He see's a really pretty girl and gets turned down. Nothings going well for the guy. I think it would add another meaning to the song, and really make people listen to the lyrics as it does say 'No more sunny days'

Carol Vernallis

Carol Vernallis says the camera in music video seems to mimic the way we view sonic space... do you agree? Do you think we are conditioned by music video to read sonic space in particular ways?
I would agree as we are more likely to just listen and view the images as more of something to keep your eyes busy rather then being the main focus. Even though music video can alot of the time be very jumpy and not continuous, we manage to make the links between images.
She suggests that the jumping camera focus is like the camera in place of our eyes, doing what we do when we listen. However, this is predefined for us by the Director - we have even less choice to look away/outside of the Director's choice than we do in film - do you agree?
I would agree because in film you can choose to focus on another subject in the shot as the shots are normally longer giving your eyes to intake more where as music video throws shots at you very quickly so normally it would take many viewings before the audience can start to notice other things to that of the dominant reading.
She says music video is more like listening than viewing - do you agree?
I would agree as I don't know anyone that would choose to watch a music video because they like the video if they didn't like the song, however unlike normal listening your ears are pushed to listen to certain things by the images. Such as when a music video shows a drummer doing a fill your more likely to listen into that then the singing or guitar at that one point.
"We compensate imaginatively for what we do not see in the frame" - Agreed?
I would agree as music video is very disjointed so when we see two things which don't run into each other completely we create a link between the two. It's like if we see a ball and then a smashed window, it would be natural for us to create the link that the ball smashed it.
The constant motion in a music video and the variances it shows mean that a strong CU is a stable point. The music video "brings us towards these peaks, holds us against them, and then releases us" - do you agree?
I disagree as I can't see that a CU is always needed as a stable point as it is much more interesting to carry on at these 'peaks' rather then getting there then showing less exciting imagery. Music video isn't meant to be completely stable so why would it need to have this shot throughout. It is good to have beauty shots and CU's as it is the artist who needs to be shown off, however it doesn't mean this has to be compiled of only one type which it constantly goes back to.
Is the viewer "sutured (stitched) into the diegesis of the film world through the editing"?
I think to a degree they are as with performance it makes the audience feel they are actually there singing and playing there music, however i don't think it can be said that they feel too involved as it jumps around too much and doesn't have to have continuity which creates unrealistic videos.
Music video is freer in terms of viewer identification and perspective - agreed?
It depends on the video. Some directors will display a video which has many different viewings but another may only have one reading which the director forces on the audience. One video may be based on a concept where one person reads it as showing sadness but another may read it as happiness. I believe that both film and music video have the scope to be free but it is up to the director whether it is or not.
Carol Vernallis believes the image alone cannot tell the story - do you agree?
Definately. The music should always come first and the video second. Sometimes the image can tell a story but it is not the whole story that you get from seeing the video and hearing the music.

Dizzee Rascal Case Study

http://www.myspace.com/dizzeerascal http://www.dizzeerascal.co.uk/

1.Dizzee Rascal is an East-London born rapper/producer. He first was very much a 'grime' artist (english rapping style) but has now started to blend his songs with catchy dance music. His newest album shows the change in his style as he is no longer a grime artist but now he is alot more mainstream with the sudden rise in dance music.

2. Originally the fans were youths of around 13-21 who like grime music or rap. Now his music targets a much larger audience due to the catchy chorus' and dancefloor hooks. The change of genre is obvious from the collaborations on the new album, from dance artists such as Calvin Harris and Armand Van Helden. His new album coverwork, shows a more 'new rave' side, with bright colours, strange fonts and cartoon like style. This shows how the company is trying to advertise to the new audience. The videos are also very wacky and very different from the old ones. His earlier music included songs like 'sirens' where he was shown trying to escape from the police and 'fix up look sharp' which is a complete performance video. Now however, he is showing himself in parties raving and dancing showing the difference between audiences.

3. Dizzee Rascal offered a free album 'Foot N Mouth' for people who pre-ordered his new album 'Tongue N Cheek' from HMV, giving snippets, skits and songs from other artists from Dizzee Rascal's music label Dirtee Stank. This shows how he uses his own album to support his label and other artists. By giving out this free product he is giving the audience the chance to hear them and showcasing the other artists. He had a track called 'Jus' a Rascal' which featured on the soundtrack of Kidulthood. This shows synergy as the movie gets to use the music to create the atmosphere and Dizzee gets free advertising. He has collaborated with many artists to widen his market including Artic Monkeys on the song 'Temptation' which meant he could advertise to indie fans aswell as Artic Monkeys being able to advertise to grime fans. He also had a contract with Ecko and also created his own shoe for Nike.

Track Idea

I really like this song and really like the idea of going with a song from this sort of genre of acoustic rap as I think its very niche and never really been attempted before by a student.

Lyrics:

I know times seem rough

but for a 100 bad years is a thousand good ones

and that's real

(Chorus)

Oh, feel like the road so hard,

struggling right trying to stay strong,

I know, keep ya head up, oh, keep ya head up, keep ya head up

Never give up, Keep ya head up.

Everything going so wrong, got on one knee

Praying to my god

keep ya head up, keep ya head up, I never give up, never give up

(Verse 1)

This goes to ever dreamer, as a motivation,

The motive is to motivate, and indivually make it

I still made it, crusading, through the hating

the ocean waving, got me thinking of upgrading

mic skills like still, and the displacement,

my environment far out like strong safeties,

help me back like wave braces,

oh wait I forgot, no time to waste like aid patients,

so i keep going, on my own,

its like every morning I keep falling

when I'm barely crawling,

feel like my life on tall glasses, slow moments, I'm Paul Walling aw man

(Chorus)

(Verse 2)

Never let them judge even when its admitted,

I admit my past had lots of bad in it,

shouldn't stopped me being copied by the world should it,

I mean would I be wrong if I didn't evolve from it,

shit, my darlings got me up like slow signals,

saying I need my visual, I put my all in it,

tyga man's best friend slash no contenders

no competing, no one man league, one born one man leave,

is part of being from these wicked streets,

city thieves, commit trouble, eventually end up, in dirt shovelled

but stay focused you'll reach a higher level above abuse and baby sitters, wave setters

now better stage setters, rocking show, never regreting,

pricey clothes but always remembered when you had no dough

now you see the same folks living with hope, i told you so

(Chorus)

So you reached the end, or what I like to call, the beginning

so lets begin

just keep ya head up, and never give up

thats how I got here

What I like about the song is the mood to it, and i think it'd be really interesting for in a music video to have a guitarist and the rapper. Its also a very good feel good song so many ideas could be based around the idea of a struggle or things going wrong. Another idea is to have the video as very contrasting too the lyrics where everything starts to go wrong in the video but at the end the character is still happy.

Acoustic Rap?

Tupac Ft Nas-Thugz Mansion(Acoustic)

I find this song and video incredible. It combines to genres which are quite extremely different. There is a huge gap in the market for something like this as it turns what is normally seen as people shouting about guns and girls into something a lot more deep and meaningful. The video also works very well as it uses a very simple idea to convey a strong message. I think it is trying to portray the message of how anyone can get hurt by shootings and gang rivalry as well as showing that so many people are affected. By changing character faces but having the same goal it connotes a feeling of society and as every race is represented it powerfully shows how everyone could be affected. The pace is very slow to work with the song, and there is only a small focus on the performance putting emphasis on the narrative and message being portrayed.

Inspiration

Metallica-Frantic

I find this video brilliant as even though im nto a fan of the song, the video really conveys the song very well. The pace of the video works perfectly with the music which achors the songs sense of calm and then chaos. I really find inspiration from this as I think some of the techniques used are great. Such as at moments such as 3:17 where the chorus comes in, they edit between different CU's of the lead singer. This works in parrallel with the words of 'Frantic, Tic-Toc' and gives it a 'frantic' pace. Also the contrast in the verses, where everything moves fast except the character of the narrative moves very slowly. This works well as it this emphasises the slowness and change of pace.

BLK feedback

A good start to your background work for this project Shaun, but please try to avoid posting videos without any commentary/analysis - it's important to write something about them!!

You are a bit behind though, on some of last term's work - you need to catch up fast, as it will be so busy when we get back to school.

We also need to get you using/applying advanced theory more explicitly when you analyse music videos, think Vernallis for now, although you will also need to get to grips with Goodwin in the new term.

For now, your short term targets are:
1. Post your workshop and lip sync evaluations
2. Post the work you have done for Miss T on Vernallis (see her post on the main music video blog for specific details)
3. Post your track research/ideas – we need to see what tracks you have in mind for your own video
4. Put some inspirational/useful weblinks up
5. We need a photo please!

All instructions are on the main blog if you are not sure what you should have done. There will be a lot happening when term starts so the sooner this outstanding work is completed, the better.

Good effort so far, keep up the good work - more writing though please! - and see you soon!