Editing Audio

This is a screen shot of Alex and I editing the audio (Alex's song) on Garage Band. First we opened a 'New Project' and selected 'New Tracks' from the tracks menu in the toolbar on the left hand side. Then we clicked on the track and chose the setting, female vocals, and then we pressed the red recording button and Alex sang into the in-built microphone. To add loops you drag the selected loop into the timeline. On the left hand side you can adjust the track's volume and layer up different tracks. The 'Reverb' tool is on the right hand side; it's a slider tool which allows you to add depth to the vocals, as if the sound is reverberating off of the walls.

It was a simple programme to navigate and use; first we made sure the room we were recording in was sound proof, Alex then did some run throughs of the song to warm up her vocal cords, we then recorded her singing the song, and then layered on top of that a recording of her playing on her keyboard, we then embellished the track with extra recordings of instruments.

After we finished the actual editing of the track, we exported it and transferred it to my memory stick, which I then took to school and transferred the track to the iMac computer I am editing the music video on. So it was quite a quick and easy process, however I learnt how to utilise a new audio editing software which I had little experience on, so it was a valuable experience as it can also be used to do many other things such as voice overs.

Rough Soundtrack

This is the rough soundtrack for my music video; the song is called Against The Wind written and sung by Alex Williams. Alex recorded and produced it in Garage Band, she was inspired by aspiring artists who post their songs on YouTube, such as, Madilyn Bailey. Her music style is a mixture of Mumford and Sons nostalgia, and Colbie Caillat's dreamy vocals.

Constructing the song took a surprisingly short amount of time - I thought it would be a long and draining process. Luckily Alex had a clear idea of what she wanted the track to sound like, so I let her get on with it, but I still gave her advice and told her my opinions along the way.

When we finished recording the song we asked our sisters (aged 17 and 14 years old - who are within our target audience) and Alex's friends (15 years old - also within our target audience) if they would choose to listen to this song: they all said yes. One of Alex's friends downloaded it to her iTunes and (quote) 'has been listening to it on repeat!' This proves that we have created a song that will appeal to our target audience of 14 - 19 year old girls.

I've attached her song to my 'Practice shots music video' which originally had a Mumford and Sons song as the soundtrack, coincidentally the editing actually fits really well with Alex's song as well. However the software I used to create the music video, iMovie, has cut off the end instrumental of the song, so it isn't the complete version. We will have to investigate why this has happened and hopefully sort it out as we need the full song in an MP3 format so I can sync it with the finished music video.

Analysed Song Lyrics

These are the lyrics to Alex's song 'Against The Wind' which I have analysed (in red pen) to show the deeper meaning I wish to portray through the music video. The song is all about breaking free from the crowd, being yourself and not caring about what other people think of you. I think every teenager can relate to these lyrics as we all go through moments like these in our lives, so this song will appeal to the target audience of 14 - 19 year olds - particularly girls.

 

I have also written down some of my initial ideas for the music video (in green pen) which will illustrate or amplify the lyrics of the song (thus following Andrew Goodwin's music video theory). One of my main ideas is to film most of the shots in an outside location as the lyrics are constantly referencing nature (particularly birds).

 

Alex and I have taken on a collaborative working relationship for creating this music video as she wrote the song and is voicing her own views on what she wants to convey through the video which I am taking on board. Alex is my sister which is good as we both work well together, understand one another and listen to each others ideas, we also both have a very similar vision for the music video.

 

Representation

The stereotypical representation of teenage girls in the average music video is that they are self obsessed, vain, weak, desperate and are almost always singing about disasters in their love life (e.g. Taylor Swift). In a large percentage of music videos (particularly Rap, Hip Hop and R'n' B) women are portrayed as objects of sexual desire and lust which is conveyed through revealing costumes, provocative dance moves and suggestive lyrics, as seen in most Beyonce music videos. These adult themes also follow Goodwin's theory relating to features of voyerism through visual motifs such as mirrors and looking through windows. This style of music video isn't appropriate for young girls who tend to be the common demographic that watch them. These music videos have become an increasingly controversial topic as they don't contain ideal role models for impressionable girls to look up to and fuels the theory that children are growing up too fast and being sexualised in this modern day and age.

I would like my music video to go against both of these stereotypes by portraying the artist as a strong, independent and talented girl which would be subverting the stereotypical representation of teenage girls in society and the media. This independence will be conveyed through the lyrics of her song which will be amplified through the shot types that evoke authority and control (e.g. low angle shots). My music video will definately not contain a voyeristic approach as I think it's wrong to expose girls to inapropriate adult themes, and this style of music video would certainly not fit into the Indie genre. I have already seen through my genre research that most female Indie artists are displyed as care-free, fun, independent, and talented, which is the perfect role model for young girls in our modern society.

Taylor Swift

Kina Grannis

Beyonce

Chosen Singer/Songwriter Profile

My chosen artist is Alex Williams who is a 15 year old student, she enjoys playing the keyboard, guitar, and has a talent for singing. She writes her own songs and we are currently in the process of choosing a song for the music video. I chose Alex to be my artist as I admire the style of her songs; her lyrics are full of emotion and convey key events in her life, which I think would appeal to other teenage girls as they can relate to similar experiences that are depicted through Alex's lyrics. I also think there is a gap in the market for a young teenage girl who writes about the normal experiences of life.

I would like Alex to be represented as a strong and independent individual which will be illustrated through the shot types (e.g. low angle shot to evoke authority) and meaning of her lyrics. This will subvert the stereotypical representation of similar female artists such as, Taylor Swift, who are usually portrayed as self obsessed, vain and reliant on boys. 

Music Video: Style Research

This is a Prezi Presentation on existing music videos within my chosen genre of Indie Pop, which I would like my music video to be influenced by. I like these for a variety of different reasons; the unique style, location, creativity, mise en scene, editing or shot types featured. I have written a short analysis on each music video explaining what I like about them and how I could incorporate the features I like into my own music video.

Music Video: Style Inspiration on Prezi

Music video directors' profiles

Here is a Prezi Presentation about five eminent feature film directors who have cut their teeth on music videos.
I really admire Anton Corbijn's creative approach to film-making which is obvious through his colourful, eccentric and slightly unusual Nirvana music video. I also like Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer which was his first full length feature film, I would like to emulate the light hearted, quirky, indie style of this particular film.

Music video directors on Prezi

Indie pop Genre

The Indie genre is an umbrella genre which encompasses a wide variety of individual subgenres, including indie rock, indie folk, indie electro, indie rap, indie metal. My chosen artist considers her music as indie pop which is another indie hybrid. I have researched this genre and found that the main conventions of indie pop music is that it's lighter and less depressing than indie rock with a more melodic tune and the typical indie background guitar, this perfectly summarises my artist's music. Current indie pop artists include; Bombay Bicycle Club, Mumford And Sons, VV Brown, Noah And The Whale, Lucy Rose and Corinne Bailey Rae. All of which I will research and use their music videos/promotional packages as inspiration for my own media products. I have looked at a few indie pop music videos and here is my first impression of the main conventions; a rural location, an abundance of focus pulls, quirky/ tomboyish costumes, a happy/light-hearted atmosphere, an artistic/creative touch e.g. animation and a combination of performance and narrative conventions.

Music video genres

Genre is important for audiences...
Audiences want to be able to tell what certain music videos contain, e.g. the style, narrative and characters. This allows audiences to select their favourite genre. The particular codes and conventions portray certain genres, so audiences need these to recognise various genres.

Genre is important for Institutions...

Music videos are mainly for marketing the music to a particular audience. Therefore certain codes and conventions which represent different genres allow music videos to attract different target audiences, thus directly marketing their music.

Conventions within music videos...

• props
• costume
• star status
• narrative structure
• performance structure
• settings
• multiple locations
• synchronization
• character types
• visual imagery
• Iconography
• montage/continuity editing
• Genre hybrids
• Theme

Audience Pleasures

Genres particularly within film give the audience either; anticipation, expectation, or prediction. Within music videos the conventions which represent different genres give the audience a connection with the artist.

Hip hop - Consists of stylised rhythmic music usually accompanied by rapping, the music is known for it's roughness and grit. Hip hop originated in the 1970s when block parties became popular in New York City, particularly among African American and Latino young people who lived in the Bronx. 1990 was considered the year that Hip hop exploded, now there are many famous Hip hop artists. E.g. Kanye West.

Rock - Originated as 'Rock and Roll' in 1950s America, it drew strongly on folk and Blues. Its centered around the electric guitar, usually as part of a rock group with bass guitar and drums. E.g. Guns n Roses.

R&B - Popular African American music which originated in the 1940s, originally called 'Rhythm and Blues'. Contemporary R&B has a polished record production style, drum backed rhythms, an occassional saxophone to give a jazz feel and a smooth vocal arrangement. E.g. Whitney Houston.

Pop - An abbreviation of 'Popular', originated in the 1950s, deriving from 'Rock and Roll'. The music includes an electric beat, repeated choruses and melodic tunes written in a basic format. Pop is normally regarded as a softer alternative to 'Rock and Roll', which is aimed at a youth market. E.g. Katy Perry. 

Jazz - Originated at the beginning of the 21st Century (known as 'Ragtime') in black communities in Southern United States. It formed from a mix of African and European music traditions. Blue notes, improvisation and polyrythms are key ingredients to Jazz music. The music draws on many different national, regional and local music cultures. E.g. Louis Armstrong.

Indie - An abbreviation of 'Independent', this is music which has an autonomus (do-it-yourself) approach to making music, as they're independent from major record labels. Traditionally Indie music was different and challenging; it didn't shy away from politics and opposed trends in popular culture. Now it is seen as mostly guitar music with a unique or creative style. E.g. Noah And The Whale.

Country - American popular music which originated in rural areas of the Southern United States. It derived from American Folk music and Western cowboy. It often consistes of ballads and dance tunes accompanied by mostly string instruments, such as banjoes. E.g. Carrie Underwood.

Basic conventions of a music video

Performance
The band or music artist is performing the song throughout the music video.
Narrative
The song involves a narrative, so the lyrics and meaning of the song are acted out in some way.
Mixture
Where there is a musician playing as well as a narrative storyline occurring and the camera cuts from one to the other.
Cameo
Where the musician features in the narrative but is not actually part of the storyline and does not perform in it.
Animation
Music videos which are all or partly animated.

Andrew Goodwin's 'Dancing In The Distraction Factory'

This is a presentation about Andrew Goodwin's book 'Dancing In The Distraction Factory' which explains the key features of music videos and how to analyse them, which I found particularly interesting.

Andrew Goodwin's 'Dancing In The Distraction Factory' on Prezi

Music Videos

What is a music video?
A music video is a short film involving a song and imagery, produced to promote a song or for artistic purposes. In 1926 with the arrival of 'talkies' many musical short films were produced, however music videos came into prominence during the 1980s when MTV made them there focus. The basic conventions of a music video are narrative (telling a story in a chronological structure), performance (the artist performing the song), or both performance and narrative. The technological revolution made making music videos much easier due to the relatively cheap video cameras and easy to use editing equipment. I think the best music videos have a combination of both performance and narrative as it's more exciting for the viewer to watch, however I will investigate this and watch different examples and then make a conclusion.

Where do they appear?
In 1981 the U.S video channel M.T.V launched which was the first official T.V channel to air non-stop music videos. The rise of the internet has made broadcasting of music videos easy for 'the average person', and more accessible. The website iFilm launched in 1997 and since it has hosted short films, including music videos. In 2005 YouTube was launched, which made the viewing of music videos much faster and easier. It also allowed unknown musicians to attract attention from record producers, music agents, and to also build a fan base. For example Justin Bieber was an unknown YouTube artist before a record company found him and signed him to their label; YouTube was paramount to his success. VEVO is a music video website launched in 2009 by some major music publishers, in which Google, YouTube and VEVO shared the advertising revenue.