Semiotics;

Concerning how signs create meanings, semiotics is a widely used approach for the analysis of various texts; from linguistics to any number of medias containing meaningful signs.
Ferdinand de Saussure divided every sign into two components; the material object - the 'signifier' and its perceptions and meanings - the 'signified' (e.g. a red traffic light means 'stop'). The combination of these = the sign. Another key theorist who developed Saussure's work to visuals was the French critic Roland Barthes, who's ideas helped progress semiotics the analysis of media texts. Barthes defined how signs 'denote' in displaying what they are, but how they 'connote' certain meanings. For example, the image of a Rolls Royce car connoted wealth, luxury and high social status to audiences.

SEMIOTIC ANALYSIS TOOLS
Iconography "what do ideas, signs, objects or people stand for? what meanings are made when they are combined?" and "with what values do we associate with them?" it revolves around the idea of 'icons' - signs that are loaded with meanings, but have varying degrees of resemblance to what they represent. Roland Barthes described how we recognise icons through 'shared cultural idelogies'.

- objects are described by Barthes as 'inducers of associations of ideas' (i.e. we associate signs with certain people/places/ideas. e.g. a gun).
- settings, blurred, hard to define backgrounds usually indicate that the image is intending to symbolise rather than document, and they can also make associations with other parts of the image. A posh, cosmopolitan town connotes sophistication and class, for example.
- participants used; Aries discussed how children carry connotations of romanticisms and vulnerability, pure and natural in the face of evil and suffering, whilst Lutz and Collins saw old men as signs of peace and gentleness.
- colour; how the colours are used and their connotions and what they signify.
- framing and composition; what is included/excluded in the shot? Why? Are people composed in the centre, or to one side? What does this communicate?
- social actors; how are they represented?

Theories;

Narrative Theory

EQUILIBRIUM/DISEQUILIBRIUM - Tzvetan Todorov
Todorov proposed that a narrative is a fictional environment, which begins with a state of equilibrium; suffers a disruption; creating a disequilibrium before a new equilibrium is achieved at the end of the story.

Todorov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five stages;

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset;
2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action;
3. A recognition that there has been a disruption;
4. An attempt to repair/resolve the disruption;
5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium

EQUILIBRIUM → DISRUPTION → RECOGNITION → RESOLUTION → NEW EQUILIBRIUM

Genre Theory

STEVE NEALE - "genre is a repetition with an underlying pattern of variation" which means some generic features must remain the same whilst others can change (or new things can be introduced).

Audience Theory

STAR THEORY - Richard Dyer
Dyer argues that "stars" are not real people but actually constructions (usually shaped by the record companies through styling, advertising, fomulating stories, etc). These stars are seen to promote certain values and beliefs (or ideologies), like particular styles (hair) or trends (twitter) or causes (organ donors). They are usually based around youth and sexuality. Stars provide audiences with a focus for ideas of 'what people are supposed to be like' (e.g. women, thin/beautiful). They may support hegemony by conforming to it (thin/beautiful) or providing difference (fat/still loveable). A stars' video gives a clear indication of their interests, moods, appetites and lifestyle at a particular point in time. These filter through to the audience and affect their own interests/lifestyles. A pop star's persona, therefore, as depicted in terms of character and personality, is a fragile thing which meeds constant nurturing, and is the product of constant discourse between the star and his or her audience.

Questionnaire Results;

Taking into account the questionnaire results I decided to do a song which is up-tempo mainly being R&B and pop. With a target audience of 16-18 year old's. The results that I received were mainly by girls this has effected the way that I have created the story board. Also because of the story board I thought it would be a good idea to add a story to the song which runs throughout as most people who finished the questionnaire said they would prefer a story. This maybe because it makes the video more interesting and helps the audience to stay engaged in it. Just a simple idea of having a boy and a girl attracted to each other. This would also bee good as the majority of the people are girls and they like romance.

Questionnaire Results;

 

The majority of our questionnaires were completed by females with only three males. This could affect our results as females may seek something different from a music video than males.

As shown in the pie chart the majority of the people who did a questionnaire prefer R&B and Pop. This has also influenced our song choice as we decided to do a up tempo, 

We decided to aim our music video around the 16-18 region mainly based on the results from the questionnaire as then we could add in some of the point that they said would make a good music video.

As you can see from this pie chart that the majority of the people who filled in a questionnaire watched over 10 music video's per week. This meant that the other results would be very useful as they know what type of music video they like.

The  main thing that people said for this question was that there had to be a story to the video to make it more interesting this made sense and therefore when we begin to do the storyboard we are going to try and do a story for example have someone walking thorough different times of day and following him.

"What do you expect to see in a music video?" As you can see from the results most people said they would prefer to see varied shots and the artist singing. 

 We found out from these results that most people found the introduction of a music video important.

Questionnaire;

What gender are you?

         F        M

What age are you?

13-15    16-18    18+

What type of music refers to you? (Choose one)

R&B             Country and Western

Hip Hop        Classical

Rock             Acoustic

Pop

Rap

How many pop video’s do you see a week?

0-3    4-7    5-10    10-14

What do you expect to see in a music video? (Choose three)

Bright colours                  Colour effects

Varied shots                    Special effects

Shots of the performer    Famous people

Dancing                          The artist singing

Words on screen            

Do you prefer a story in the video or just dancing? And why? (Circle one)

How important would you find an introduction is in a music video? And why? (Circle one)

0 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10

I conducted this questionnaire so that I could get some ideas of what kind of target audience I was looking at producing a video for, this including age and gender. I also wanted their opinion on what parts of the video they feel are the most important. I find that basing my video around the results of this questionnaire will help me as they are all around the same age, which will be my target audience, this will also give me a good understanding of what type of things they are looking for in a video and what they feel is important.

Student Video Analysis;

As part of my research and planning I wanted to watch another students music video to give me some ideas of what would look good within my own music video. I watched this one which was "Beautiful" by "Akon". It stars 3 males who are all performers within the video.

I like the way there different shots which show them singing in different locations. This brings variety to the music video and helps to keep the audience entertained, this I feel would be a good thing to have in my music video. Although my locations would be slightly different as my genre is Hip-Hop and theirs is .... I also like the way different shots used, a long shot, a close up and a mid shot all add to this variety within the video. One thing I would say which is negative is the way the shots are positioned could of been more interesting maybe using a low angle or high angle shot depending on how confident they are. As I plan to use a Hip-Hop video I believe my performers would be confident, so maybe I could use a low angled shot to show confidence.

Within this video there is also some cutaways of them in a "club" singing. I think that this is a really good idea but I would want to make my club scene look more realistic so making it all blacked out with better lighting, for example strobe lighting.

I would also have more people in my club scene to make the club look busy and lively, as the aim of a music video is to promote the single so having a club full of people shows that this is a popular song which can be enjoyed. Having only the performers in the club I feel sends out the wrong message to people and is not the way I would want to present this scene.

Their performances throughout this video I feel does not directly address the type of audience the song is aiming at. They are more "boyish" for example in one scene one of the performers is wearing a Liverpool shirt. This gives off the impression of a typical lad who likes to watch football and slob around, which does not link with the lyrics in the song. They do not use many props, only a cider can, which again gives the impression of a teenage yob.

 I feel overall this video has some aspects which are inventive but I would look to develop these ideas and make them more realistic and professional than they are.

Key media concepts;

Mise-en-scène refers to everything that appears before the camera and its arrangement such as;

· Composition

· Production Design (sets, props and costumes)

· Actors’ performance (including casting and make up) and movement (blocking)

· Colour (present in both production design and lighting)

· Costumes

· Lighting

· Framing including position; depth of field; aspect ratio; height and angle (but not movement)

· Diagetic sound (music that is not being played within the scene or a voice-over)

· Location

It is also an expression which is generally used in theatre and film to describe the aspects of a production. This is generated through the construction of shots and the ways in which they lead to visual coherence flowing across the edits from shot to shot.

Location is an important aspect of mise-en-scène because it makes you contemplate: why was that particular location chosen, what atmosphere was it intending to create and what advantages/restrictions would you associate with filming there? Henceforth, location is a key factor which contributes to the overall effect of a film/music video/theatre production which you need to consider before filming.

Different Camera Shots:

• Close-up: This shot is generally used to show the reaction of a character.
• Medium Shot: This shot is used to show the background and also the appearance of characters
• Long Shot: A long shot is used to establish the setting/location of where the action will take place.
• High Angle Shot: This is usually used to create a feeling that a character is vulnerable.
• Low Angle Shot: Creates a feeling of power and superiority. It can also be considered as a point-of-view shot on the part of the threatened character. The camera is tilted upwards on its axis.
• Extreme Close-up: This often creates a feeling of unease as we don't know what else is happening around it as the focus is on what's in the shot. It also shows us the emotion and reactions of characters.
• Point-of-View Shot: This helps the narrative and evokes sympathy in us as we feel involvement in the situation. It also shows the reactions of characters e.g. during an interview, or confrontation.
• Two Shot: A shot with two characters in the frame.

Camera Movements:

• Tracking Shot: The camera follows the action and is often pulled backwards from a scene along tracks laid for that purpose.
• Panning Shot: The camera moves slowly across from side to side.
• Tilt Shot: The camera moves up and down.
• Rolling Shot: The camera moves diagonally making the image appear in a crooked position.
• Crane: The camera is positioned on a crane above ground level.

Research;

Pop Star Theory;
The terms "pop star" and "pop performer" have become interchangeable - strictly speaking, in media terms they are not the same thing. The study of the stars as media tests/components of media texts demands that the distinction to be made between those who are simply known for performing pop music and those who are known for being pop stars, who have an identity of persona which is not restricted just to their musicianship.
One of the reasons so many pop performers are described as pop stars is that they are quickly promoted to this status by their management. This is easily done courtesy of a few judiciously placed stories, a famous boyfriend/girlfriend, attendance at premieres/parties and a feature in NOW magazine. It can be easy to forget about the music in the light of the outfits or love affairs. These are some who appear to leapfrog the performer stage entirely, but they do have to go through it.
However a true pop star does have a lasting significance, and has "brand awareness" amongst a wider market over a period of time. Many of the so-called pop stars thronging the pop forty have not made a sufficient sociological or cultural impact to be classified as true stars.





 This was one of our main options as a song and the style of the video as there is a lot of short takes. Another thing that I like about the video is that it follows the singer throughout the day from morning to night. There is a lot of random cut aways throughout the video this makes the video more interesting. I also like the way that there is a shot of a lot of people dancing around this could be a good idea for our video. This video mainly focuses on one person who is the singer in the words of Dyer "stars are commodities produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings" meaning that they are played to their strengths which would help more people watch the video.



This song mainly fits into the type of video we were initially looking at doing as it is very fast tempo which would fit into the short sharp takes that I thought would be a good idea as it makes the audience more interesting. One our main shot which i think would be a good idea would to have a shot of a lot of people dancing this song would be good as it fits in well with the song and also the video shows the same ideas.



This song contrasts greatly with our first two options, although I have many ideas which would fit in well with this song, mainly having a boy and girl falling in love maybe on a beach. I also like the tempo of the song as it relates to the kind of genre I think would work with this song.



The video starts in black and white which gives a different feel to a music video and also helps to create impact as soon as the colours show up on the screen. The writing I think is very effective as it is very colourful and different fonts for each word this makes the audience more interested in the video and also makes the video seem a lot faster pace. In this video the artists are made to be dancing an stood on top of a police car as Dyer says "a star is an image not a real person that is contructed.



In the video "Buzzin" there is many impact points within the video this is shown by the short takes which change as the song changes tempo. if we were to do an up tempo song I think this would be a good idea as it would add impact and also gives the music video more interesting shots. There is also special effects used which creates the same effects.

Introduction;

My name is Rachel Brent and I am working on my own on producing a music video. I was originally working in a group of four but they left sixth form, I am now on my own. Some of my early ideas are doing an Hip-Hop song which would be with fast pace cutting and flashing lights. I was thinking of using Chris Brown - 'Look At Me Now' as this is a quick pace song which would allow me to do the cutting and editing that I want.

Brief;

1. A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with the following:

• a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).