Textual Analysis for Ancillary tasks

Textual Analysis for Ancillary tasks

Analysis for Album covers

 

 

In this album cover the title of the album is called 'unapologetic' which is clearly shown by it being scratched away as if something else had been written there. Rihanna is clearly not wearing any clothes but is covered by words in graffiti which show different feelings which have been shown in many songs of this album, by her being naked on the album cover shows that she has been stripped bare and is not afraid to show her true feelings and is confident about showing it. Also by the word LOVE being covered over her face shows that the songs in this album are mostly related to her feelings she has experienced during being in love. The style of Rihanna seems to be very wild and daring by the tattoos and the fierce black lipstick and eyeliner this gives us the impression that she wild and racey and is very confident with by her having no costume this also shows to us that she is bringing an element of sexuality to the image. This could be targeted to a male audience.

 

 

 

 

In this album cover the title of this is called lights. This is well represented in this iamgery by using artificial lighting surrounding her face to make her seem glowing and spiritual and magical, I have also noticed that the title is glowing which also carries on the glowing effect throughout the picture. The background shows nature and representing more simple background instead of it being in a studio. By the album cover being spiritual and magical by the use of editing different light effects these themes are represented in her songs by portraying freedom and inner feelings, this is also represented by the way she has her head so it looks as if she is releasing her feelings that are portrayed by light. The costume that ellie is wearing is very covered up and isnt revealing which shows to us that she just wants people to be drwan to her face. The compostion of Ellie is very central and is a close up shot which shows us that the main focal point of the image is her as the background is blurred out. 

 

 

 

In this Album cover the artists name is clearly shown in gold capital letters, by it being a different colour to the rest of the image which is in black and white. This shows us she wants her name to be well known. In the image Beyonce has alot of lighting to make her seem the main focal point of the image whereas the background is mainly darker and is not of much importance. Her makeup is very dramatic and it also relates to the album cover name which is I AM....SASHA FIERCE this shows that she wants to be seen as being fierce racey and quite sexual. The clothing in which she is wearing is quite revealing but is still quite classy with all the jewellery and hair done up. With her wearing alot of jewellry the lights which are making her appear brighter are shiny so makes it seem she is wearing expensive things. The way in which she is sat is quite closed off and quite sultry her facial expression seems quite mysterious and wild.

 

 

In this image the title is shown sideways and is in bright capital letters, This shows that the title of the album is important but the artists face is more important, However her face is hidden by a shadow, this then relates to the title of the album being named afraid, so by there being a shadow covering her face shows she is not that confident to show her whole face in the image. The lighting on her face is very dramatic which is most probably a form of natural lighting.and artificial lighting.The style of her makeup seems to be very dark with all the dark shadowing on top of that.

 

Conclusion

 

 How this had helped me with my ancillary taks ideas is that i have learnt that different artists want to portray different view across to their audiences for the the type of genre of music they do. The type of album cover which i will most probably be taking ideas from is the beyonce album cover

as the album she produced there is the same idea being shown such as the artist having two sides to her. What i have also learnt from this is that when making an album cover you need to make sure that everything matches and doesnt look out of place otherwise it can look messy and un-organized and can put people off of buying your product. I think also that this has helped me realise how much the album cover matters into advertising your product because it is how the public are going to persieve your item and then determine if they like the look of it and want to buy the album and listen to it.

Textual analysis

Music video - textual analysis :

Ellie goulding -  your song!

In this shot we first get the view of Ellie sat on the train from a close up view of the side of her face this shows to us that the songs video is going to be mainly about her because the background behind her is out of focus and her face is in focus.

Also the background colours are green which relates to nature and that she is near the outdoors. Her facial expression shows us that she is thinking about something.

 

In this shot you get a view of her feet which still tells us that this video is mainly about her.

and also that the video is going to be based outside and by the fact that she is wearing boots shows us it is a cold time of year also by the leaves and grass around her feet it also shows us that it is set in the autumn because there are brown and reddish leaves on the floor.

  I would also like to include some shots like this in my music video.

 

In this shot we see a view of Ellie on a train this shows us that is a very casual video and isnt too set up to seem very modern like using lots of technological things. The shot that is used is a mid-long shot, also what we see is that the front area of the picture is blurred so it focus's more on her so she is the main attention in the shot.

 

In this shot we see leaves which relates to the theme of nature in this video which show us the whats going on other than focusing on the artist singing this can then make the audience listen more the artist voice and not focus on how they look. I also like the use of colours they have used because it relates to the time of year that the song was released which was autumn winter and also the colours are quite uplifting.

 

 

In this shot the sunlight  is used to make Ellie seem more goddess like and make her imperfections dissapear to make her seem perfect. Also the filter that they have used makes us focus more on her face becaue there is a glowing light shining on too her face.
 

 

In this shot we get a view of Ellie putting her head out the window of a train indicating to us that she is going somewhere here you can also see that her face is mainly in focus and that the background is slightly blurred which is again relating to nature by the trees and countryside. Which makes her face stand out more. we also see that the sun is also hitting her face again in this shot too make her seem like the main focal point of the shot.

In this shot we get a view of her face from the side with another blurred out background which has been edited to look more glowing which is reflecting on her face to make her more radient and flaw free. By using this kind of natural lighting it makes the video more happier and not so gloomy so it is quite uplifting and compliments the song in a good way.

In this shot we get a long shot of a building which shows where Ellie now is this shows us that she is in hereford how they have edited this picture is that it has a slightly misty look to it too maybe make it look old and a bit alternative. Also what i have noticed is that there is a change as to where she is and that she has mayeb gone from being around the countryside of hereford to the city-life.

In this shot we get a close up view of Ellie's hands playing on the piano  in a darker atmosphere this shows that she is now in a house and in a different location so they are changing there mis-sen-scene. Also i have noticed that the fore-ground of the shot is actually blurred and her hands are in focus so that we notice she is playing the piano. This is also showing us that she also likes to perform the song in her videos. In my music video i am also going to plan to do something like this in mine.

In this shot we get a view of ellie holding a kitten this shows us again that the music video is quite casual as too what she is doing in it. I have also noticed that the whole shot is all focus. I also think that Ellie face isnt really the main focus of the image as she is really not in the shot.

 

 

In this shot we get a mid-shot of Ellie is mainly a central shot  as we can see in the background she is in a park. Also what you can notice is that Ellie hasnt really put much effort into how she looks which shows us that it is a very casual shot of her.

The lighting in this shot is very bright and makes her seem quite noticable.

 

 

 In this shot we get a side view of Ellie singing, This makes the video seem more professional by seeing her singing in a recording studio. This shot doesnt last very long but is still quite effective.

I would also like to use this kind of shot in my music video because i feel it make the singer feel more like an artist.

 

In this shot we get a view of Ellie at a waterfall i think that this is a good shot because it links again to her being in the countryside. Also in this shot Ellie is out of focus and the waterfall is in focus so we get a better view of the surrounding's.

 

 

In this shot we get a view of the city where was in the last couple of shots from on a rooftop. This is a long shot and as we can see it is  very grey and cloudy day it makes the atmosphere seem quite dull and not too happy because of the cold weather. Also in this shot we also see that the foreground is more in focus then the background.

 





 

My conclusion

 

To conclude i think that the music video is very casual and laid back  as the genre of the music video is acoustic/soulful music so isnt as up beat as the majority of music videos these days which are mainly based upon the genre of pop. Also music videos which are pop-related they are very set-up with dancers and up to date fashion and also having a high use of technology with the editing process to make things seem more futuristic. However on the other hand this music video has barely any highly technical editing skills because the location is just the outside and in a house which is fairly basic but effective. How i intend to relate this to my music video is that i am going to use the same concept of music video by it being very related to every day life. How i think this has helped me with my music video is that it has gave me some inspirations in to what i can include in the background of my music video to link in with the song. As the music video i have analysed is in the same sort of genre as my music video is going to be it has helped me gain some knowledge into what other arist include in the same sort of music videos as me. This textual analysis has also helped into knowing what kind of camera angles and shots i should be using for my music video and how the camera angles will gain attention to my audience for the type of genre my music video is. Overall i shall take on board alot of aspects from this music video. 

conventions of a music video

What are the conventions of a music video?


The reasons in to why i have chosen to explain the conventions of a music video is because i think that this will help me with my overall outcome of my music video and guide through what aspects i need to achieve and include in my final outcome. Also this will give me a better understanding of the basis of music videos and the reasonings behind the some of the artists and producers ideas into creating certain videos. I also think that this will help know what i need to inlcude into making a successful video such as what props and costumes i need to include and what is going to help me portray the genre my music video is.

Plot

The first convention in which i have found is that i need to include a good plot to base my music video on, such as a breakup or a family arguement or a love story these are the typical types of scenarios you would expect to get in novels which links to reasons why many artists include a plot in there songs because the lyrics to songs are like they are telling stories so artists want to portray the story or journey through a visual journey to show there chosen audience a better idea of the lyrics meanings and the reasonings behind it.

camera shots/angles and editing

Another convention in which i have found is the use of camera angles and shots in music videos these are all used in different ways in certain music videos so they can be varied to what the artist wants to either follow the story behind the song or to follow the certain genre in which they are trying to put across to the audience. These shots can be anything from close ups mid-shots extreme close ups or long distance shots. All of these shots need to be quite quick and snappy i have noticed so in some ways it can go along with the beat or rhythm of a music video this helps the music video look more asthectically pleasing to the eye of the audience. With the type of modern technology we have these days the angles of diffferent shots can be shown in different ways and can be shown as being distorted or edited in a certain way to look as the genre of the music video such as the music video i have shown below where they have used an editing skill which makes it look like the screen is moving.

The use of mis-sen-scene

Mis-sen-scene is an important convention to a music video because it represents most of the music video because it makes up the background the setting and location for all music videos and makes them what they are different settings can be in places like a nightclub or in a street, in the woods typical places where you would expect certain music videos to be filmed. Mis-sen-scene also represents the genre of the vidoe by having certain lighting effects in the location or setting it is in which makes the whole effect to show the audience what the artist is trying to portray a good example of this is the music video by Paramore which is set in the woods and is from the film twilight Paramore have included clips from the film and included the same settings which is the woods and the lighting in the video is mainly dark which shows us that it is a gloomy and dark song or is showing us that the film is most likely going to be gloomy and mysterious.

Costumes/props/makeup/hair

All of these things are an important convention to all music videos because it represents the genre of every music video depending on the artist such as rock videos would be shown as being more grey and dark and eery colours which would make it seem more mysterious and the costumes for the people in the video would be gothic and dark and the makeup would be more black around the eyes and pale skin. For the camera angles it would have the singer being shown with the band and have shots from either up of from a worms eye view to make them seem more in power if it was representing a rock band as whereas a pop music video would be shown as being bright colourful and full of happy things and the people in the music video would be wearing bright makeup and have big hair. The type of shots that would mainly be shown in this is the location and there would be extreme close ups of the person who is singing and there would most likely be dancers, a good example of this would be katy perrys song california girls where the location is by the beach but is mainly animated and is a made up place with very bright colours and the artist who is singing in the video is wearing very bright and colourful things.

Conclusion

I think that this has helped me alot to understand the conventions of a music video and helped me understand the reasons behind why certain artists have different ideas and aspects on how to create a music video, i think that this has helped me alot to give me ideas for my overall music video in which i am going to plan. It has also showed which conventions are the most critical ones in which i have to stick to and ones that you can alter to make your own. I think this has also helped me to know which kind of camera shots i need to be taking in order to create the right atmosphere for my music video.
How i think this has helped for my music video is that i can see how well conventions are meant to fit in with the genre of music video that you are creating and how it makes the video what it is. I think that what i can take on board from this is that for my genre of romance i need to consider what that my chracters are in the right type of clothing for the genre and the background links in to the right story for the video and mixes in well with genre this will then hopefully mean that my music video is easy to watch for my audience and that they will be able to watch the video and be interested in what the video is trying to portray which is a break-up.

history and development

History and Development!

Where were the first music videos broadcast?



The first music videos to be made were by The Beatles called strawberry fields forever in 1967 and Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen in 1975. These videos were first broadcasted on MTV (music television video) which was first launched in 1981. MTV originally is an intialism of music television is an American cable television channel based in New York City. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by personalities known as video jockeys. In its early year MTV’s main target demographic were young adults, but todays MTV broadcasts are primarily aimed at adolescents and teenagers.




       The Beatles - strawberry fields forever



                                                      



                                                        

                                    Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody



What cinematography did they use?

In 1951 the first video tape recorder captured live images from television cameras by converting the cameras electrical impulses and saving the information on to a magnetic video tape. Video recorders were sold for $50,000 in 1956 and video tapes cost $300 per one hour-reel. However prices gradually dropped in 1971.

What was editing like?

Before the widespread non-linear editing systems, the initial editing of all films was done with a positive copy of the film negative called a film work print by physically cutting and pasting together pieces of film, using a splicer and threading the film on the machine with a viewer such as a moviola.

How have music videos changed?

music videos have changed alot over the years by how they are edited because these days you can add alot more special effects to videos such as artificial lighting.Also the way videos are edited these days is much quicker to do then how it would have been back in the 90s due to more advanced technology.

However on the other hand some music artists like bruno mars like to make there music videos seem more like how the were in the 70s or 80s which can be quite nostalgic too some audiences.
Like for example the editing in this video has been made to make the video seem more old and be more subtle by having the artist just playing on the piano so it makes the audience think about the music more then whats happening in the video.

So overall music videos have changed but then some music artist like to relate back to the 70s and 80s just to make realisation that the older style music videos are not out of date and that newer technology music videos havent ruled the music industry just yet.

My conclusion

To conclude i think that music videos have changed alot throughout the years by the much more advanced technology we have these days. Music videos are going to be continually evolving and becoming more futuristic but however some artists who have a different genre of music such as the one above will like to keep to having a more less futuristic music videos which will please to different audience's such as the one which i talked about above. How i think this has helped me with my ideas for my music video is that it has helped me see how much music videos can develop and what kind of approach i need to take for my genre of music video.