As part of our research into music videos, we tried out lip-syncing for ourselves. Charlotte and I did "Sound of the Underground" by Girls Aloud. We filmed and edited it in about an hour and a half on the spur of the moment, and I think it's not too bad!
One thing I noticed was that the parts which people find the funniest are often the parts which we perform the most seriously; as in, really in character and going all out. This will help me in my actual music video, and I think this was a great test run.
I learnt that to make it believable that a person is singing and not miming, they have to actually sing it. We turned the music up really loud so you couldn't hear us (we sounded a little bit screechy) and we took off the microphone. This meant we could go wild and not be TOO embarrassed about it.
We tried to vary the shot types, and kept the camera moving to match the grungy rock style of the song. We also moved around a lot; dancing, swirling etc to make the visuals interesting, since the background and costumes were quite monochrome (which we hadn't planned!)
All in all, I think it was a successful preliminary task, since the video is engaging to look at, and yet doesn't overpower the song.
1. What do you think you learnt from Friday's workshop? It could be specific things about making a music video OR general things about the production process.
I think Friday's workshop was a great insight into how music videos are produced, and it was also a lot of fun. I learnt the value of pre-production, making choices early on so that on the shoot you have the ability to be able to deviate from the schedule, but you need something to deviate from. It became obvious that organisation was key in a successful shoot. They had organised the actors, props, locations and equipment in advance with back-ups for everything, which was invaluable. We used tracks for the movement shots, but if they didn't arrive, we had a wheelchair as a back up.
I saw the communication between Jake the director and his camera crew and actors. They were all disciplined and focused, and yet still managed to have fun. Jake was very hands on with his directing, and he made everyone feel safe while giving constructive criticism.
I also saw how difficult it was to control lighting in certain locations. They used tracing paper to diffuse some of the light from windows and artificial lights, which was clever as it worked and was economical. They also used filters and gels to change the quality and colour of the light.
There was a lot of lip-syncing, and I learnt that the actors don't just mouth the words, but they actually sing it. Since the music from the track is playing so loud in the background, no-one can hear the actor singing, which is great because they might not have great voices and it could be embarrassing. I am going to try out lip-syncing on camera soon as a practice for my music video.
2. For you, what was the best bit?
I really enjoyed the backstage banter, which we were able to capture in photos and film. There was a great atmosphere as everyone was excited and focused, and eager to learn and do their best. It was also great to watch the monitor that was put in the green room. This allowed us to see what the cameraman was seeing, which made us feel included in a professional environment.
I also loved acting in the video. My role was as a "loser girl" where I walked towards the camera (point of view of the geek) in a corridor with my fingers in an "L" shape on my forehead. We only had to do about 5 takes, and the other "loser girl" swapped with someone else after the 4th take, so all in all it was pretty quick, especially in comparison to the other scenes which took ages.
My other role was in the background of the performance scene in the gym. We had to dance behind the band, and this was great fun, and also good exercise. My teacher came over to me after a few takes and said "THANKYOU. I could notice your dancing from all the way over here! Great energy!" so that was nice.
3. How do you think the work we have done will impact on your group project? This day has definitely influenced me into being more organised in my project. I also realised that the shots that look the best are often the movement shots, which, although difficult, are do-able. The technical set-up is very important, and this workshop has taught me to be ambitious in my shots in my project. In previous projects we have had to be safe to get it technically correct, but now is the time to experiment and take a chance, and I am very excited to do that.
Thanks to Jake, the media teachers and the crew for making it a great day.
As you can see, there are a large number of styles; some of which are niche and others which have international appeal. This means that the music industry caters for everyone, regardless of class, nationality or religion. There are some on this list that I haven't even heard of, like "Ska" but they all look interesting.
Some of these genres have stereotype listeners, for example "Emo" music. The stock character of an Emo listener is someone who is depressed, perhaps self-harms, wears black, has black hair (dyed) with a long side fringe, wears a lot of black eyeliner, paints their nails black, and is generally between 13 and 19 years of age. This is perhaps a tangent from Propp's theory of stock fairytale characters, except that an Emo is not a fairytale character as such.
I'm really excited as in a few days we will be making a class music video replica of the video to "Teenage Dirtbag" by Wheatus. It should be really fun, and also helpful, giving us an introduction into making music videos.
Plus, I LOVE the song! Used to listen to it back in the early 2000s... good times...
Among the array of music video genres is the tongue-in-cheek ones. Often the genre of music is rap/pop/indie/rock. Sometimes the artists choose to do parodies, but other times they just have bizarre comical videos just for pure entertainment.
Music videos allow artists the chance to illustrate what their song is really about. This song uses lots of euphemisms which may be misinterpreted or overlooked, but here they show them in a comic and cheeky way.
This is "Jizz in my Pants" by The Lonely Island; another cheeky song that has attracted viewers worldwide, with a guest appearance from popstar Justin Timberlake. This video has achieved over 53 million views, which is phenomenal, especially for a new band.
Both of these videos use comedy - slapstick and otherwise, through props and costumes that illustrate the lyrics.
The artists who do these types of videos are predominantly male (they have no shame) and often revolve around themes of sex and failure (often linked).
I enjoy these videos as they are light comedy and the songs are good, however it can get a bit too much at times, and sometimes the visuals distract a little too much from the song, which is not the objective of a music video.
Since Michael Jackson, King of Pop, passed away last Thursday, I thought I'd do a tribute to him and look at his contribution to the music scene over the years.
This is the long version of "Thriller", and as you can see, it is mostly narrative, however there are dance routines (a common element in Michael Jackson's music videos), and he lipsyncs to the girl, not the camera (which is fairly unusual). This is probably his most famous music video, since it is very different to any other, and is such a great song. When I started typing "Michael Jackson" into YouTube, Thriller is the first suggestion that came up, and has been viewed almost 9 million times, however I don't think that is an accurate measure of it's popularity.
There is a clear "thriller" genre to the video, which is taken from the song title. The visuals add to the music, without taking away from it, making it an entertaining and successful music video. The video, with the signature dance moves, has been recreated by people worldwide. A few years ago, we did it in a PE dance lesson, and a prison in the Philippines recreated it with their prisoners (as shown below). Amazingly, it has received over 26 million views. This worldwide recognition shows that it is a truly successful music video.
This is "Smooth Criminal".
You'll notice that his music videos are longer than most, which usually are between 2 and 4 minutes, whereas his are between 8 and 10. Each one is like a mini film, and the shots are very cinematic. There is also an air of comedy, for example here when he throws a coin from a great distance, and it lands in the coin slot of the juke box, which causes the music to start. Again here it is predominantly narrative, however he performs (sings and dances) as he loved it and was very talented. This video (or perhaps another version of this video) has received almost almost 20 million views on YouTube on his official channel, showing that it too is very popular.
This is "Black Or White" however I couldn't embed it as the code had been disabled..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVoJ6OO6lR4
This video is 11 mins long, and involves interesting dance routines, a multitude of wacky locations and costumes (including the desert with tribal dancers) and has a TV Drama/film feel to the beginning, like his other videos. This makes it interesting to watch again and again, and since he was signed to Sony Records, he had big enough budgets to make these elaborate and unique videos.
In my opinion, he was a great musician, and I am sure his musical legacy will live on for many years to come.
Some videos cross-cut between performance and narrative, whereas others focus on just one of the two.
The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
This video is purely narrative with the lead singer lip-syncing. The rest of the band isn't there and there is no audience therefore it is not really a performance. The video consists of the main guy walking through the streets of a city. This could get boring after a while, however there are comic elements that keep viewers interested, such as the repeating motif of him bumping into people and not caring since he is in his own world. I really like this video because it is simple and doesn't distract from the music, which is the most important thing in a music video.
Radiohead - Just
This video is very creative, and cross-cuts between the band performing in a hotel room, and a man on the street who lies down for no apparent reason. This video is unusual because it has subtitles to show the audience what the man and the people on the street are saying. It cleverly keeps the viewer watching until the end because, like the passers-by, they want to know why the man is lying in the street. Just as the song is climaxing, he tells them, but there are no subtitles so the viewer never finds out why the man is lying there. The next shot, after the man tells them, shows all the people doing the same thing on the pavement, which is funny to the audience because we still don't know what he said. I really like this weird, creative video, and I think it represents the band well.
The Killers - Mr Brightside
This video is mostly performance, which is rare. To make it interesting, different effects are used such as negative, grayscale, and yellow tints.
This is another video of the song, however it is mostly narrative. Perhaps the record company chose to do both to appeal to all audiences, but they could have just cross-cut...
My name is Laura Allen and I'm doing A2 Media Studies (as well as Drama and French) at The Latymer School. Here is my individual blog on the Music Industry... Enjoy! xx
