Image Annotation

Below is a list that will make up the costume of our artist. This explains how I will represent and display the artist:

- Studded leggings or skinny jeans.
- Converse shoes 
- Leather jacket
- Colourful badges 
- Dark, heavy eye make-up
- Lots of jewelry/ bangles
- Glow sticks 
- Colourful streaks of hair 
- Body art 

I have chosen an image like this because it supports the pop rock genre because it is creative and expressive as well as dark and rebellious. 

Lyrics annotation

We have gone into more depth and really thought about what the songs hidden meaning is and how we can show this. My group has annotated the lyrics to understand the song on a whole other level, really thinking about the words and verses. 

Song Details

Here i have displayed some key points to why my group has chosen the pop rock song we did. I have considered the theme, mood, atmosphere and meaning to the song.

Roles.

Here is a GIF to show what roles will be given to which member of the group. Some roles will be shared within the group and every member has been assigned 3 main tasks.

I will be responsible for the editing, directing and performing in the music video.

Lewis McNally will be performing in the music video, is in charge of the lighting and will be responsible for camera work.

Lindsay Brophy will be responsible for mise en scene, sound and performing in the music video.

Ben Stokes is responsible for editing, sound and performing in the music video. 

Initial Ideas

This is a poster i made which displays my groups initial ideas for our music video. The following areas were discussed: why we chose pop rock as our genre, costume, accessories, song choice, location and roles.

Analysis of Questionnaire results

I put together some vox pops within a video in addition to our questionnaire to show what our audience would expect from a pop rock music video, what clothing they would expect to see and what their favourite element of a pop rock music video is. We asked many people these questions so we heard from different points of view and gathered more information.

Based on the audience research, I have come to the conclusion that I will incorporate the following into my music video:
- A mixture of boys and girls
- The whole band playing while the singers lip sync
- Black clothing such as skinny black jeans and a leather jacket
- Bright accessories
- A lively atmosphere
as this is what the target audience expect and want to see in a pop rock music video.

What the target audience liked best about pop rock music videos was the fact that it is expressive with the fats pace editing, different camera movements, shot types and how it gives an impression of rebelling. I would like to include these methods to help express a rebellious attitude in my video.

Below are the results from the questionnaire:

There were slightly more females than males that completed our questionnaires.  

The majority of the females that filled out the questionnaire were aged between 16-24.

The majority of males which took the questionnaire were aged between 16-24 also.

Out of everyone who filled out the questionnaire I selected all the people who said their favourite genre of music was pop rock, this also may prove that pop rock music is popular with young people since most people surveyed were young. I then looked at how they consumed music. YouTube and Spotify proved to be very popular with pop rock fans. The other most popular way they consume music is to buy it online. This also may be saying that pop rock music is popular with young people

I chose to display this information because the internet proved to be popular in the previous result. This is a chance to find out what magazine or website these pop rock fans use. This will help my research because I will then know which is most popular with pop rock fans and where is best to advertise. This pie chart records all the magazines and websites that pop rock fans use and I can see which ones got mentioned quite a lot. Super City was most popular followed by YouTube which are both websites, therefore we can already tell that the internet is used more than magazines by the pop rock fans. However the magazines mentioned, such as Bliss and People magazine are all for young audiences which makes sense since we've already established the majority of people surveyed were young. 

The internet has been proven to be the most popular overall when it comes to how pop rock fans consume music and how they find out about new music. The internet is also used the most by pop rock fan because pop rock is consumed by a young audience. Socialising with others was proven to be second most popular.

This is the questionnaire we gave out. It includes various questions about the audience in general, what sort of music they consume, what they thought about pop rock music, how they consume music and how they find out about new music. we also asked what music videos are their favourites so we can see what elements were popular in that video.

CD Cover Analysis

There is a pattern emerging from looking at these albums. They all have the following elements in common:

- The artists name displayed on the front cover 

- The name of the album on the front cover 

- A list of songs on the back cover 

- An image of the artist on the front and back cover 

- A spine with the name of the artist and album on it 

All of the albums promote the artist and support their genre. This is done through the use of costume, positioning of the artist, lighting, mise en scene, facial expressions and body language.

Pop Rock record Labels

Sub Pop is a record company that specializes in these Label Genres, Indie Rock, Alternative and Punk Rock.

Sub Pop was created in the early 1980's by Bruce Pavitt as a non-official fan magazine of Indie musicians Subterranean Pop. Sub Pop has had a long journey and throughout their journey have undergone many influential transitions to the top of the independent label scene. 

One of the top leading producers and distributors for independent rock is Sub Pop with 2 platinum and gold records from past artists. Some of the artists that are best known include Nirvana, The Postal Service and Flight of the Conchords. Some of the biggest names in indie rock still refer to Sub Pop as their home as fans and others continue hearing hit after hit.

 

Hopeless records have a wider label genre then Sub Pop some of them include, Alternative, Punk, Pop, Rock and even Metal.

Hopeless Records have spent the majority of their time and focus on independent punk, this means that Hopeless Records have owned this sound genre since the early 1990's when they first started. In the mid 2000's some of the greatest punk, metal and rock groups were represented by Hopeless Records. Some of the artists include; Avenged Sevenfold, We are in the crowd, All Time Low and Silverstein. These artist where responsible for bringing Hopeless to be one of the greatest Independent Labels. It is also said for them to be hitting another milestone with a collaboration with Yellowcard which is said to be incredible.

Fearless Records was formed in 1994 by Bob Becker, this label was based in California and was indie. Some say that the music industry could be a intimidating business,'but Fearless Records ain't ever scared'. 
Fearless records became the launch pad for pop punk and rock artists very quickly. Artists include: The Aquabats, At the Drive-in and Plain White T's whose single "Hey There Delilah" topped the hot 100's in 2005. Even though Fearless Records keep it real with their pop and rock bands they developed a versatile roster, which included electro rockers, post-hardcore juggernauts and metalcore troupe.


I would choose Fearless Records for my artist because they have not only expanded their musical genre, but the independent record company also release Punk compilation series where the artists of different genres create their own interpretations of current hits from the pop, acoustic and even crunk genres. Fearless records embrace different sub genres and this has made them very successful. Since I have chosen pop rock as my genre I think that Fearless Records would be the most relevant one to choose since they focus on specific sub genres such as pop rock.

Adverts

Through my analysis on various magazine advertisements, I notices basic similarities in all the music adverts. These include:

- The name of the band/artist 

- The name of there album or details about them and when they are on tour etc.

- Visual imagery 

BustedYear 3000

The low key lighting and blue spot light brings out the rock side a bit more however it is balanced out by the up beat rhythm. The crowd cheering along is very conventional to a pop rock song and to rock songs. The positioning of the crowd and the band gives the impression that the camera is someone amongst the crowd and we are seeing things from their point of view. It instantly makes the viewer thing they are a fan looking up at them performing.

The song has an old gaming theme with arcade references and cartoons throughout. This links to the lyrics because they are singing about the future so they are showing cartoons of what they think it is going to be like in the future compared to life in that year. The arcade games make Busted look fun and retro.

Like all the games and cartoons, the setting of the bedroom makes the band relatable to the viewer and the viewer may see a bit of themselves within the band. This is because the band are in a mundane environment that anyone could be in. They don't look like big stars, they just look like normal people rocking out in their bedrooms. The instruments and high key lighting are very conventional to a pop rock music video. The scruffy hairstyles fit in well with the careless clothes they are wearing.

McFly - 5 Colours in her Hair

The colourful setting matches the upbeat sound and the energetic dancing around the room. The pop side of this video is really coming through because of the dancing and colours. However the rock side is also coming through because all the energy is focuses around the band playing and resembles a concert. The high key lighting is important in this shot because it supports the young and free feel.

This shot has been carefully thought out because of the use of the rule of thirds. It is also a close up of the performer performing which is conventional in all music videos. The singer is making direct contact with the viewer because he's looking into the camera.

This shot explains the theme of the music video. What is shown relates to the lyrics, for example when they sing 'girl with five colours in her hair' it shows this girl with many colours in her hair watching TV. They have highlighted the fact that she is the girl they are singing about by making everything else grey and her stand out in colour. This could also relate to her having colourful hair. This effect also gives her significant and makes her look special, which again, links to the lyrics.

Wheatus- Teenage Dirtbag

Teenage Dirtbag was set within a school environment. We can tell because of all the mise en scene, the props include posters on the wall, a basketball net and gym equipment with all connote a high school. The high school experience and relationships were the theme to this video. This is conventional within a pop rock music videos because the lyrics are normally relatable to what's shown on screen. It is also conventional that video cuts to the band playing throughout the song.

The video cuts to the lead singer lip singing throughout the video. He is wearing casual costume because they are playing the role of a student and pop rock boy bands normally wear laid back clothing. The whole casual appearance makes the video more about the message and doesn't attract attention away from what's going on. It also make out that the music and message is the most important element and not the appearance.

All of the people and the positioning of everyone in a small area is typical of pop rock videos because it is meant to resemble a concert or rave. There is also high key lighting which makes the setting look young and fresh.

Conventions of Pop Rock Music Videos

Playing an Instrument

Usually bands are shown in the music video.







Rebellious, unique clothing with colourful hair.

 

Dancing or a lively, energetic room of people

 

The editing cuts from performance to a narrative and the narrative links to the lyrics

Pop Rock

I have annotated my mood board to explain why I chose certain images and how this would support the Pop Rock genre.

Vernallis' Theory

Carol Vernallis - The kindest cuts: functions and meaning in music video editing.

The Phantasmagorical body 

A phantasmagorical body is a body we piece together in our own mind from snippets of the music video. Parts of the artists body gets shown for example their feet, legs or bust. This encourages the viewer to image what they look like all together. The technique is usually used on women artists because it shows off their body.

Goodwin's Theory

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics- It was part of Goodwin's theory that music videos should be conventional and similar to other music videos with the same genre so they can create this reputation and be identified as a certain genre. For example a pop video would be upbeat and would involve dancing, especially music videos from the 80's. 

There is a relationship between the music and visuals-
this means that, where appropriate, the music will emphasis a certain moment or match what is going on in the video. The music and visuals will be connected in some way. 

There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals 

Illustrative- what we see in the video illustrates the liberal meaning or feeling of the lyrics. Therefore the viewer sees what is being sung about.

In the video "The way" by Ariana Grande ft. Mac Miller we can see that the performers are dressed as we would expect and the editing cuts to the beat. The lyrics to the song are about relationships and how they make you feel and throughout the video we can see a happy couple illustrating the lyrics.

"Last Friday Night" By Katy Perry shows a story throughout of a party atmosphere and shows what is being said. For example when the performer lip syncs the lyrics "pictures of last night ended up online"
 there was footage of her actually opening a laptop and looking as pictures online. 

Amplifying- This type of music video cuts to the beat and emphasizes a meaning which is within the theme of the song however is done in a more abstract way.

"Wide Awake" also by Katy Perry expresses her meaning in a much more abstract way. She uses symbolism in her video to represent messages. For example she used a strawberry when "sweet" was sung and we could also see sparks fly when the lyrics said 'letting go tonight' meaning she is breaking out of her shell. In the video we can see that the music still cuts to the beat and is much more creative with hidden meanings. 





















Disjuncture- This type of music video cuts off the beat and the visuals shown do not relate to the lyrics.

Here we can see in "Da Funk" by Daft Punk that the dog mask has nothing to do with the music and the editing is off beat because it just cuts to show their conversation which is not conventional at all. This is not what we expected to see when we hear that music. 

Brief

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 (Cardboard CD cover)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak

Conventions of a music video

Conventions:

• The artist will usually appear in the music video

• The song will be the soundtrack to the whole music video

• Artists will usually lip-synch along with the lyrics

• The artist will perform throughout, either dancing, playing an instrument or gesturing

• There would normally be 3 or more locations which may change with each verse/ chorus and the costumes would match the locations.

• There will usually be sections of the video filmed in the studio

• Range of camera movements (tracks, cranes whip pans)

• Close ups for the lip sync, mid/ long shots for performance and extreme close ups for cutaways

• Wide range of shot types/ angles in each location for dynamic editing

• High angles for a vulnerable, sexy look and low angles for a dominant look

• Editing will cut to the beat

• Montage editing

• Slow motion effect to create a sexy or slick feel

• The video will be based around a concept rather than a story
• This concept will inter-cut with the performance