Similar artist's websites

http://edsheeran.blackmesh.isledev.co.uk/

This is the website of Ed Sheeran. It is rather simply laid out with 5 main tabs, with links to things such as his tweets, lyrics, contact info and most recent videos. There is no images of him as a person, which is something we will have to include as we will need to spread our image around to make Nicholas Alexander recognisable. On the other hand this is the sort of layout we are aiming for in our website.

http://jakebugg.com/home/

Jake Bugg's webite is a lot more reminiscent of what we want to achieve with our website. There is a lot more focus on the artist's image compared to Ed Sheeran's site, but keeps the relatively simple and easily accessible layout. There are tabs leading to the same areas as Ed Sheeran's, so it's clear that these are a staple of a singer-songwriter website so they are definitely something we will want to include in our website. Jake Bugg's website is most likely the website in which we emulate the most things for our website.

 http://www.jamesblunt.com/splash/apollo

James Blunt's website follows the same basic layout as the previous two, however it contains some unique features which we definitely want to include in our final website. One of these features in the twitter feed taking up a large part of the page. Although we wouldn't make our feed that large, a twitter feed is something we absolutely must include on our website, Another feature that we could include are direct video embeds, something which surprisingly only James Blunt's website contains.



Our first CD cover

This is our first draft of our CD cover for Nicholas Alexander's first album. We tried to replicate the light blue theme of the website to create a recurring and recognisable image for our artist. Though this most likely won't be our final piece, it's a good first draft and offers a good foundation to help build our finished product.

Similar genre album covers

After looking through a wide variety of singer-songwriter album covers, we deduced that for a debut album an image of the artists face is necessary at it gives them a recognisable identity. This picture of the the artist is ususally either a close up or medium shot, so that is most likely what we will use when designing our album cover. The backdrop (if there is one at all) is usually very plain and most likely one colour. For example the Sam Smith backdrop is a simple matte grey background, while the James Blunt one is the sky. Regarding the font, there is now discernible constant font used, so we are free to choose the right font for us and not be influenced by existing covers regarding this aspect.

Often the artist is facing the camera but looking away a little. This is definitel something we will take into account (and perhaps replicate) during the creation of our album cover. Not looking at the camera presents the illusion of the artist not caring how they look on camera, perhaps making them cooler towards the audience.

Music video director analysis - Benny Boom

 

My own personal analysis of Benny Boom, acclaimed hip-hop and rap video director.

Lip Sync Task

Our lip sync task was very enlightening in terms of what to do and what not do in regards to filming our actual music video. For example we realised that Nick closed his eyes too much towards the end of the piece, which when done too much looks unprofessional and unbelievable. However apart from that we were praised on the authenticity of the lip sync and the quality.

Final song choice: Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (defunct)

This is the song we chose from the final selection of three. We chose this one ultimately because the lyrics allow a lot of room for our own personal interpretation. It also fits our plan for our artist, a solo singer-songwriter.

Group availability

Nick - 07533581733 - all times due to being unemployed

Jack - 07714475129 - all times due to being unemployed

Charlie-ann - 07510855888 - works weekends usually, all other times available.

Similar genre videos - Inspiration

Ed Sheeran - Sing
As our artist is Ed Sheeran, obviously some of his existing videos will serve as inspiration for us but not to the point where we will be outright copying his style.

The video of Sing provides a mixture of both performance and narrative which is the type of style we want to emulate in our video. In Sing the narrative is by far the more dominant aspect of the video as there are only a few performance shots, while we are aiming for a more equal divide between the two aspects. A lot of Ed Sheeran's songs are also about love, so some of the imagery and shots that his videos contain could also be replicate somewhat, but not to the extent where it becomes copying or cliché. Overall Sheeran will most likely end up being one of biggest influences in regards to the finished product, simply because it is his song we are doing.

Green Day - Wake Me Up When Septembers Ends

Though Green Day are a different genre to the song in which we are doing, Wake Me Up When Semptember Ends presents the theme of eternal love in the video, much similar to the lyrics in Thinking Out Loud.



The level of narrative in this video is something we want to be able to achieve in ours. Although the video doesn't totally relate to the lyrics, the song and the video contrast eachother well. This proves that we have a bit of room regarding the connection between lyrics and video when we finally make our video. It also contains small performance pieces throughout the video, which again is something we want to replicate in our video as it can provide an all-rounded video which is something we really want to produce. The small snippets of performance that Green Day use however, like Sheeran, are not the exact method we want to use. As said earlier, a 50/50 split regarding performance and narrative is our goal.

The Killers - Mr Brightside

The reason we chose Mr Brightside as the final video is because of the way the video masterfully intertwines performance and narrative. The performance, instead of the narrative, dominates this video but it still manages to tell a story despite how Flowers is almost always singing. This level of mixture is the level that we want in our video, as it would make it look extremely professional and well done. Again it is also somewhat about love, so again many shots and imagery that is present in the video could easily be utilised in our video.

Timeline of lyrics - Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeren - Thinking out loud. When your legs don't work like they used to before - 0 to 6 seconds.
And I can't sweep you off of your feet - 6 to 12 seconds.
Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love? - 12 to 18 seconds.
Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks? -18 to 22 seconds.

And, darling, I will be loving you 'til we're 70 - 22 to 35 seconds.
And, baby, my heart could still fall as hard at 23 - 35 to 45 seconds.
And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways
Maybe just the touch of a hand - 45 to 1 minute.
Well, me—I fall in love with you every single day And I just wanna tell you I am - 1 minute to 1 minute 11.
So honey now - 1 minute 11 to 1 minute 16.
Take me into your loving arms - 1 minute 16 to 1 minute 22.
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars - 1 minute 22 to 1 minute 28.
Place your head on my beating heart - 1 minute 28 to 1 minute 33.
I'm thinking out loud - 1 minute 33 to 1 minute 35.
That maybe we found love right where we are - 1 minute 35 to 1 minute 43.
When my hair's all but gone and my memory fades - 1 minute 43 to 1 minute 49.
And the crowds don't remember my name - 1 minute 49 to 1 minute 56.
When my hands don't play the strings the same way - 1 minute 56 to 2 minutes 1.
I know you will still love me the same - 2 minutes 1 to 2 minutes 5.
'Cause honey your soul could never grow old, it's evergreen - 2 minutes 5 to 2 minutes 18.
And, baby, your smile's forever in my mind and memory - 2 minutes 18 to 2 minutes 28.
I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways - 2 minutes 28 to 2 minutes 37.
Maybe it's all part of a plan - 2 minutes 37 to 2 minutes 43.
Well, I'll just keep on making the same mistakes - 2 minutes 43 to 2 minutes 49
.Hoping that you'll understand - 2 minutes 49 to 2 minutes 54.
But, baby, now - 2 minutes 54 to 2 minutes 59.
Take me into your loving arms - 2 minutes 59 to 3 minutes 5.
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars - 3 minutes 5 to 3 minutes 11.
Place your head on my beating heart - 3 minutes 11 to 3 minutes 15.
Thinking out loud - 3 minutes 15 to 3 minutes 19.
That maybe we found love right where we are - 3 minutes 19 to 3 minutes 26.

(instrumental from 3 minutes 26 to 3 minutes 49)

So, baby, now - 3 minutes 49 to 3 minutes 54.
Take me into your loving arms - 3 minutes 54 to 4 minutes.
Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars - 4 minutes to 4 minutes 5.
Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart - 4 minutes 5 to 4 minutes 11.
I'm thinking out loud - 4 minutes 11 to 4 minutes 13.
That maybe we found love right where we are - 4 minutes 13 to 4 minutes 19.
Oh, baby, we found love right where we are - 4 minutes 19 to 4 minutes 26.
And we found love right where we are - 4 minutes 26 to 4 minutes 35.

Three potential videos powerpoint

A2 music video from charlieanntredget

Peer Assessment - Lara Eardley

Audiences

How do you consume music? I usually listen to music throughout the evening when I get home from school to simply chill out. I have my record player set up in my room to listen to some the older music I have and my computer to listen to more contemporary tracks/discover new music.
Usually in my bedroom, as my music set up is there.

I often play vinyl with my brother as he has a huge record collection (a lot bigger than mine) and we often share records, so it is shared experience.
Either vinyl or the computer and I listen to it while playing games or just when I'm chilling out.

As I stated earlier, music simply has to relax me while I'm listening to it. That is really the only things that matters to me personally when listening to music.
USES AND GRATIFICATIONS THEORY

Personal Identification - Probably a bit of Green Day's American Idiot (especially when I was younger.)

Information - Grandmaster Flash - The Message taught me about the struggles that black people still face in America, as it is a socially conscious track.

Entertainment - Rihanna and her dance moves are relatively entertaining.

Social Interaction - Yeah Yeah Yeah - Heads Will Roll is a party track that all my friends enjoy.

escapism

Green Day - Homecoming

create mood - Probably abit of Frank Ocean

cheer you up - Bizz Nizz, Don't Miss the Partyline

get you in the mood to go out - Some Progressive House mixes most likely.

add atmosphere to a gathering - Some more mainstream dance tracks, courtesy of Cook.

help you sleep - Some deeper, more acid house from the late 80s/early 90s most likely.

distraction - Some classic rock which I find extremely catchy and easily stops me from anything I'm doing. Bon Jovi for example.

companionship - usually music from BBC Radio 2, as that's the favoured driving radio station,

Examples of different techniques

Voyeurism


This video is an obvious example of voyeurism, as viewers are essentially forced to look at the female's behind and breasts constantly. These often take up an entire shot of the video.

Exhibitionism



This video shows a messed up individual who constantlys vandalises places, has sex often and parties too hard. This attracts a lot of attention as presents such a powerful image.

Male Gaze


This video shows Nicki Minaj flogging her large behind constantly for the pleasure of male viewers, an obvious example of the male gaze.

Female Gaze



Multiple shots of this video are simply shots of the members toned bodies, something that females would obviously be attracted to.

Homosexuality



The main premise of this video is a same sex marriage, an obvious form of homosexuality.

Strong Dominant Female


This video demonstrates of the female as a gender and not only just Beyonce, a huge example of strong dominant females.

Prelim Task: One Direction - Little Things

Star Profile - Snoop Dogg

Representation in Music Videos

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What music means to me

Goodwin's theory in practice

 

 

Britney Spears - Toxic

 

• - This video does not follow a narrative structure, a convention of a music video relative to Goodwin's theory.
• - There are multiple uses of close ups of the star, creating a distinguishable star image to make her recognisable all over the world.
• Voyeurism is used massively in the music video, with multiple shots of Britney's upper body and behind.
• Thought beats are also used, with shots changed in time with the sounds.

 

Coldplay - Viva La Vida

 

 

• Again, like Toxic, the music video does not follow any sort of narrative but instead simply focuses on the star, creating image (again like toxic).
• The video focuses solely on the lead singer, with only very few shots focusing on other members of the band or other aspects of the music video, yet again fuelling the star image that most videos strive to create.
• As the band are male, there is no voyeurism used at all.
• Thought beats are used to an extent, but not as much as toxic.

TEMPZ - Next Hype

 

 

• This video is a mixture between narrative and star image, with the first half of the video being totally narrative based with no music, and the other half being of close ups shots of TEMPZ (female gaze) and narrative segment of TEMPZ smashing things up in time with the music.
• There is a huge relationship with the video and the lyrics, with TEMPZ actually smashing the things he mentions in the song in the video.
• A limited use of voyeurism consisting of shots of his upper body.

2 Chainz - Birthday Song, the sexualisation of the woman.

This video utilises the sexualisation of women extremely, using a multitude of techniques such as voyeurism to present women merely as objects and not as people. For example the tracking shot of Kanye entering the party on his bike surrounding by attractive, partially clothed women who are simply following him show their inferiority and Kanye's dominance. Another example of voyeurism is the fifteen second tracking shot of a woman's behind, focusing entirely on it and allowing for nothing else for the viewer to notice and look at, essentially forcing it on the viewer.

There is also a medium shot of four women simultaneously lap-dancing four well-dressed men, again presenting the male dominance and knowledge over the women, who only serve to pleasure the males. There are also many fragmented shots purely of the female body parts and not of their faces, reinforcing them as objects and not as people.

Relationship between videos and lyrics: No Rest - Dry the River

 

What are the emotions it stirs?It stirs emotions of love and longing, as the song is about a long lost love (from what I interpreted atleast). The title of the song also reflects love, as the "river" being dry relates to love that should remain being destroyed as rivers should never dry up.

What do you visualise? How do you picture the music video?
I personally didn't visualise what the song intended and instead pictured a man's descent into turmoil after losing his job. I sensed anger in my first impression also, which relates to my visualisation.

What images are conjured up in your mind when you hear the song?
Images of destruction and sadness spring to mind the most.

Intertextuality, voyeurism, performance, narrative, abstract? A combination?
Mainly a mixture of a gritty performance of a narrative of the man telling his story of his fall from grace.

What did others say about their ideas for a music video? Which did you like the best?
One unique idea was the one about a roman peasant searching for gold to give to his lover. Another one was simply a man walking down the street with his limbs falling off one by one.

Andrew Goodwin Theory

1.    Do not follow normal narrative structure, as they are essentially an advertisement.

2.     Thoughts beats, video events synchronise with the song. “Seeing the sound.” Also emphasise the narrative within the video and give the artist a distinguishable identity.

3.    They illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics.

4.    Genre-related iconography – e.g. gangster rap and low riders.

5.    Multiple close ups of the main artist or vocalist, i.e ‘star image’

6.    Voyeurism is a major part – watching other people to lure an audience (especially with females)

7.    Intertextual references to other media texts, i.e Beat It and Westside Story.

Technical aspects:

Camera

Sound

Mise En Scene

Editing