Pre Production Schedule

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Vox Pop Analysis

What is your Favourite music genre?
We asked this question because we decided to see how many people chose rock/alternative genres as their favourites and get any ideas/inspiration from their answers.


Would you rather see narrative or performance in a music promo?
We asked this question because we need to think about what will be included in the promo that appeals to the majority of our target audience if they find narrative or performance more interesting.


Tom answered with Rap and how the rappers talk about life and their own history in the past. This person might not appeal to our target audience as they don't appear interested in our music genre.
Tom also prefers performance in a promo as he finds it more interesting.
Tom prefers to see performance in a music video.


Ross answered with Rock which is our genre we have chosen and gave an example of a band being 30 Seconds to Mars with softer tones and also a harder rock style being Suicide Silence which we could find inspiration off. This person would be interested in our music promo as it fits his favourite genre and we should se him as our target audience.
Ross also prefers performance in a music promo as he likes to see the band perform live but if the narrative is effective, he will definitively watch that.


Sam answered with Hip-Hop as his favourite genre so he wouldn't be interested in our rock genre as it doesn't relate to his expectations. Sam prefers narrative in a performance.


Luke answered with rock which is our chosen genre so he is a target for our audience.
Luke prefers too see performance in a music video with shots on the lead singer and the instruments are a big bonus.




A list of favourite music artists include:
Bon Jovi - well known and the song is living on a prayer (mentioned twice) so it is the most effective

30 seconds to Mars - kings and queens because of its narrative and its different

Pompeii - Bad Steel - Narrative is very effective


All of the people answered with YouTube as to where they see/find their music promos.

Applying Music Theory

Theories:
Enigma Code:
 Refers to unexplained elements meaning it exists as an enigma. This is used to raise questions and demands an explanation.

Action Code:
Refers to plot events that imply further narrative action.

Todorov's Narrative:
He suggests that all narratives follow a 3 part structure - equilibrium, disrupting the equilibrium and the resolution at the end.

Claude Levi-Strauss Narrative:
Constant creation of opposites propels narrative. Narrative is only able to end on a resolution of a conflict. It can range from visual, soundtrack and conceptual.

Andrew Goodwin's Theory: 

Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band)

The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work their work (a visual style).

There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc.) and particular voyeuristic treatment of the female body

There is often intertextual references (to film, TV programmes, other music videos, etc.)

Michael Shore:

Michael Shore stated that music videos have recycled styles which is used repetitively.

Surface with substance means that there is more to the visuals than what the audience perceive.
Information overload means that there is too much on the scene to concentrate on.
Image and style scavengers means that that the style and image is followed, decadence which is the idea of a perfect, big and famous lifestyle that more pop promos use.
Immediate gratification so the audience immediately see what is going on and understand the promo.
Adolescent male fantasies which are when videos include adolescent male fantasies about sexual things, Speed, power, girls and wealth.
Clichéd imagery which is imagery that we would expect to see in a certain promo and soft core pornography which is things like half naked women in a music promo.
Michael shore created these criticisms because he felt that most modern music promos included these criticisms.

Steve Archer's Theory:
There needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between narrative and performance in the videos. Music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song through the use of the band.

John Stewart's Theory:

• The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close-ups and lighting being used to focus on the star's face.
• Visual references comes from a range of sources, most frequently cinema, fashion and art photography.
• 'Incorporating, raiding and reconstructing' is essentially the essence of intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meanings 

Laura Mulveys Theory:

 

This is the idea that women are idolised by the men as a fantasy and are called 'sexual items.'

Sigmund Freud’s Theory

This is the idea that especially women in music videos are exploited sexually and looked at in this certain way without them even realising so the directors use them.

Music video: Radiohead - Just 

 

This music video includes Some of Michael Shore’s criticisms. It includes recycled styles because the conventions of rock are used throughout the video. It does not include surface without substance because it is a very simple music video, it doesn’t include a lot of detail. It does not include information overload because it has a strong narrative and doesn’t include some disjuncture conventions so is not very complicated. It includes style and image scavengers because there are constant images that are in this music promo that adhere to this style and therefore will pleasure the audience. This music promo does not include decadence as the band members appear to live in a typical apartment. This music video includes instant gratification because makes us realise what is happening almost straight away which is the bands performance and a subtitled looking TV show. This music video does not include male teenage fantasies, and it doesn’t include speed, power, girls and wealth due to the Mise-en-scene of the bands performance.

This music video follows the Enigma Code because during the whole video, the audience come across a number of factors that makes them ask a number of questions such as who is the man and why is he lying on the road. The most famous question is what he says at the end which leads to the end of the song but the audience are unable to hear it and there is no subtitles for it either so they question what he says that makes everyone lie on the ground in a weird shape.

The music video also follows John Stewards theory because there are a lot of close ups on the lead singers face so the audience can clearly view the product. However it doesn't always focus on the singer as it cuts too other band members and the narrative going on at the same time.

This music video follows Steve Archers theory of there being a strong coherent relationship between the performance and narrative in a music video. This is done by cutting from the lead singer and the band to the narrative at the end of the video as they look out the window onto the people lying down in the narrative so they look as puzzled as the audience and the other members of the public in the video.

 

The music video also follows action code because the videos narrative plot has implied further narrative action. Suspense is created at the end of the video as the viewer cannot see the true ending and is left thinking about what it implies.

Genre of Alternate Rock

Genre:

Genre definition:  A style or (sub) category of art, music, or literature.

 

Genre is useful when looking at a media text because all genres are represented differently. Genre creates expectations for an audience. Genre is a balancing act between conventions and development/originality.  It mixes familiar with unfamiliar to evolve. 

 

The concept of genre benefits the audience and producers because it allows producers to target a specific audience (sub target audiences) which keeps them interested.

 

Genre is a repertoire of elements – what an audience expects to see.

Chosen genre: Alternative rock – I chose this genre as it is very popular amongst teenagers today and fits in with our generation of music and I have listened to a vast amount of alternate rock songs to gain inspiration from and there is a wide range of bands that date back to the 1980’s who have performed alternate rock.

History of Alternative rock music:  

This genre began in the late 1970’s to the early 1980’s and became most popular in the 1990’s. Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream rock music, expressed primarily in a distorted guitar sound. Some band examples that play alternate rock include Green Day, Nirvana and Foo Fighters.

The name "alternative rock" essentially serves as an umbrella term for underground music that has emerged in the wake of punk rock since the mid-1980s. Alternative bands during the 1980s generally played in small clubs, recorded for indie labels, and spread their popularity through word of mouth. This approach to lyrics developed as a reflection of the social and economic strains in the United States and United Kingdom of the 1980s and early 1990s.

The typical lyrical content in alternative rock genre is about several different things happening but the main focus of the lyrics is focusing on lifestyle that the artist has a concern for e.g. alcohol, drugs etc.

The band/artists in rock promos are often rebellious and perform with a strong emotional feel and passion.

An example of alternative rock artists include 30 Seconds to Mars. They are dressed in all black with similar outfits to match and be recognised by each other.  They are dressed in black to signify rebellious behaviour.

Another example is 2^nd Half where the band are dressed in causal everyday clothing which contrasts against 30 Seconds to Mars as they wear all black which could show a lighter more casual feel to alternate rock as the band appear to look like a typical rock band for younger members of the public in the target audience range.

Audience:

The age that I feel 2^nd HALF target their audience is 15-25yrs old. 

The audience’s gender would be males but a minority would be females included.

The target audience would be in E and D socio-economic groups. This is because the target audience are still in school or have just gotten jobs. E is for schoolchildren who don’t earn any pay as they are still in education and D is for semi-skilled/unskilled manual workers who have just started their first job.

The target audience would be from America and the UK because they are relatable to the singer’s ethnicity and speak the same language so they are able to understand the lyrics 

The interests and hobbies for the audience would be to go out with friends and enjoy outdoor activities. They would also listen to music or see cheap live bands in their spare time.

 

Conventions of a promo:

Foo Fighters – Something from Nothing

This music promo is a performance video where it puts the audience to a live audience’s perspective as they can see the instruments being played and close ups of the band.

This shot is a close up shot on the lead guitarist/singer to start the music video.  This gives the impression that the audience are in a live audience’s perspective looking up at the lead singer. The editing is very complex as there are lots of different short scenes and cuts to each of the band members to gives the audience an idea of who is in the band at the start of the music video.

 

The editing in the music video is very complicated. Words appear on the screen as the singers sing along to the lyrics and it gives the audience an opportunity to sing along with them as they can follow the lyrics. The typography is very scruffy to match the bands style such as the mise-en-scene being an empty stage and their black clothing. The colour of the text is white to make it instantly standout towards the audience and is very easy to follow.

The camerawork within a music video is usually specific to a genre. For example, in this rock music promo, a viewer can expect to have close ups of the artist and accompany the movements that the artist and dancers make. This promo also features medium and long shots which circle the band to accompany the stage performances shown in the music video.

This video applies Andrew Goodwin’s theory of ‘music promos demonstrate genre characteristics’ meaning that the stage in the promo is used for the alternate rock video. Also this follows Knights theory that genre offers various emotional pleasures, such as empathy and escapism. This is applied as the audience are able to escape their reality and can watch this video from a live audience member’s perspective and focus on the singer’s reality as he sings about a topic such as drugs, alcohol and relationships.

E-mail request to 2nd HALF

 

Here is the reply we received from our E-mail request to 2nd HALF allowing us to use their song for our production:

Audience profile for 2nd HALF

The age that we feel 2^nd HALF target their audience is 15-25yrs old.  

The audience’s gender would be males but a minority would be females included.

The target audience would be in E and D socio-economic groups. This is because the target audience are still in school or have just gotten jobs. E is for schoolchildren who don’t earn any pay as they are still in education and D is for semi-skilled/unskilled manual workers who have just started their first job.

The target audience would be from America and the UK because they are relatable to the singer’s ethnicity and speak the same language so they are able to understand the lyrics.

 

The interests and hobbies for the audience would be to go out with friends and enjoy outdoor activities. They would also listen to music or see cheap live bands in their spare time such as 2^nd HALF if they are a fan of Alternate rock songs.

 

Band Biography

Our Chosen Artist:

The name of the artist that we are going to create a promotional music video is ‘2^nd HALF.’ The song we have chosen that they made is called ‘One Night Alone’ which we found on the website ‘Unsigned.com.’

2nd HALF is a four-piece rock band from Cleveland, OH representing the city and the very best of its scene. With structured, guitar-driven songs and accessible vocals the band provides listeners with music that is memorable and energetic.

The band was started by singer-guitarist Ed Gandolf and drummer Drew Scalero back in the mid-'90s; by the time the group released its first album, Now It's Real, in 2003, they were the only members. In 2006, Gandolf and Scalero released Left Behind and played live shows with electronic augmentation and projections to keep things interesting.

 

Genre:

Unsigned have described their songs as Rock, Alternative and Power pop. The song features vocals, drums and bass guitar and electric guitar.

We have chosen this band because it appeals to a large target audience and we have chosen the song ‘One Night Alone' because the bristling, up-tempo "One Night Alone" adds some pop-punk feel to the song.

Ed Gandolf - Vocals & Guitar

Matt Majoros - Guitar & Vocals

Mike Bernot - Bass

Drew Scalero - Drums

  

Here is the link to our chosen song on 2nd HALF's unsigned page:

 One Night Alone

 

 

Summer Work:

This is a music magazine advert for All Time Low. This advert has already signified what genre of music that they play being rock/pop. They adhere to the style of rock/pop because of their use of clothing which typical young male adult clothing is being jackets and skinny jeans which are dark and are all similar to each other. They look like typical young adult who listen to music and adheres the rock style as their makeup is everyday looks with messy hair and pale faces.  The typography in the advert looks to be scribbled down like a drawing and contains drawings such as skull and crossbones and lines around the text to make it stand out for the title. The title is black adhering their clothing being the same colour to represent their genre of music.  This is an effective advert because of how it stands out as rock by instantly looking at it due to the messy typography and recognising the band members which are the biggest objects on the poster.

The differences of film and music magazines are that music magazines focus on the group members so they are instantly seen for the audience and the music is promoted through pictures of album covers in the advert selling them to the audience.  The film adverts focus on the film itself and not specific factors such as all the cast just the main characters while music focuses on all of the groups and the venues.

Green Day’s American idiot magazine advert inspired me because of how simplistic it is yet it stands out. It is conventional to my music genre of rock/alternative. The advert only contains 3 colours red white and black and has no band members on the cover but an image of a hand holding a heart grenade. This drawing is to get the audience to understand America’s wars and how it should be at peace with the love heart shaped grenade.

Another is Gorillaz where this advert is also advertising the rock/pop genre. This is inspirational because of how it is also a simple picture but stands out. It mixes a cartoon style character in with the real world as there is an image of the city in the background where it is going to be played at. The typography is neat looking writing which could indicate the venue being rich and only for certain people to view.

Analysis of music video:

Genres in music videos include rock, pop, alternative, heavy metal and rap. The styles of the genre rock include blues rock, folk rock and garage rock. Conventions crate the music video that is viewed around the world through its genre. Rock’s conventions would include seeing the whole band (singer, drummer and guitarists) from an audience perspective or in a quiet location such as a street in a music video.

Some music videos include intertextuality such as ‘Eminem’ as he included intertextuality through comics such as Batman and Robin as he dresses up as a superhero in the video with other real life events such as Osama Bin Laden included ion the video and has a wide range of memorable events throughout that the audience recognise.

Posters that will inspire my music video include the Rolling Stones and AD-DC.

Both of these posters are from the rock genre which is our music videos genre. These posters both include a person on the front from a drawing or a photo of them. The posters mainly focus on the singer/guitarist as they are the lead of the group and the most recognisable.

 
 

Digi-pack:

 

This digipak is of Oasis and follows their style of rock. This contains images of the instrument in order to play the music being the acoustic guitar and no band members. The website is similar as it focuses on the instruments and the bands background rather than directly the band members as a whole. The audience will see this guitar and immediately recognise that it is Oasis. This is inspiring to me because it is eye catching without the use of adding band members to it and focuses on the music rather than the musicians.