Voyeurism

Voyeurism is defined as an individual gaining pleasure from watching. Many music videos have voyeuristic features, presenting women in skimpy clothing and making them objects.

An example of this which has blown up in the media is Robin Thicke's 'Blurred Lines'. The song is famous for being an infectious jingle about date rape. Oh dear. If the songs content werent enough, the video is pretty awful in terms of objectification.



The video features three men and three women. The men wear suits of some description, an outfit which indicates power and status. The also wear sunglasses which hide their eyes. This could indicate a level of distrust.

The women in this video are all wearing short underwear, crop tops and see through over layers. They are completely exposed. They also have sort of absent expressions as if they're not really there or theyre confused. This ties into the idea that women are presented as either childlike/virgins or whores. Following on from this thought, the women are all wearing white which is seen as a pure colour, tying in with the virginity aspect. They're also all wearing red lipstick which would be more likely tied to being a whore. The video is made to make the men seem powerful and the women seem like sex toys. Or tables.

or cigarette lighters.

Essentially the message of the video is "Half naked lady, serve me."

Here we have a lovely shot of T.I. counting a stack of cash. This again shows the power/ status of the men in the video. 

The difference in power here is startling. Powerful man in a suit, wearing shades to cover his eyes/ hide himself VS naked young woman.

This shot shows that the woman is a conquest, an object of sexual desire.

Creepy. 

And if all that wasn't enough to make you really uncomfortable, there's an explicit version where all the women are topless for the duration.

The fact that its not enough to be fully clothed and surrounded by essentially naked dancing women is really distressing. Its not enough to look overpowering to an alarming degree he has to take it a step further and pull this masochistic 'be-sexy-or-get-out' shtick and make them all actually naked. This isn't so much a music video but soft porn. Ooer.

Its not like I'm the only person who feels this way either, following the songs release a plethora of parodies were released making fun of Thicke and his song.

THAT 50'S SHOW

THAT 50'S SHOW.
Music videos often feature intertextuality, taking elements from preexisting medias such as films and TV programmes. My research showed that people like music videos set in other times or eras. I'm going to combine the two and create a scene set in the fifties under the guise of 'That '50s Show', my spin on the sitcom 'That '70s Show'.

LOCATIONS

LOCATIONS- The Hamptons from Jamie Sugar

So for my music video I want to shoot in the Hamptons. The Hamptons is this weirdly out of place bunch of houses which look like something from suburban America.

From my survey Ive gathered that people like videos set it different eras so for the scenes shot in the Hamptons, I want a retro American kind of feel to them.


Forrest
Near where I live there's a really long running trail which after a couple of miles gets really rural looking. If I didn't know any better I would think I was in a forest. There are rarely people on the path so I think it would be a great place to film.
In the nightmare scenario set here, we see the main character running from 'something'. This scene will include a lot of implied danger and not much actual evidence of danger. I will achieve this using different angled shots, high to low shots onto Megan to make her look smaller etc. I will also use POV shots following after her. For this scene I would really like to use blue light, similar to what we used in the lighting workshop. I think it gives off a really cool feel, very dreamlike. My natural instinct would be to have red light to heighten the sense of danger, but because its only a dream and not real, I think blue is a better choice as its less obvious what's happening.

Digipak conventions

I looked at a few digipaks to find similarities and codes.

FIFTIES

fiftes by jamie-carmel-sugar featuring a car clock

This is my mood board for the kind of feel im going for in the 50's section of my video. Ideally, we'll be able to film on a warm day so the clothes can be as summery and fun as possible. If not, I think we should stick to a simple black outfit with retro accessories like cat eye sunglasses and ascots.

pyjamas

Pajamas by jamie-carmel-sugar featuring Topshop

For my music video, the protagonist will need to be wearing pyjamas for a significant chunk. There will be running involved which ruled out night-gowns or anything dress-like. This also meant that footwear would have to be a boot style rather than a slip-on style as otherwise they would fly off whilst in use which wouldn't be useful at all. Seeing as filming will take place in autumn/ winter, warmth is key. This is why I have only included long sleeved sweatshirts and full length bottoms. This is useful also as the protagonist will have to lie on the forest floor.

NIGHTMARE MOODBOARD

nightmare moodboard by jamie-carmel-sugar featuring a leather king bed

This is my mood board for my music video. I've posted some things which I feel will relate to my project including outfit ideas, props ideas and overall moods of my project.

BAND AND RECORD LABEL NAMES

I came up with a name for my band and for my record label.

After looking into artists in my genre, alt pop, I observed that most artists use some aspect of their name. For example, Florence Welch goes by Florence and the Machine. Marina Lambrini Diamandis goes by Marina and the Diamonds. The second thing I observed is this formula of

 *INSERT NAME* and the *INSERT NOUN*

This is extremely common. Examples of this include:

With this in mind, and the previous lesson we had on star image, I decided to create an all new set of people. My music video/ band will consists of me, Jamie Sugar, and my friend Megan Robinson who will be the key member of the band. 

We had a brief conversation about band names and came to an agreement on 'Sonny and The Kings'. We then decided not to use our real names. We would create completely different people to be in the band, June King and Sonny LeVar. By incorporating the new peoples names into the band name, we followed along from the kind of thing Florence Welch and Marina Lambrini Diamandis did.

I decided to call my record label Ricochet Records. I like the alliteration and I think it sounds legitimate. 

Following these decisions, I made some basic logos which might change later on down the line.

I put both of the logos onto my Wix Website for the band so the top of the page now looks like this

I'm not sure if you can clearly tell but both the logos are transparent so they show whats behind them. The band logo has a subtle glow around it which means it can clearly be seen on every background. That's the only difference really.

Goodwins theory

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
2.Relationship between music and visuals
3. Relationship between lyrics and visuals
4. Demands of the record Label will include the need for lots of closeups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work.
5. Frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes etc), particularly voyeuristic.
6. Often intertextual reference to films, tv programmes, other music videos which can contribute to the post modernism of music videos.


My artist is pop but not particularly mainstream. To explore Goodwins theory, I've chosen to look at Imagine Dragons.

 

1. The video itself is quite happy and upbeat which definitely goes along with the conventions of pop music. Genres have different things which commonly occur, for example a girl group might have dance routines and wear revealing clothing, or a metal band might film their video in an abandoned warehouse kind of setting and have a dull colour palette. Pop is commonly lighthearted and entertaining, doesn't particularly make you think.

2.The song itself is pretty upbeat and summery. The video seems to be set in the 60's, a decade which people romantacise a lot. The 60's seems to be making a comeback in music videos, Lana Del Reys 'National Anthem' portraying her as the first lady of the USA in the 60's.

3. The lyrics dont really connect to whats happening on screen. The video shows the band as actors pretending to go into space. The song isnt about being an actor or being in space or being in the 60's. 

The lyrics "If you love somebody

Better tell them while they’re here ’cause

They just may run away from you" 

connects to the start of the video where one band member leaves his family in order to go and fake the moon landing. Its also very well timed, "if you love somebody" *kisses his wife* "better tell them..."

The general chorus of the song KIND OF connects to the video. 

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay

I’m on top of the world,'

Going into space or being an actor is a massive position of privilege so in a sense, yes that would make you on top of the world.

4. The thumbnail of the music video for this song is a closeup of the frontman. Throughout the video there are closeups of all the individual members of the band, they're portrayed as characters, not realistic versions of themselves.

5. In the video we see a group of people huddled round a tv screen, watching a rocket taking off.

 Later on in the video we see a man watching the band on 'mission control' monitors. It seems that even in the video. the band is in a video, the focus of someones attention.

The video includes frequent cutaways to the space mission.

In terms of  voyeurism, this video is pretty lacking, probably because the focus is men rather than women. If we look back to the image of people looking at a TV screen, we can see that all the women in the shot are very attractive.

 Both the wives featured are attractive and well groomed.

6.

This video is FULL of intertextual references. The whole thing is pretty much an homage to Stanley Kubrick.

The little boy from the video is modeled on Danny from 'The Shining'. Notice how the carpet in the top picture is the same as the wallpaper in the frontmans home.

The video features a subtle cut to a sign reading 'Scenic Overlook'. The hotel from the Shining is called the Grand Overlook Hotel.

The image above shows a security camera from the video. Below you can see HAL from 2001 a Space Odyssey, another Kubrick film.

The video also references The Beatles in recreating this famous shot of the band.

The whole video plays on the famous conspiracy theory that the moon landing was faked, an idea referenced in other songs such as the Red Hot Chilli Peppers "Californication"

"Space may be the final frontier but its made in a Hollywood basement."

STAR IMAGE- RICHARD DYER

Star image is the person an artist presents themselves as. The way in which as artist presents themselves influences their fanbase and attracts or deters people from listening to them. Certain kinds of artists attract certain fanbases.

So in the picture at the very top we can see Slipknot, a heavy metal band. Their image is meant to shock and be intimidating. Their fans, seen below, are wearing masks much like the ones worn by the band. They want to shock people too. Slipknot fans are predominantly male,  a common theme with metal music.

Jump to the complete opposite side of the spectrum and you hace Taylor Swift. Swift is the clean cut, clean mouthed epitome of Americas Angel. Parents would want their kids to be like her, what's not to like? Her fanbase is broad but mainly totally female. Above you can see kids holding a sign at one of her shows. Her main audience, I would say, is teenage girls.


STAR IMAGE- REBRANDING

Often stars can have a massive overhaul of image and reinvent themselves for different crowds. Miley Cyrus used to be like Taylor Swift, an American angel who parents approved of. in the last few years, Cyrus has undergone massive transformations to change her image. She cut her hair short and started wearing incredibly provocative clothing, rejecting her previous wholesome image. In interviews Cyrus had previously stated 'drugs are for idiots and I'm never gonna be that person.'
jump forward to today and shes coming out with lyrics like "In the club high on perp with my shades on".

 

Another example of rebranding that still kind of confuses me is Avril Lavigne. Whereas miley rebranded in order to drop an image enforced on her by Disney, Avril really had no reason to change. In 2004 Avril Lavigne was the girl to be. She was a cool skater chick who hung out with cool guys at the mall and caused havoc. Fast forward, shes singing about Hello Kitty. It's very confusing. Goodwin argued that the female performer will frequently be objectified. I guess being a badass and confident young lady didnt leave much to objectify and she changed.

Laura Mulvey said the camera is usually gendered as masculine, objectifying women with sexual overtones either as virgin or whore. In this video, Avril is essentially behaving like a tall toddler, sexualised as a childlike virgin.

Record Label Research

I started off by finding artists who had similar qualities to mine. The most important of these qualities:
-FEMALE FRONTED
-NOT COMPLETELY MAINSTREAM.

TONIGHT ALIVE

Fronted by Jenna McDougal, Tonight Alive are an Australian alternative band. They're signed to the label 'Fearless Records', owned by Sony Music Entertainment.

WE ARE THE IN CROWD

Fronted by Taylor Jardine, We Are The In Crowd are an American pop punk band. Theyre signed to Hopeless Records

PARAMORE 

Fronted by Hayley Williams, Paramore are a pop rock band from America. Theyre signed to Fueled By Ramen LLC  an American record label which operates as a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, and is distributed by Atlantic Records.

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE

Florence and the Machine is an English indie rock act fronted by Florence Welch, currently signed to Universal Republic, owned by Universal Music.

TEGAN AND SARA 

Tegan and Sara are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1995 in Calgary, Alberta, composed of identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin. They're signed to Warner Bros.

BEST COAST

Best Coast is an American Indie rock duo fronted by Bethany Cosentino.  They are currently on Harvest Records, a major record label belonging to Capitol Music Group, originally created by EMI.

COURTNEY BARNETT

Courtney Barnett is an Australian indie-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Melbourne. She's signed to 'Milk!', an indipendent label based in Australia.



HANNAH DIAMOND

Hannah Diamond is an english bubblegum pop artist signed to PC Music, an indie label.



Lots of the labels the above artists are signed to are subsidiaries of other, larger labels.
A warner label: Tegan and Sara, Paramore
Sony: Tonight Alive
Universal: Florence and the machine
INDIE LABEL: Hannah Diamond, Courntey Barnett, Best Coast, We are the In Crowd.

It seems like any record label that would take my artist would probably be an indie label, not connected to a larger company.