Just got back from a weekend holiday with family so havent been blogging yet but i'm also going to post my later holiday dates here too.
August 10-17th in Germany
August 20-end of holiday and begining of term at Reading festival and surfing in cornwall
On holiday i may have the chance to check blogger either just my group blog and the overall blog and may be able to do some posting too, if not then i will try and catch up at the start of term when i get back
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Interesting video - Independant music video analysis - House of Cards
Radiohead are a great band to research when looking for any kind of innovation in music. This is what their official youtube says, briefly explaining the video: In Radiohead's new video for "House of Cards", no cameras or lights were used. Instead, 3D plotting technologies collected information about the shapes and distances of objects. The video was created from that data by 'visualizing' it.
Making of:
Basically, 3 types of data collecting equipment were used which send out lasers and the faster the lasers come back the nearer the object that they are bouncing off must be, clever. The most interesting piece of equipment however is a 360 degree rotating data collector that can measure data that is quite far away, say a street length. The downside to this is the lasers are further apart however so the image is less defined and detailed. THrough a combination of these methods they made this pretty cool video:
Watch around 3:30 in which you can see people walking around the room and again a bit later on.
This is another example of how a band has used uniqueness of a music video and free internet marketing to promote a new single. Radiohead released the video for 'House of Cards' and the making of video on their youtube account, instantly allowing any fan or curious youtuber to watch the video. The release of this video on youtube before tv or another medium meant that this video became a youtube phenomenom and was in the 'featured videos' section for the next couple of days. This video created hype for the release of their single and although the video was available for a long time on youtube before the single was released sales of the single were very good. This type of marketing is very impressive and only bands with radioheads high status are able to pull it off. It is fascinating to see how by releasing officially free versions of the song a band can encourage more fans to buy the track when it comes out and when marketing our single we should look at this.
Making of:
Basically, 3 types of data collecting equipment were used which send out lasers and the faster the lasers come back the nearer the object that they are bouncing off must be, clever. The most interesting piece of equipment however is a 360 degree rotating data collector that can measure data that is quite far away, say a street length. The downside to this is the lasers are further apart however so the image is less defined and detailed. THrough a combination of these methods they made this pretty cool video:
Watch around 3:30 in which you can see people walking around the room and again a bit later on.
This is another example of how a band has used uniqueness of a music video and free internet marketing to promote a new single. Radiohead released the video for 'House of Cards' and the making of video on their youtube account, instantly allowing any fan or curious youtuber to watch the video. The release of this video on youtube before tv or another medium meant that this video became a youtube phenomenom and was in the 'featured videos' section for the next couple of days. This video created hype for the release of their single and although the video was available for a long time on youtube before the single was released sales of the single were very good. This type of marketing is very impressive and only bands with radioheads high status are able to pull it off. It is fascinating to see how by releasing officially free versions of the song a band can encourage more fans to buy the track when it comes out and when marketing our single we should look at this.
Interesting video - Independant music video analysis - Electric Feel
For their single Electric Feel, MGMT created a downloadable (free) interative music video game in which the user controls the background, foreground and other levels including band performance etc. with a series of buttons along the bottom that change the colour or picture etc.
This is a screen capture of someone playing the interactive music video game. There are 625 to the 229th power different ways the video can turn out. Download the interactive video at: whoismgmt.com/efvideo
This video is completely unique and the band have used the uniqueness of the video to promote the new single before it is out. This video is more of a marketing tool than a music video (the band did go on to record another video) as by allowing people to download it free and play around with it (also by creating hype and making an 'internet phenomenom') it will make people more likely to persue the single and the real video when it comes out.
This is a screen capture of someone playing the interactive music video game. There are 625 to the 229th power different ways the video can turn out. Download the interactive video at: whoismgmt.com/efvideo
This video is completely unique and the band have used the uniqueness of the video to promote the new single before it is out. This video is more of a marketing tool than a music video (the band did go on to record another video) as by allowing people to download it free and play around with it (also by creating hype and making an 'internet phenomenom') it will make people more likely to persue the single and the real video when it comes out.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
BLK feedback
great ideas, really good analysis and its obvious from your blog what is inspiring your ideas. well done Jake. move things forward now though, can you post up your responses to the most recent group idea?
Monday, July 14, 2008
Music Video Analysis
STAN
Editing
-At the start of the video before any music is played the cuts make it look more like a short film than a music video
- A mixture of straight cuts and quick fades to and from black is then used which suits a music video format and the dark colours in the video and general night time setting.
-Towards the end of the video it cross cuts between Stan’s funeral and Eminem’s response letter to emphasise that it is too late.
-The narrative can be split into Stan’s obsessive actions and actions with Dido and Stan’s letter writing. In the former shorter shots are used and cuts often reflect the music and beat whereas in the latter longer shots are used and the emphasis is on Stan’s face and his erratic writing.
Lighting
-It is clear that in the video low lighting is used to reflect the shattered homelife of Stan and Dido
-The low lighting helps to create an image of gritty realism
Colour
-The contrast is overworked in Stan’s house so that stains and dirt on the walls and tiles are more obvious and so that even white is yellowish. On Eminem however the contrast isn’t overworked and his white t-shirt is actually white compared to Stan’s vest
-Tones of yellow and green reappear in Stan’s house which gives all the colours a dark tint and works with the low lighting to give the house a gritty feel.
MES
-The first obvious examples of MES reflecting the mood and narrative of the song is the bathroom in which dirt is visible everywhere, contrasting with our ideal idea of a clean bathroom. The dirty bathroom in which Stan and Dido argue could reflect their shattered relationship
-The basement is Stan’s own room and we get to know this as it is covered with his obsessive pictures of Eminem and Dido intrudes on it later. The messiness of the room reflects his erratic nature and fragile state.
-The lightning and general weather are iconography suited to the video because they represent a scary atmosphere and perhaps violence that is present in the video.
Framing
-Most framing is quite tight as the focus is on the person singing
-This is not true in some of the shots however as their purpose is to establish the situation or area that the shot is in.
Movement
-Sometimes tight framing is used but the camera circles around the target to give an all round view.
-In establishing shots too a pan or track is often used
-To bridge both the chorus and verse but also the situation in the song and how Stan’s obsession with Eminem affects his relationship with Dido a very good descending crane shot is used from the first floor bathroom to Stan’s basement.
Costume
-Stan significantly dyes his hair at the start to make himself look like Eminem
-Stan is also significantly wearing a ‘wifebeater’
-The clothes that Eminem and Stan wear are similar as they both wear white t-shirts. This and their similar hair established a relationship between the two, whether it is that Stan wants to be Eminem or how some people have interpreted the video: they are the same person.
-Dido wears homely clothes (a big t-shirt and dressing gown) which show her as domestic in contrast to Stan
SFX
-Lightening is used throughout the video
-Car crash and fall into river
-Stan’s face appears as a mirror image of Eminem as if he is looking in through the window at the end of the song when Eminem realised that Stan is dead
Representation
-Stan is represented as obsessive about Eminem but also aggressive towards him (when he doesn’t reply) and Dido. His state is represented as unstable as his mood shifts. Eminem has commented that this video is just about all the obsessive fan letters that he gets and Stan is Eminem’s representation of an obsessive fan.
-Eminem is represented as a good guy in the song but not perfect as he cannot always be there for his fans but he DOES try.
-Dido is shown as weak in the video and vulnerable. Despite Stan’s aggression towards her she stays with him.
Narrative
-The whole video follows an obvious narrative which builds up, both towards the end of each verse and the end of the song with a volatile ending.
-The narrative starts without music to set up the situation between Dido and Stan before showing how that is affected by Stan’s obsession.
-Interspersed with Stan’s letter writing are ways in which Eminem lets down Stan (letter dropped in the post office, pulled away by bodyguard outside concert) to show that it is not Eminem’s fault.
-The video comes it it’s conclusion with the last verse and Eminem’s realisation that Stan is dead. It is ironic that Eminem only writes the letter when it is too late.
Genre
-The images and narrative in the video separate it from stereotypical rap and hip hop videos that focus on girls, bling and violence and this has probably led the video and song to be so critically acclaimed.
-This sort of ‘deep’ song is present in hip hop and rap music and not unheard of and the genre conventions come more from the basic structure of the song, longer and greater number or verses and beat.
-Such a narrative based video however that does not focus on performance is unconventional of the genre.
Audience
-This song targeted an incredibly broad audience and had great success with widespread radioplay and music video play even leading the song to be played live at the Grammys with Elton John
-The video in particular targets quite a wide audience as said before it doesn’t focus on genre conventions that often limit the audience to young males.
ELEKTROBANK
Editing
-Straight cuts are used throughout
Lighting
-There is no obvious studio lighting and most lighting seems to be from windows. The Protagonists face is nearly always well lit however.
Framing
-Lots of POV and actions shots are used at the start to establish the drama between her and the rival girls.
-The framing is generally wide apart from when it is just her and it is tight. It is wide to include the crowd and scene.
-During the previous girls dance the framing is wide and distance so we do not get so attached to the rival girl
Movement
-The camera is quite static at the start but does move in some tracking and POV shots,
-As the girl becomes more active so does the camera as it follows her about and mirrors her movement with tracks and pans.
-It is generally noticeable handheld.
Costume
-The costume is all suited to the gym acrobatics environment
SFX
-Slow motion is used
-Perhaps SFX when the baton thing is thrown?
Narrative
-The start sets up the narrative story and competition making her dance more important
Genre
-The video does not particularly follow the genre but this is often common in techno videos as there are no lyrics.
Editing
-At the start of the video before any music is played the cuts make it look more like a short film than a music video
- A mixture of straight cuts and quick fades to and from black is then used which suits a music video format and the dark colours in the video and general night time setting.
-Towards the end of the video it cross cuts between Stan’s funeral and Eminem’s response letter to emphasise that it is too late.
-The narrative can be split into Stan’s obsessive actions and actions with Dido and Stan’s letter writing. In the former shorter shots are used and cuts often reflect the music and beat whereas in the latter longer shots are used and the emphasis is on Stan’s face and his erratic writing.
Lighting
-It is clear that in the video low lighting is used to reflect the shattered homelife of Stan and Dido
-The low lighting helps to create an image of gritty realism
Colour
-The contrast is overworked in Stan’s house so that stains and dirt on the walls and tiles are more obvious and so that even white is yellowish. On Eminem however the contrast isn’t overworked and his white t-shirt is actually white compared to Stan’s vest
-Tones of yellow and green reappear in Stan’s house which gives all the colours a dark tint and works with the low lighting to give the house a gritty feel.
MES
-The first obvious examples of MES reflecting the mood and narrative of the song is the bathroom in which dirt is visible everywhere, contrasting with our ideal idea of a clean bathroom. The dirty bathroom in which Stan and Dido argue could reflect their shattered relationship
-The basement is Stan’s own room and we get to know this as it is covered with his obsessive pictures of Eminem and Dido intrudes on it later. The messiness of the room reflects his erratic nature and fragile state.
-The lightning and general weather are iconography suited to the video because they represent a scary atmosphere and perhaps violence that is present in the video.
Framing
-Most framing is quite tight as the focus is on the person singing
-This is not true in some of the shots however as their purpose is to establish the situation or area that the shot is in.
Movement
-Sometimes tight framing is used but the camera circles around the target to give an all round view.
-In establishing shots too a pan or track is often used
-To bridge both the chorus and verse but also the situation in the song and how Stan’s obsession with Eminem affects his relationship with Dido a very good descending crane shot is used from the first floor bathroom to Stan’s basement.
Costume
-Stan significantly dyes his hair at the start to make himself look like Eminem
-Stan is also significantly wearing a ‘wifebeater’
-The clothes that Eminem and Stan wear are similar as they both wear white t-shirts. This and their similar hair established a relationship between the two, whether it is that Stan wants to be Eminem or how some people have interpreted the video: they are the same person.
-Dido wears homely clothes (a big t-shirt and dressing gown) which show her as domestic in contrast to Stan
SFX
-Lightening is used throughout the video
-Car crash and fall into river
-Stan’s face appears as a mirror image of Eminem as if he is looking in through the window at the end of the song when Eminem realised that Stan is dead
Representation
-Stan is represented as obsessive about Eminem but also aggressive towards him (when he doesn’t reply) and Dido. His state is represented as unstable as his mood shifts. Eminem has commented that this video is just about all the obsessive fan letters that he gets and Stan is Eminem’s representation of an obsessive fan.
-Eminem is represented as a good guy in the song but not perfect as he cannot always be there for his fans but he DOES try.
-Dido is shown as weak in the video and vulnerable. Despite Stan’s aggression towards her she stays with him.
Narrative
-The whole video follows an obvious narrative which builds up, both towards the end of each verse and the end of the song with a volatile ending.
-The narrative starts without music to set up the situation between Dido and Stan before showing how that is affected by Stan’s obsession.
-Interspersed with Stan’s letter writing are ways in which Eminem lets down Stan (letter dropped in the post office, pulled away by bodyguard outside concert) to show that it is not Eminem’s fault.
-The video comes it it’s conclusion with the last verse and Eminem’s realisation that Stan is dead. It is ironic that Eminem only writes the letter when it is too late.
Genre
-The images and narrative in the video separate it from stereotypical rap and hip hop videos that focus on girls, bling and violence and this has probably led the video and song to be so critically acclaimed.
-This sort of ‘deep’ song is present in hip hop and rap music and not unheard of and the genre conventions come more from the basic structure of the song, longer and greater number or verses and beat.
-Such a narrative based video however that does not focus on performance is unconventional of the genre.
Audience
-This song targeted an incredibly broad audience and had great success with widespread radioplay and music video play even leading the song to be played live at the Grammys with Elton John
-The video in particular targets quite a wide audience as said before it doesn’t focus on genre conventions that often limit the audience to young males.
ELEKTROBANK
Editing
-Straight cuts are used throughout
Lighting
-There is no obvious studio lighting and most lighting seems to be from windows. The Protagonists face is nearly always well lit however.
Framing
-Lots of POV and actions shots are used at the start to establish the drama between her and the rival girls.
-The framing is generally wide apart from when it is just her and it is tight. It is wide to include the crowd and scene.
-During the previous girls dance the framing is wide and distance so we do not get so attached to the rival girl
Movement
-The camera is quite static at the start but does move in some tracking and POV shots,
-As the girl becomes more active so does the camera as it follows her about and mirrors her movement with tracks and pans.
-It is generally noticeable handheld.
Costume
-The costume is all suited to the gym acrobatics environment
SFX
-Slow motion is used
-Perhaps SFX when the baton thing is thrown?
Narrative
-The start sets up the narrative story and competition making her dance more important
Genre
-The video does not particularly follow the genre but this is often common in techno videos as there are no lyrics.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Marketing strategies
What did you miss out?
-Local advertising
-Free promotions
-A USP
-PR stunts
-Appearances on more appropriate tv and radio shows (less mainstream)
What did you learn?
-To think about what is out there and the rest of the market in comparison to the artist you are trying to market
-No matter how niche the music genre you are within is you should try to broaden the audience as much as possible
-Below the line advertising can be as effective as above the line
-Getting the right mix of following and breaking conventions is important
-Timing of the release greatly affects the release
-Interacting to the fans is very important whether it is done through signings, gigs or personally written MySpace’s
-Free demos are the first step to getting an artist on radio etc.
-Through association with a well known artist or band (supporting etc.) a less known artist can greatly heighten their profile
-The creation of an image of an artist is important in how people view them and their music
-One artist can be marketed successfully in a number of different ways
-Images relating to the artist incl. album artwork does not necessarily have to be relevant and can in fact be more successful if it does not
-Local advertising
-Free promotions
-A USP
-PR stunts
-Appearances on more appropriate tv and radio shows (less mainstream)
What did you learn?
-To think about what is out there and the rest of the market in comparison to the artist you are trying to market
-No matter how niche the music genre you are within is you should try to broaden the audience as much as possible
-Below the line advertising can be as effective as above the line
-Getting the right mix of following and breaking conventions is important
-Timing of the release greatly affects the release
-Interacting to the fans is very important whether it is done through signings, gigs or personally written MySpace’s
-Free demos are the first step to getting an artist on radio etc.
-Through association with a well known artist or band (supporting etc.) a less known artist can greatly heighten their profile
-The creation of an image of an artist is important in how people view them and their music
-One artist can be marketed successfully in a number of different ways
-Images relating to the artist incl. album artwork does not necessarily have to be relevant and can in fact be more successful if it does not
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Album cover research
Hail to the Thief - Radiohead (2003)
Interesting facts about the album and its cover:
-It is alternatively called 'The Gloaming'
-Similarly each track on the album has a alternative title in brackets on the tracklist and the lyrics in the cover which are phrases taken off American radio during the 'war on terror' in 2001 and placed out of context
-The album artwork is in the style of a roadmap (which becomes more clear on the inside cover) and is said to be based on American city style layout
-Of the phrases that appear most are taken from lyrics in the album but generally all have political connotations especially as often American spellings are chosen over English (despite Radiohead being British)
-The song 2+2=5 is said to be a reference to Orwellian subverted reality
Images:
-The image that takes up the cover and the inside is a painting of a roadmap with controversial/political words instead of building names
-The colours used are all quite primary and high contrast which means the roadmap and words are highlighted
-The whole cover has quite a rustic feel and the handwriting is in block capitals and is not particularly neat
-Above the text (particularly on the inside) the blue and white background with black paint drips looks like a dark city skyline and it is clear from the darkness of the sky and the immensity and blackness of the buildings that it is not a desirable city
-An image of the band or any other image is not featured on the cover or the inside of this album
-The whole image hints at the political motivation behind the album and lyrics
-This form of middle-class protest suggests that the band play alternative music and don't play by nobodys rules (not even their own)
Institutional context:
-The cover suggests that the band is either successful enough to not have a conventional cover as people will still buy the album or that the band is on an independant label and so is not restricted by their label as much
-The cover does not look like it is trying to create a brand identity as it does not show the band so the cover looks like the cover of a band that is already well established
-The cover could connote underground insitution but it is quite typical of alternative rock to have slightly unconventional or controversial covers so in that sense it is conventional of the genre
Target audience:
-The album brings forward issues such as recycling, oil and the afghanistan war which suggest quite a middle class audience
-References to George Orwell's 1984 suggest an intellectual audience
-The whole unconventional style of the cover suggests quite an established target audience
Interesting facts about the album and its cover:
-It is alternatively called 'The Gloaming'
-Similarly each track on the album has a alternative title in brackets on the tracklist and the lyrics in the cover which are phrases taken off American radio during the 'war on terror' in 2001 and placed out of context
-The album artwork is in the style of a roadmap (which becomes more clear on the inside cover) and is said to be based on American city style layout
-Of the phrases that appear most are taken from lyrics in the album but generally all have political connotations especially as often American spellings are chosen over English (despite Radiohead being British)
-The song 2+2=5 is said to be a reference to Orwellian subverted reality
Images:
-The image that takes up the cover and the inside is a painting of a roadmap with controversial/political words instead of building names
-The colours used are all quite primary and high contrast which means the roadmap and words are highlighted
-The whole cover has quite a rustic feel and the handwriting is in block capitals and is not particularly neat
-Above the text (particularly on the inside) the blue and white background with black paint drips looks like a dark city skyline and it is clear from the darkness of the sky and the immensity and blackness of the buildings that it is not a desirable city
-An image of the band or any other image is not featured on the cover or the inside of this album
Text:
-The text style and words make up the most important aspect of this cover
-The font used is very simple which emphasises the meaning of the words
-The contrast in colour between the text and background within the squares also emphasises the words and their meaning
-The words are big enough to be read easily
-The album is very much relevant to the time it was written and recorded 2000-2003 (roughly) and the text reflects this with words and phrases such as 'Hamburger', '24hr', 'hail to the thief', 'quango' and 'capitalism'.
-The effect that the text has is controversial and fitting with the political aspect of the album
Iconography and genre signifiers:
-The whole image hints at the political motivation behind the album and lyrics
-This form of middle-class protest suggests that the band play alternative music and don't play by nobodys rules (not even their own)
Institutional context:
-The cover suggests that the band is either successful enough to not have a conventional cover as people will still buy the album or that the band is on an independant label and so is not restricted by their label as much
-The cover does not look like it is trying to create a brand identity as it does not show the band so the cover looks like the cover of a band that is already well established
-The cover could connote underground insitution but it is quite typical of alternative rock to have slightly unconventional or controversial covers so in that sense it is conventional of the genre
Target audience:
-The album brings forward issues such as recycling, oil and the afghanistan war which suggest quite a middle class audience
-References to George Orwell's 1984 suggest an intellectual audience
-The whole unconventional style of the cover suggests quite an established target audience
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
BLK feedback
Great album covers work Jake, and I particularly like the work you've done on track selection and ideas for the video - keep experimenting along those lines.
Don't forget to post your marketing stuff too
Don't forget to post your marketing stuff too
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