Changes to concept

Recently I have had a meeting with my media tutor to discuss changes to my music video concept, as we both agreed it may be too big a concept to fund and organise as a student. Though I am disappointed that I have not been able to produce the exact ideas I have been developing this year, I am however pleased that I am now a great deal less anxious about production of my media product. 

My altered concept is more of a condensed version of my original idea, with the same underlying message about media stigmatisation and self-fulfilling prophecy, but rather than having an organised outdoor concert (unfeasible due to unpredictable winter weather; organising a mass of actors, and filming in one day) the vampire in my music video will do a cross narrative and performance.

 Also, rather than having a gang of vampires running around a quiet neighborhood at night, the vampire in the video will be a loner, which will, in fact, reinforce the idea that the public does not like them. 

My music video will still maintain its indie/alternative conventions (in terms of challenging and conforming) and still has the infrastructure of my desired concept, just with a production that I can better work with. 

Textual Analysis- Laura Mulvey 'Male Gaze'

Laura Mulvey - Male Gaze

Mulvey's theory depicts the vast majority of media productions to be constructed for the consumption of a 'heterosexual male' audience. The theorist describes how women tend to be shown within media to be products of the male character. The key points within her theory, illustrated in 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' are: 

1.The representation of women as a sexual fantasy and from a heterosexual male point of view

2.Scopophilia- the pleasure involved in looking at other peoples bodies 3) Objectification of female characters

3.Patriarchal society

4.Objectification of female characters

5.Active male and passive female

6.Men – controlling subjects

7.Women as an image

8.Men do the looking and the women are there to be looked at

9.Needs of the male ego 

The video begins by showing a male as a controlling subject over a female as he physically restrains her whilst she tries to break free. This is furthered by the lyrics "You're hogging her". The word 'hogging' implies that the female is an object to be used by males and that in this instance the controlling male subject is using her too much and not allowing for the other males within the video to use her as well- I liken this to a group of dribbling 4-year-olds fighting over a Playmobile truck. 

One of the final shots of the music video shows a male riding a motorbike into the sunset with a female on the back- this fulfills the need of the male ego as they are often shown within cinema to be hyper-masculine, slick and cool, seemingly impartial to the attention of other males and solely interested in speed, possessions, attractive women (could be listed under possessions) and designer brands. It makes me queasy. 

The video also adheres to the 8th criteria of the Male Gaze: 'Men do the looking and the women are there to be looked at'. This is shown via an eye match that shows a close-up of Pharell Williams as he sings "Look at your girl- she loves it" followed by a cutaway to a close-up of the female subject dancing in the middle of a revolving stage: epitomising the notion that females in cinema are 'on show' to the male audience. As harmless as this may seem, these conventions have indoctrinated society into believing that women need to expect the attention and objectification of males and have also brainwashed men into believing that there is little consequence in treating a female as a possession or a prize. But there are consequences- a full can of lager over the top of them being one of many. 

Changing music industry

Changing music industry- MTV

MTV (or, Music Television) is an American channel, first launched in 1981, it was the first channel of its kind and has since influenced a massive growth in the number of music channels worldwide. Primarily airing only music videos, MTV has gone on to air reality TV shows such as MTV Cribs, host musical events such as MTV Unplugged and gain a number of daughter channels.  

MTV's original purpose was to play non-stop music videos for 24 hours a day, with people known as VJs (video jockeys) to choose which ones to play. They would also advertise to and inform viewers of music news such as upcoming concerts, album releases, etc.

MTV often sparked controversy in its earlier days, mimicking the Top 40 single charts 

Music Video History

History of Music Videos

There is some debate as to what the first ever music video was: some argue that 'The Jazz Singer' was the first appearance of music and visuals together on screen; some believed it to be Walt Disney's 'Fantasia'; others argued it was Bob Dylan, or The Buggles, and so on. 

Over time, the purpose of music videos has changed. Originally existing in order to promote a single's release, in recent times music videos have been used to illustrate an artist's beliefs, tell a story, provide entertainment and are also being utilised as political statements.



The birth of MTV in 1981 had a massive influence on music video culture. The first video ever to be aired on MTV was 'Video killed the Radio Star' by The Buggles. This was a landmark in music video history as it was the first channel to primarily show music videos 24 hours a day.

Another milestone in music video history was Beastie Boys' 'Sabotage' which was one of the first music videos to use intertextual referencing as a basis for a parody TV episode-esque video in the style of a 70s police show. There were various references to pre-existing crime-fighting shows such as S.W.A.T, Starsky and Hutch, and so on.

Music video influences

Yeah Yeah Yeahs- Heads Will Roll

In coming up with ideas for my own music video, I became heavily influenced by comedy-horror style music videos of the alternative/indie genre. In particular, I found this music video to be captivating, because of the elaborate way in which the events within the music video occur. 

Wolf Alice- You're a germ

Wolf Alice's 'You're a germ' has been an influence on my ideas for my music video, as I like the references to old horror movies such as Night of the living dead, Evil Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre I also liked the idea of having a gory concept in a music video that still managed to be funny or somewhat light-hearted. The inclusion of the band as the main characters in the music video adds satire to the concept.

Kasabian- Vlad the Impaler

Textual analysis- Santigold website

Santigold

For the analysis of a band website task, I decided to look at Santigold's website as I will be using one of her songs for my music video. I wanted to compare her website's aesthetic with her music and image. Santigold has recently released the album '99 cents', which is the current focal point for the website.

Her music videos appear as though they are pop-up windows on her website, overlapping one another in a seemingly unorganised way. The colours on her website consist of bright yellow, pinks and red, and has her album artwork as the skin of her homepage. Fitting in with the title of her album, the icons to take you to different places within the website appear to look like bargain or price stickers.

Advanced portfolio checklist

This is the checklist for my A2 portfolio, I will be referring back to this sheet throughout the year in order to make sure I'm creating posts that are relevant and that will help me achieve the highest marks that I am able to. 

Description		On Blog
RESEASRCH (For all, state how you are going to use this info and where you got the info from)	Audience: ·          How audiences are targeted (market research) ·          Appropriate audience theories (aim for different ones to AS) ·          Consuming habits (when, how, where do people normally consume these products (main and ancillary)?
	Institution: ·          History of that industry/medium. ·          Comparable products (main and ancillary) already available. ·          Key company case study ·          How is the industry regulated? ·          Production process (how made and by whom) ·          Distribution process (how distributed and by whom) ·          Marketing and promotion ·          Well known examples/producers/directors
	Conventional Features: ·          DETAILED textual analysis of at least 3 existing products (main and ancillary).
	Academic Theories: ·          A selection of appropriately chosen theories outlined and your opinion/understanding of the theory outlined. ·          Explanation of how theory will inform your planning decisions.
	Primary Research: At least one of the following… ·          Interview ·          Direct Questioning ·          Textual Analysis
	Secondary Research: At least two of the following… ·          Reference books / text books ·          Internet ·          Seminars ·          Novels ·          Magazines
PLANNING Evidence of ALL planning, no matter how rough, should be on your blog.	Who is your target audience (detailed)?
	·          Development of ideas. ·          What is your company idea? ·          Stylistic influences ·          Brand/style development ·          Pitch to imaginary company ·          Invent own company with its own backstory
	Time and equipment
	Evidence of thought/idea process (main and ancillary) ·          PRINT (layout drafts, text drafts, still image plans, shoot plans, typography, mise-en-scene, setting, colour schemes, character profiles, company/brand, costume) ·          MOVING IMAGE (storyboard, character profiles, setting/location plan, narrative/plot, soundtrack, script, drafts for graphics etc, mise-en-scene, costume)
	Test the market – test out your ideas before completing your final production pieces.
Prod-uction	Final products (main and ancillary) (original copies on disc and copies on the blog)
Evaluation	The questions that must be addressed in the evaluation are: ·          In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? ·          How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary texts? ·          What have you learned from your audience feedback? ·          How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?