For our video, we intend to mainly use a mix of Close Up and Medium Shots combined with quick cuts, which will be added during editing. By using fast cuts, it will conform to the media theorists as it will mimic the style of the high tempo music. By mainly using a mix of just medium and close up shots, it will allow us to clearly depict what is happening in both the narrative and performance sections. Although we are aiming to use have the majority of our footage filmed using either a close ups or medium shots, we will not discount the use of other variations. This will mean out video will not be too repetitive. Each Shot will last around two to three seconds to allow the footage to maintain a high tempo.
According to theorist Andrew Goodwin, all successful music videos must include six certain conventions. I will explore his theory, by analysing three music promos from the genre of metal. The videos I am analysing are ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ by Iron Maiden, ‘Strong Arm of the Law’ by Saxon and Motörhead’s ‘One Track Mind’. I have chosen to look at these three cinematics because they will give me an insight into metal promotional videos. This will help me to gain understanding, which will support me in the creation of my own video.
The first convention Goodwin thinks Music video directors should observe, is that the music video demonstrates the particular genre characteristics. When watching my chosen videos, i noticed that all of them conformed to this ideology. An example present in all three videos is that each band member fits the stereotypical image to suit the metal genre.
Secondly, he believes that there should be a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. Although both, ‘One Track Mind’ and ‘Strong Arm of the Law’ maintain performance footage from beginning to end, Iron Maiden’s 1984 release ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ can be applied to Goodwin’s theory. An instance in this video is when the line “...Go to war again...” is sung by Bruce Dickinson the on screen visual is a gun, presenting a literal demonstration of the lyrics.
Goodwin goes on to suggest that the visuals must also relate to the music. Again all three videos match this theory. In particular Saxon’s ‘Strong Arm of the Law’ video, in which for each band member’s solo, the camera focuses on their skill. It is also noticeable that cuts and edits tend to be used in time with the song.
The fourth point Goodwin makes is that due to the high demand of the record label, lots of close ups of the artist will be used as well as frequent usage of band motifs. Once more each video I looked at observe at least one part of this suggestion. On Motörhead’s ‘One Track Mind’ video, the majority is filmed in a low close-up camera angle. Not only does this technique allow the audience to see more of the artist, but due to the fact that the camera is looking up at the band for most of the filmed sequences, it gives suggestion that the band is important. It’s almost as if you are watching the performance from the crowd. Although it does not appear in the ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ video, I am aware that as Iron Maiden have grown in worldwide popularity, they include their mascot ‘Eddie’ in most of their more recent productions. This agrees with Goodwin’s usage of motifs idea.
The Next of Goodwin’s points are that there is a frequent reference to the notion of looking. In Iron Maiden’s video, this is shown in the narrative section, where one of the characters is watching workers through a monitor. Although the audience are not shown what is being looked at, in Saxon’s and Motörhead’s video both lead singers, Lemmy (Motörhead ) and Biff Byford (Saxon), stand on the edge of the stage and focus into where the crowd would be situated. On close inspection it appears that there may not have actually been a crowd present at the shooting of the videos, however by employing this technique, they have disguised this.
Finally, Goodwin suggests there should be intertextuality in the video. This features in the ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ promo during the narrative, when an image of a goat flashes up on the screen. This goat references to the Goat of Mendes which is strongly associated with the devil. The Goat of Mendes, is thought to have originated back in the time of ancient Egypt and the theme for the artwork of the album ‘Powerslave’, which ‘2 Minutes to Midnight’ appears on is Ancient Egypt.
After analysing three music videos it would appear that Goodwin’s theory is upheld. There are elements of the theory that can be seen in all three videos. The Iron Maiden video features all six elements, while the other two feature five in each. The missing element in these two videos is intertextuality which would appear to be difficult to include in a live performance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPbqQOf41Qc - '2 Minutes to Midnight'
Me and my group have decided to create a music video for Motörhead’s classic track ‘ Ace of Spades’.
Narrative
•During the intro of the song, the audience watch the main character heading to an unknown location. An establishing shot will be used to set the scene. This will be followed by the use of point of view and over the shoulder shots
•Throughout verses one and two, the narrative will focus on a poker game. In which the main character is seen to be losing. The footage will be edited to be black and white from the time the main character sits down at the table. This will be done to signify the beginning of a period of uncertainty.
•Throughout the solo we will include a stop frame technique. This will show the main character’s winnings increase and decrease around him/her.
•In the final verse, the main character will instigate a comeback. By the end of the song he/she will win the pot. During this verse, close ups and fast cuts will be integrated into the cinematic to build suspense.
Props, Costumes and lighting
For the narrative sequences - • Formal outfits (, shirts and waistcoats, black trousers, black shoes and dresses) • Poker chips, playing cards and poker table. • Drinks Glasses.
For the performance • Instruments (Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drum Kit, Microphone) • Leather Jackets, Dark Jeans and boots.
•Artificial lighting will be used for both Narrative and Performance sections. This is will be done as it is easier to control and work with than natural light.
For a section of my coursework, I am required to produce a magazine advert to promote my music video as a product. In order to successfully complete this task to a professional standard, I have studied some existing adverts. From these adverts, I have noticed that most promotions for CD releases share similar features. This is reminiscent of the DVD covers.
The first similarity I have observed is the use of the artist’s name. This is normally in the font which appears on the artist’s albums, which like the DVD covers is done to be easily recognisable to the target audience.
The second feature that seems to be included in most of the adverts I have studied is a master shot of the band. Usually this image has been manipulated using editing software. Once more, this is incorporated to try to tempt their target audience to acquire the product being advertised.
I began my research by examining an advert used to promote the already released album, ‘Sick’ by Duff McKagan’s Loaded. This advert adheres to the two concepts I have previously mentioned. On top of that, quotes complimenting the release have been printed down the side of the advert. Although these are from anonymous sources, they do include names of heavily influential artists associated with the genre of the CD being advertised, such as Alice Cooper, Motörhead and Iggy Pop. Towards the bottom of the advert, the band’s web address is included alongside information about a festival appearance and a European tour. By including such information, it means that they are not only gaining attention for their new release, but are also benefiting financially, in the sense that they don’t need to spend more money to promote these up and coming band events separately. Once more, this is targeting a particular audience.
I then compared the Duff McKagan’s Loaded advert to an advertisement for the new Megadeth CD ‘Endgame’. Despite the fact that there were some similar features used, The Megadeth advert featuring their singer/guitarist, Dave Mustaine, appears as a totally unique promotional device. One reason for this is the camera angle used for the image, which in contrast to the master shot used for the ‘Sick’ advert is a low angle shot. This suggests that Mustaine plays an integral part in the new album. A further reason to why he is used is that he is recognised by the fanbase as the most popular member of the group.Due to the fact that the album had not been released at the time, there is also an in-store release date. Obviously this is incorporated to the advert to let the audience know when they can purchase it. There is also a promotional discount offered on this advert for pre-ordering the product. I think is a clever way to increase the chance of selling more units.
Again a different style of advert is used for Judas Priest’s ‘A Touch of Evil Live’ album. This time, the main body of the advert is just the album cover from the CD with added text. By using the same image for both the advertisement and the album cover it will make it instantly recognisable in the shops. Another advert I have come across, that uses this same method is the one for the re-release of Venom’s ‘Black Metal’ album. In contrast to the Judas Priest advert however, the Venom advert has an extensive section of text. This is dedicated to the new content on the album, which would appeal to Venom’s existing audience.
After researching this area, I now have the understanding that to produce an effective advertisement for my product, I will need to employ recognised conventions of advertising as it relates to this area of the music industry. My analysis shows that this could include combining recognised motifs and imagery synonymous with the band, promotional offers and subsidiary advertising of related events or merchandise, positive quotations and endorsements, and information relevant to the target audiences such as release dates and band websites.
In my research, I have found that most music DVD covers follow the same conventions.
The front of the cover appears to consist of three main features, on top of a plain background colour. The first is the name of the artist. This tends to be written in the font that is used on the artists CDs. This makes it instantly recognisable to the target audience. The colour of the text, often follows the colour scheme used on the rest of the cover and this is usually in contrast to the background, which like the choice of font, grabs the attention of the target audience.
Secondly, is the title of the DVD. For most covers this uses at least one of the two previously mentioned techniques to gain the interest of the target audience. To me however, it appears that most DVD covers use the title only to differentiate between the artists other DVD releases as it is more often than not the case that this is in a smaller font than the artist’s name.
Both the name of the artist and the title of the DVD nearly always appear on the spine of the DVD box as well as the front.
The final feature is a large image linked to the artist. In most cases, this is a heavily edited action shot. If the artist is a group, it is normally of one main band member, i.e. the singer, with the rest of the band in the background. This may suggest that this particular member of the band plays a larger role in the DVD content or it may be done for commercial reasons.
On the back of the cover, I have noticed that there is nearly always a track or set list for the main content of the DVD, however apart from that, each cover tends to differ greatly.
In the case of Guns N’ Roses’ DVD ‘Use Your Illusion I – World Tour 1992 In Tokyo’, they include images of each band member who played in the performances. Despite the fact that Guns N’ Roses are rock giants, I believe these images are included because for this particular tour, the band underwent severe changes to their line-up. This information is seconded by a list of the band members and their roles at the top.
Another common feature incorporated into the back cover is the collection of DVD and music industry logos. On the Guns N’ Roses cover this includes the band’s independent record label ‘Uzi Suicide’, which they set up before their signed for ‘Geffen’ record company.
On the back cover for Aerosmith’s ‘You Gotta Move’ DVD, there is a synopsis of the band’s career and the DVD content that is included. This replaces the line-up information on the Guns N’ Roses DVD. A detailed list of bonus features is also integrated into the layout, which would be used as a way to entice the target audience to purchase the product. In the bottom third of the cover there is an image of Aerosmith taken from behind the band while they were on stage. This may be used to advocate the idea that this product will bring the audience the elusive backstage experience.
A more simple design for a cover is used for the Girls Aloud DVD, ‘The Greatest Hits Live From Wembley Arena 2006’. Although this does cover most of the conventions for DVD covers, it applies a much more basic style. On the Front cover, the image, unlike the annotated Bob Marley DVD, is a montage of stylised images representing aspects of the group, consisting of; Silhouettes of the band members, five microphones (one for each member of the band) and three dimensional star graphics featuring indication of the band members nationalities using the Irish flag for Nadine and the Union Jack for Cheryl, Sarah, Nicola and Kimberley. The reverse of the cover, is equally basic with the only detail, other than the track and bonus feature lists, being a small image of the silhouettes, used on the front, above the Girls Aloud web address.
Another cover I have looked at which follows this basic style is 50 Cent’s ‘Massacre’ DVD. Again it follows the three main features convention which I discovered earlier. On this particular cover, the main image used shows Mr Cent without a shirt. This is done to appeal to the female contingent of his target audience. On the back, like the rest of the covers I have looked at, ‘Massacre’ has a track list of the content and DVD/music related logos.
In conclusion, it would appear that in order to create a successful cover of my own, I will need to closely follow the conventions for both the front and the back. This will involve using easy to read, familiar fonts, clear images associated with the artist along with logos to represent companies from the DVD and music industries.
