Music Video Audience Questionnaire

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Genre Research - Alternative Hip Hop

 Alternative hip hop (also known as alternative rap) is a sub-genre of hip hop music that revolves around varieties of rap and hip hop genres. Allmusic defines it as follows:

Originating in the late-80s, in midst of the Golden age of hip hop, alternative hip hop was headed primarily by East Coast rappers such as De La Soul, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Brand Nubian, and Digable Planets in subsidiary conjunction by West Coast acts such as The Pharcyde, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien, Digital Underground, Freestyle Fellowship and Jurassic 5as well as certain Southern acts such as Arrested Development, Goodie Mob, and OutKast. Similar to the alternative rock movement, alternative hip hop segued into the mainstream at the dawn of the 1990s. However, during the mid-late 90s, alternative hip hop suffered a decline in mainstream success. The situation broke way around the mid-90s with the emergence and mainstream popularity of East Coast hardcore rap artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., and Mobb Deep. Both West Coast gangsta rap and East Coast hardcore and their many derivatives subsequently became more prominent in popular music, whereas alt-rap became largely relegated to the underground scene. Following this development, many alternative rap acts eventually either disbanded or faded into obscurity.  It was in the 2000s that alternative hip hop reattained its place within the mainstream, due in part to the declining commercial viability of gangsta rap as well as the crossover success of artists such as OutKast, Kanye West, and Gnarls Barkley.  Industry observers view the 2007 sales competition between Kanye West's Graduation and 50 Cent's Curtis as a turning point for hip hop. West emerged the victor, selling nearly a million copies in the first week alone. 

Narrative Storyboard - Little Red Riding Hood

Above we have adapted the narrative of the typical Red riding hood storyboard  which has the  features of a conventional story, using an Equilibrium, the Disruption, Recognition, Solution and finally the New Equilibrium.       Here we have distorted the storyline making to make it suitable for a music video, the narrative is unclear but the characters qualities are still present so that you can decipher between each one. The location used will be the same one used in the original story, the costumes for each character will be typical everyday wear combined with a stereotypical rock theme of ripped clothes and dark colours. All together the story board uses a range of shots and angles in the same location to create a sense of enigma, the characters are all placed in the same frame but at different times the narrative is completely different and far more interesting, these unique elements make a music video worth watching.

The Fleurbelles

This is a mind map discussing our band called The Fleurbelles, above we have analysed each point thoroughly and come up with different strategies on how we are going to promote and sell our band, in order to do this we have discovered the target age group, discus their likes and dislikes and tried to cater to their needs in our style and music. We have talked about what venues we are going to be gigging at how we can spread our name around by going to visiting local organisations. Moreover we have also talked about a fashion collaboration we are going to do which will help promote our name and the band itself. Similarly we have also started social networking sites and made music video accounts called Vevo which really show off our videos and keep fans up to date with the latest news and releases. The mind-map was a very useful way of displaying our ideas and the keys points really allowing us to get a feel of what a real fan would be like so we can make sure our music is perfect for them.

Music Video Case Study

The video can't for "Can't Me Tell Me Nothing" displays typical conventions of a hip hop video but also elements from other media texts and original ideas. The video is very performance based which is typical in most hip hop videos because it helps to emphasise the delivery of the lyrics.  The video is shot entirely in the wide plane of a desert and the mise en scene is extremely minimal which helps to emphasise the performance of West because he is the sole focus of the shot and is visually pleasing, especially when shot in wide shot. The video is also predominately shot in mid shot because it allows the audience to see West's facial expressions and gestures when performing which is another typical convention of hip hop videos. One thing that is particularly challenging about the way the video is shot is how instead of relying on editing to switch between different shots and angles, the camera actually stays on West but instead of shooting only shot or angle, it stays moving so it allows more than one angle and shot type in the same sequence without the use of editing. This is one of the experimental ideas used in the video which has not been typically been used in hip hop videos prior.




The video for "Pe$o" is a more stereotypical hip hop video. The video is shot in the streets of New York which is a typical convention for a hip hop video. The performance of the song is very brash and aggressive which emphasizes the mood of the song and also makes the video entertaining for the audience. Another typical convention used is the use of extras in the video. Almost every scene shows Rocky performing with at least 2 or 3 people behind him also mimicking the lyrics of the song, at some points there are up to 15 people. This is usually used in hip hop videos because it shows the audience that the rapper is never alone and can be sometimes used to strike an element of fear in the audience but is usually used to send a sense of threat to other rappers. The editing style varies throughout the video, at some points one scene can last up to 10 seconds before running through 3 or 4 shots in 5 seconds through quick editing. This is usually used at a certain point in the song, because the quick editing matches the pace of the song. The majority of the video is shot using mid-shot, particularly when there is only one person on screen. However, a long shot is usually used when there is a group of people on screen. This is used so that everyone on screen can be seen clearly. Another editing technique used is the use of slow motion. During the chorus of the song, every shot is slow motion which is used because of the need for attention to detail. Most of the slow motion shots are close ups of either people's faces or miscellaneous things on location, e.g street signs, shoes, cars etc. There is also a lack of clothing in multiple scenes where the camera focuses on tattoos on the bodies of the people in the shot which could be to emphasise gang culture which is a big part of hip hop music. The lack of clothing could also be to appeal to a female audience also (male gaze reversed) which could refer to voyeurism in music videos.




The video for "Make Her Say" is one that relies heavily on editing techniques. The video is very visually pleasing because of the editing techniques used. The video starts off with a reflective shot of balloons in the sky before switching to a horizontal split screen which then goes on to be a theme of the video throughout. The screen is usually split between to of the same location but featuring different people, usually the artist performing and a female. Sometimes the two split screen with feature the same exact shot except one might be a close up and the other a mid shot. Another feature is the use of perpendicular movements. Usually the two split screens will be moving in opposite directions to each other, whether it be from the camera movements or two people walking in different directions which could be a nod to theme of juxtaposition in the video. Another feature of the video is the colour schemes. The video is more or less split into 3 sections (1 for each performer) and each section has it's own colour scheme through location, clothing, mise en scene etc. The first section features a lot of light colours e.g. light blue, orange yellow. These colours are displayed through shots of the sky, the balloons the windows in the loft & the clothing. The second section features more solid monotone colours e.g. grey, blue & green displayed through clothing, the colours of the seats & the grass on the field. The third contains different shades of the same colour e.g. brown, light brown, beige. Although the third section displays the same windows the were used in the first third of the video.

Mood Board

Schedule

Today is Tuesday 19th November, 2013. Weather status: Partly cloudy

21st November 2013 - Organise locations + location photos
22nd November 2013 - Cast photos/costume ideas
26th November 2013 - Feedback from audience
27th November 2013 - Begin shooting (Minimum 7 days shooting)

Album Covers Research

              JAY Z & Kanye West - Watch The Throne

  

                     Kid Cudi - Man on the Moon 2 

                  Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon 

                   Michael Jackson (RIP) - Thriller 

  

                                  Dr. Dre - The Chronic

                      
              
                         NWA - Straight Outta Compton

  

                             Lana Del Rey - Born To Die

    

                         2 Chainz - Based On A T.R.U Story

                                        Nas - Illmatic

                             Tyler, the Creator - GOBLIN

                      Kanye West - 808s & Heartbreak

     

Influential Music Videos

Kanye West Ft. Kid Cudi - Welcome To Heartbreak

I was particularly influenced because of the editing style. The video adopts a glitch art approach and is meant to resemble the playback of a broken VHS tape. The editing helps the video flow well despite the distorted effects, by joining each movement of the artist to the next movement . This is done by the glitched areas of the video forming to create the face or performance of the artist. The performance of the artists are also very good which help to emphasize the lyrics of the song and make the video visually pleasing for the audience. Goodwin's theory could also be applied to this video because some of the lyrics match the visual effects of the video

WZRD - Teleport 2 Me, Jamie


Like "Welcome To Heartbreak", the video for "Teleport 2 Me, Jamie" is aided by good visual effects and performance of the artists. The video is particularly slow paced to match the pace of the song which
is a deliberate editing decision. The use of colourization and the use of fluorescent colours like pink and purple reflect the electronica elements of the song and create an almost synesthesia effect in the video which is aesthetically pleasing for the audience. The performance of Kid Cudi also adds to the video. His performance portrays a lot of emotion which reflects the themes of love and pain in the song. This is a typical convention for rock songs and makes viewing more enjoyable for the audience.

Star Image - Lana Del Rey

Lana Del Rey (Elizabeth Grant) is an American born singer-songwriter. She has become very successful over the last 2 years thanks to her album Born To Die which has sold nearly 5 million copies worldwide. Aswell as her music, her unique image & persona is what has given her much appeal. She does not adopt the immediate style & image of a 21st century pop star (over exposed media attention, over sexualised videos etc.) Instead her star image comes in the form of a very vintage 1950/60s American approach, both in her music & the way she presents herself (street style, music videos, live performances etc.) 

Another element in the appeal of Lana Del Rey is the sense of mystery. She is not someone who is reluctant to media attention but unlike many other female pop stars, not much is known of her past or where she really came from before the sudden rise to fame. This sense of mystery intrigues many people, who believe this mystery is the center of her massive appeal and is what makes her one of the most talked about female artists right now. 

Intertexuality

Intertexuality is the theory of making reference to other media texts in another. Many music videos make reference to other media texts such as film, television, fashion etc. It is not surprising that many music videos make reference to films as most music video directors are film school graduates. Music videos may contain references to other texts for the sake of humour or further understanding of the song itself.

Example of intertexuality in music video

Childish Gambino - Freaks & Geeks references the title and opening sequence to the popular 90s TV show "Freaks & Geeks". This is an obvious reference because a lot of themes in the song (and other Childish Gambino songs) reflect the themes in the show e.g. being different. This is a clever reference because a lot of Childish Gambino fans are considered "freaks" and "geeks" because of his left field appeal, so this song could be considered an ode to his fan base.

Voyeurism Theory

Voyeurism Theory

Voyeurism is the act of watching someone performing sexual behaviours such as dancing, undressing or intercourse. The person performing usually does not know they are being watched and in terms of music video, it is usually a man's controlling gaze towards women who have been sexually objectified. Goodwin states that female performers are sexually objectified by camera work and editing fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised treatment towards the performer. However, in more modern times,  voyeurism in music videos could be female gaze over males. Voyeurism is often used to sell a product and create audience interest. In a much wider sense, voyeurism is about something that is not usually seen or where someone is not aware that they are being watched.




In the video for 50 Cent's "Disco Inferno", voyeurism is present in terms of male gaze of the female body in a sexual manner. The video features many half naked women being exposed to the camera and acting in an aggressively sexual manner towards each other and other men in the video. This is a clear example of the controlling male gaze and women being sexually objectified in videos in order to sell a product.

Goodwin Theory

Goodwin Theory

Goodwin's theory of music videos is one that suggests music videos and the elements of it can directly reflect the lyrics of the song. This theory has 6 key points.

1 - Connection between the lyrics and the visuals. Themes, mise-en-scene and events of the video match with lyrics of the song which help to portray the message of the song.

2 - Relationship between the music and the visuals. The cuts and edits of the video are in sync with the rhythm and beat of the song matching cuts or effects to specific drum beats or notes which create synesthesia.


3 - Music videos have genre characteristics. Certain features are expected out of a video depending on the genre of the music. For example, a hip hop video might be expected to portray elements of excessive wealth or sexually objectifying women, whilst a pop video may feature bright colours, overzealous performances and quick cut editing. 

4 - Often due to the demands of the record label, artists videos will include many close ups of the artist and will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos. This allows the record label to promote a set image of the artist which will help target audiences empathise with and recognise the artist.


5 - Emphasis on 'looking' - The 'male gaze' is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze is a focus on presenting things that appeal to men. This often means a voyeuristic view of, and an objectification, of women. The emphasis on looking also includes the artist looking directly into the camera helping the audience connect with the artist.


6 - Intertexual references. - Music videos reference other forms of media e.g. film, television, fashion, art etc. 




The lyric video for Childish Gambino's "3005" include several of the key elements of Goodwin's theory. Firstly, the connection between the lyrics and visuals. This is a clever connection as the lyrics of the song sound like a conversation between a girl and a boy which is why the lyrics are presented in the form of a chatroom conversation as if Gambino was just having a conversation rather the performing a song. The second key feature is the use of voyeurism. Firstly, the female on screen is willingly exposing herself in a sexual manner but in the context of the video, is for only Gambino to see, so us as the audience are watching something that is not meant for us to see. The third key feature is the reference to the internet. Gambino use of a chatroom is a nod to modern day communication which means most of the audience can relate to the video. The chatroom is also a reference to Childish Gambino's album "Because the Internet" which features the song.

Music Video Analysis: "All of the Lights"

Lip Syncing

Video Director - Hype Williams

         

Hype Williams

Harold "Hype" Williams is a music video director born in New York. He is known for his renowned work within the hip-hop/R&B genre and is often considered one of the most influential video directors of the last 20 years . Throughout his career he has worked on multiple video for particular artists such as Kanye West, R. Kelly, LL Cool J, Nicki Minaj and more. Williams has established many distinguishable editing and shooting styles. A signature style used by Williams throughout the vast majority of his video is the Fisheye lens which distorted the camera view around the central focus. Another signature style involves placing shots in regular widescreen ratio, while a second shot is split and placed in the upper and lower bars. Since 2003, Williams has adopted a signature style combining a centre camera focus on the artist or actor's body from the torso upward and a solid colour background with a soft different-colour light being shown in the centre of the background, so as to give a sense of illumination of the background by the foreground subject.

Hype Williams' shot videos

Key Ingredients To A Successful Music Video

Good location

A good location will compliment the video making it look interesting this will help to keep the audience hooked as they are watching the singer and the location the whole time.

Strong performance 

For any successful video to succeed it will need to have preformers who look the part, they must be in time, sharp and powerful so that it looks professional. 

Range of shots

Different shots such as close up, extreme close up, medium and long shots will help to make the video seem worth watching, it will allow the audience to feel involved and keep them hooked. Likewise it will give us a the ability to view the location from a variety of ways.

JAY Z Ft. Swizz Beatz - Onto The Next One

The video for JAY Z's "Onto The Next One" is one shot entirely in black and white. This is another video which relies heavily on the editing. The quick cuts between different objects on the screen is what makes the video so good. Throughout the video we see different objects over a blank screen. These objects are linked with the lyrics being said at the time, this is why the cuts are so quick and so frequent. The video could be described as an abstract one as the meaning of most of the symbols and objects seen in the video are not immediately obvious and cut away so quick that the viewer does not have time to try and work out what it is. This is a deliberate editing technique which will make the viewer go back and annotate the video on a much deeper level and make their own interpretations of what they think the meaning of these symbols are

Tyler, The Creator - Yonkers

In 2011, Tyler, The Creator released the video for his track "Yonkers". This video was praised by fans and critics for it's bold approach. The video is entirely in black and white and uses mostly mid shots of Tyler sitting on a stool in a blank room. A noticeable camera technique used in the video is the use of out of focus shots. The camera often moves out of focus of Tyler which gives the video an almost horror movie like vibe to it which would make sense given the content of the video (Tyler eating the cockroach, the black eyes and then eventually killing himself). Also, the use of silhouettes is effective. We first see this used when Tyler throws up after eating the cockroach and then when we see his legs struggling after he hangs himself. Another thing to note about the video is that it is shot in one entire shot, there is no cuts throughout the video.

Kanye West Ft. Rihanna & Kid Cudi - All Of The Lights

The video for Kanye West's "All of the Lights" is a visually minimal, very fast paced video which is very effective as the song itself is quick tempo. The video uses a lot of quick cuts to match the speed of the song. The editing mainly consists of quick cuts between varied fonts of different colours which depict the lyrics of the song or other things (e.g. the artist's name). However, when an artist is performing onscreen, they are in front of a black screen letting off a white light with strobe lights (either white or varying colours) being placed on them. The editing style of the video was also inspired by the opening to the 2009 French film "Enter The Void".

Music Video Evaluation

"Unfuckwittable" Ft. Aos Alaa


For our 20 second music video we chose the Kid Cudi track "Unfuckwittable" because it had a good intro to the song which could be complimented with well edited visuals. Because the track is a slow paced song we decided we were going to use slow paced visuals which is why we used slow motion for all the shots. Since there are no actual lyrics in the opening of the song, instead a vocal sample, we focused more on the visuals complementing and matching the actual sound of the music rather than focusing on the performance of the song and lip syncing. We used just one frame throughout; extreme close up, which along with the slow motion, looks very good against the slow, almost mysterious sounds of the track.We also used a quick cut to black shot in the middle of the sequence with a small red text of the song's title. The red on black colour way was a deliberate choice along with having the title relatively small because it fits with the theme of the song. Overall, the decison to use only one framing technique and only two shots for the whole sequence worked effectively because it leaves the audience wanting more and wanting to see how the rest of the video would look once the main part of the songs starts and how the song is performed throughout the rest of the video.

TE$T

YMCMB