Carol Vernallis

Vernalis' theory centres around 4 key concepts that all relate to the way the music video is constructed they are:

1. Narrative
2. Editing
3. Camera Movement and Framing
4. Diegesis






http://prezi.com/6227k8tanx43/carol-vernallis-analysis/# (Source)

Further Audience Analysis

1) How would you describe the target audience for this kind of music? Is there a core and secondary audience? 

I would describe that the target audience for this kind of music would be, basically teenagers and maybe slightly older, people in there early twenties could appreciate the song lyrics and the artwork that goes with the song. Our core audience is young people, as I said (17-23) and some of the people within this age range have some type of relation to the song and its visuals, such as drug taking, which has become an ever more increasing trend in young people.

2) How would you describe the tastes and attitudes of the target audience? What other do are they like to consume?

I would describe my audience to be very much transparent as in they will change to whatever the trend is at that time. Which is a good thing for our music video, because this means we can kind of mould our audience to like the music video. Our audience will like the mainstream type of music, such as Drake and Rihanna, and so people would appeal to this type of music genre.

3) Outline there media consumption profile?

The target audience would consume many different types of of media, ranging from Radio to TV. The target audience would consume modern magazines, such as OK magazine and magazines that reveal celebrity life and in trend fashion. The radio stations that our audience may listen to are KissFM and CapitalFM and so on, these radio stations play very much mainstream music, and our audience likes the mainstream type of music. The type of TV shows that people watch are mainly TV dramas like Hollyoaks, Eastenders, Misfts and Skins, these are just to name a few.

4) What function does this kind of music serve to the audience (Uses and Gratification's Theory)?

In our music video there is sexual stimulation, this is shown when we have a dance pole and our female actress sexualy walks around the pole in her revealing clothing, this would cause gaze, mainly for the male gaze because we have an attractive woman. It also causes relaxation, this is because the song used is very mellow and therapeutic and causes the audience to relax, and when you associate drugs with a song you think of a slow song that has a low key, which this one is.

Our Record Label Republic Records

Republic Records is a Universal Music Group (UMG) record label, originally founded as Cheese Factory Records. After Motown Records was separated from Universal Motown Records which caused theUniversal Motown Republic Group to be shutdown, the label was temporarily reincarnated as Universal Republic Records, until it was re-activated a year later.

The label focuses on mainstream and urban music,for example from artists including: Kelly Rowland, Austin Mahone, Nelly, Lil Wayne, Drake, Busta Rhymes, Amy Winehouse estate,Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj, Akon, Enrique Iglesias, Jessie J and The Weeknd. Successful country artists include Taylor Swift and Florida Georgia Line.

Since Universal Republic Records' shutdown, Republic Records has been a stand-alone label under UMG and is one of the group's premier labels, with Interscope Records and Island Records.

The label's main offices are located in New York City, New York, United States, other offices are located at the Interscope Geffen A&M building in Santa Monica, California, U.S..

According to Mediabase, Republic Records was 2012's top charting U.S. label.

Star Image Transformation - Madonna

Audience Analysis Research

For my music video we tried to aim our music video at the young audience so ages between 16 and above, depending on what they enjoy, because our music video involves drugs and sexual scenes and so some of the viewers may not like watching it but, the younger audience may have more interest in the music video, this is because the younger generation are more exposed to the drugs and sex than ever before and so by making a video involving these aspects, people will enjoy the music video more, plus our music video has got a mysterious story line and so people will need to concentrate and analyse the video to understand the music video fully.

The reason I decided to do a music video like this one is because, people my age or above may have a better understanding in the concept of the music videos narrative, this is because people are age have an intrest in drugs and sex, because we hear a lot about it in school and from the media and so people will want to find out more. Our music video is a way of showing the youth of today how bad drugs can be, we this illustrate this by showing the main star overdosing from drugs, and maybe this message we are trying to portray from the music video will make people think twice before taking illegal drugs.

Music Video Animatic

Our Music Video Storyboard

Rihanna - Diamonds Music Video Analysis

This shot is a very simple shot yet a very beautiful and effective shot, its all about the the lighting in this shot, because as you can see there is a bright light shinning from behind her which defines her body and her hair and gives off a really nice lens flare as well when she is out of the way of the light slightly. And this is also another video edited to be black and white.


Here is another beautiful shot of what looks like to be either a sunrise or sunset, and this is in color unlike most of the other parts of the video, and this catches the viewers attention because they are used to a black and white picture but now they changed this shot to be in color and it gains the attention and keeps the audience interested in the music video.

Water is used a lot these days from what I have watched recently its starting to become a convention within music videos, and its a very effective shot of an Arial view of her laying on top of the water and looking up at the camera emotionless, again this would look great if we could try and replicate it in our own music video. In some way this shot also gains the male gaze as she is wearing a see through dress and may cause her to be viewed as an object of desire

Andrew Goodwin's Theory Research

The National - Graceless

In The Nationals music video they have a lot of there scenes in a swimming pool which was a good way of drawing the attention of the audience, and we want to replicate this in out video by filming underwater.






In music videos you do have a fair few that now have just a black and white video, which in my opinion is an artistic view point at a music video, because you don't have vibrant colors to attract the viewers attention, you have to have a strong performance and a creative music video and The National have done a very good job in doing this.

There is a section of the music video where they have a spud gun and are shooting fruit of a tree stump, and they use slow motion when doing this as seen by the screen shot. We want to include some slow motion shots in our music video and we will take note on how its done by watching this music video as an example.

Music Video Analysis - Charlie XCX Super Love

This occurs often in music videos, this is so the viewers know that she is the main start in the music video. And she is centralised in the shot to show her dominance in the shot. In our music video we will try and implement the star factor and centralise it round two main characters.

In this shot she has gained the male gaze with her sexual faces and dancing, which attracts the audience to the music video. We want to replicate this in our music video with another female actress.

Here in this shot we have Charlie and the lighting  used is very effective and we want to use the same type of lightning in our music video and how they have used it in this one really show off her body and creates a sexy look for her.

Technical Codes In The Music Videos

The Weeknd Research

The Weeknd's songs are built around a fogged, crepuscular production, and feature slow tempos rumbling bass, and forlorn echoes. The Weeknd sings in a falsetto register, and exhibits a pleading, anxious tone. inging's "tremulous quality" similar to Michael Jackson, but writes that he eschews Jackson's "strong basis in the blues" for a more Arabic-influenced melisma.
His emotional, plaintive lyrics often express feelings of hurt and deal with subject matter such as sex, drugs, and partying. Hermoine Hoby of The Guardian characterizes the Weeknd's songs as "narcotised-slow jams" and delineates their message as "partying is an existential experience, sex is fraught with alienation, and everything registers as unreal and unsettling. 
Music journalists associate the Weeknd with PBR&B, an emerging wave of recording artists whose music expands on the sound and sensibility of R&B. Mistry writes that he "will be obsequiously praised as the future of R&B music – because [he] is a black singer, not because he’s making quantifiable, canonical R&B"

Other Artists Like The Weeknd

1) Massive Attack

Fans of the TV show House will recognize Massive Attack's "Teardrop On Fire" as the show's theme song. Hopefully, fans of the show were inspired to explore Massive Attack's music further, because what they'd find is one of the most innovative and influential catalogs of the '90s. Massive Attack paved the road for the trip hop genre.

The group crafted cinematic soundscapes, dropped in hip-hop drums, and laced it all with touching vocals."Weather Storm" is the sound of a hospital waiting room on a rainy night while waiting for a loved one to get out of surgery. Meanwhile, we're pretty sure "Exchange" is the song they play in the escalator up to heaven, or possibly Las Vegas.

2) JMSN

 He's often dubbed "the white Weeknd." But while Weeknd is a relative newcomer, JMSN could be considered an industry veteran, one who's been kicking around since 2005. (Get familiar. JMSN dropped his first album in 2006, Love Arcade. Back then went by the name Snowhite, and toured with a band that also went by the name Love Arcade. After the band broke up, he reemerged as Christian TV, but he never saw the release of an actual album.

Since then, he split with his label, changed his name to JMSN, and dropped Priscilla. He dubbed the music "Hippie R&B" and won over critics with his pensive production. Granted, he did borrow some of his dark aesthetic from The Weeknd, but he's managed to build a whole new kind of buzz. He's working on an album with Ab-Soul called Unit 6, which we hope will help him shed the comparisons.

3) August Alsina

With The Weeknd firmly established as one of the most important voices in R&B today, we're still looking at the rising class of R&B stars. There are a few names that come to mind, but none more potent than August Alsina. Whereas a lot of Weeknd's appeal came from anonymity, the most interesting part about Alsina might be his backstory. He's lived quite a life already, and has dealt with a fair amount of death. To paraphrase Kanye, great art comes from great suffering, but also from great artists. Here's to hoping Alsina can fit the bill and become the next big R&B star. Time will tell.

WE HAVE CHANGED OUR SONG TO "THE WEEKEND WICKED GAMES"

After much consideration we have decided to change our music video song to Wicked Games by the weekend. This is because with our original choice the lyrics where very narrow minded and we found it hard finding ways to film it, so we both decided to change it. In my opinion I think that with our new song would be easier to film as the lyrics are more open to interpretation and so the audience can understand the narrative better.

Keeping in mind the swearing within the song will not be heard as we will edit it out.

                                                              "Wicked Games Lyrics"

I left my girl back home
I don't love her no more
And she'll never fucking know that
These fucking eyes that I'm staring at
Let me see that ass
Look at all this cash
And I emptied out my cards too
Now I'm fucking leaning on that

Bring your love baby I could bring my shame
Bring the drugs baby I could bring my pain
I got my heart right here
I got my scars right here
Bring the cups baby I could bring the drink
Bring your body baby I could bring you fame
And that's my motherfucking words too
Just let me motherfucking love you

Listen ma I'll give you all I got
Get me off of this
I need confidence in myself
Listen ma I'll give you all of me
Give me all of it
I need all of it to myself

So tell me you love me
Only for tonight
Only for one night
Even though you don't love me
Just tell me you love me
I'll give you what I need
I'll give you all of me
Even though you don't love me

Let me see you dance
I love to watch you prance
Take you down another level
Get you dancing with the devil
Take a shot of this
But I'm warning you
I'm on that shit that you can't smell baby
So put down your perfume

Bring your love baby I could bring my shame
Bring the drugs baby I could bring my pain
I got my heart right here
I got my scars right here
Bring the cups baby I could bring the drink
Bring your body baby I could bring you fame
And that's my motherfucking words too
So let me motherfucking love you

Listen ma I'll give you all I got
Get me off of this
I need confidence in myself
Listen ma I'll give you all of me
Give me all of it
I need all of it to myself

So tell me you love me
Only for tonight
Only for one night
Even though you don't love me
Just tell me you love me
I'll give you what I need
I'll give you all of me
Even though you don't love me

The Videographers Guide Research

When watching this video documentary I gained valuable information that would help with my music video. It showed that you can make a great looking music video under a small budget, and that is exactly what I will be doing. They also mention that you can spend minimal amounts of money on locations, for example you could have an amazing looking video from just walking into London and filming in the streets which would be cheap yet effective.

"Taking Back My Love" Cover and Choreographed Routine

I wanted to see different variations on how people present the song to me, so for this example we have two people, a man and a female and they are dancing to the song which they sung themselves, and I found when watching them, that it drew me in because of how well they were presenting themselves to the camera and this gives me some inspiration for our version of the song, obviously we don't intend to copy this exactly but the more covers I watch the more ideas I will have for our version.