Beat Editing Video

Half term Work

Task 1 Chosen Artist and Track

The track I have chosen from my unsigned artist which is Johnny Hutchinson is Two Wolves which is electronica/alternative.

Vocals - Distorted
Clear Vocals- Calm ego
Drums - Fierce, Powerful.
Synth- Insanity, frenetic, enthusiastic.
Guitar- Change in mood and tone

Task 2 Developing Ideas and Concept

I thought the song was about two wolves and one was influenced by peace and harmony and one was influenced by discord darkness. The location I visualized in my music video is two separate rooms (one light room and one black room) featuring the artist wearing make-up for one room for instance eyeliner and rough hair to represent one ego then maybe an opposite or a different look to represent the other.  High and low-key lighting will be included in the music video to make both egos distinctive to the audience. The pace of the edit will be quick and there will be some use of stop-motion.

Task 3 Visualization

This is my mood board for my assumptions for what the song means.

Task 4 Permission

The name of my unsigned artist is Johnny Hutchinson and I have contacted him through text and found his tracks on Soundcloud. I used the track called Two Wolves. I have been given permission to use this track for the music video after I asked him if I could use it.

Task 5 Interview

I interviewed him through the use of text messages on my phone. After doing so, I was able to find out the songs meaning and the Image which was being established in the track. The meaning and the message of the song is that it's about two egos and whichever one we put more strength into controls our personality. He is aiming to establish a dark and serious image in the music video. Also, I asked him about what his influences were and he said that was influenced by the Bristol trip hop scene.

Task 2B.2&3 Post-modern styles

 

Performance

One of Goodwin's theories is that music videos include genre characteristics. One of the genre characteristics is performance which is common in music videos which are being produced today. Performance based music videos feature the choreographer which is generally the artist miming to the camera. In this video we see Eminem miming and choreographing throughout the video. The purpose of a performance based music video is to sell the artists fake image because the Eminem is the product of the video and the record label is selling that product to the audience. The genre of this music video is rap and rap has a base track of the performing artist.

Narrative

Music videos contain a linear or a non linear narrative meaning that they have a story behind it. The purpose of narrative music videos is to entertain the audience with a short film some narrative music videos are related to reality for instance, this music video is related to police brutality and rebels breaking the law and escaping the police in car chase.. An example of a narrative music video will be Kavinsky- Pacific Coast Highway the story of this video is that the driver is being chased by the police. However, music videos regardless of the narrative will involve the visuals overpowering the music meaning that the song becomes the soundtrack for the film. In this example the music in this video becomes a soundtrack for the car chase. The reason as to why narrative music videos exist is to give the audience a basic understanding of what is going on in the music videos whilst keeping the audience engaged.


Conceptual

Some conceptual music videos challenge conventions as you don't see any lip-syncing and you don't see the instruments used for the music video but they can be heard. These kind of music videos are based around an idea or it may contradict the idea, thus carrying no meaning at all, making it a viral video such as Monkey Drummer by Chris Cunningham and the Aphex Twin. This music video is Performance but it is predominantly conceptual because the robotic monkey is thought to be the performing artist in this video and the arms are moving sequentially meaning that each arm represents each part of the drum kit for example, the video begins with two arms representing the snare drums and then another two arms representing the hi-hats. The reason as to why conceptual videos are viral is because everyone is drawn to the visuals more than the soundtrack because the soundtrack carries little to no meaning.

Homage



Homage is when the artist shows respect and dedication to a specific artist or any inspirations which helped the artist make their music. An example of a music video with a homage style is Thirty Seconds to Mars-The Kill because the hotel which was the location used for this music video is a reference to the horror movie called The Shining, meaning that they are paying respects to Stephen King who wrote the novel of The Shining and Stanley Kubrick who directed the film based on Stephen King's novel. The reason why homage is used in music videos is because it shows the audience the artist's role model, their inspirations which lead them to becoming what the artist is now.

Parody



A parody is a imitative work that celebrates or mocks the original work of the artist for comedy and satirical purposes. Parody music videos are also known as viral videos because there artist is being deliberately exaggerated for views on YouTube. This music video is an example of a parody because is a track which deliberately exaggerates Michael Jackson's  Beat It. The location and the costume that the artist was wearing in this video resembles Michael Jackson's Beat It. The reason as to why they chose the costume and location similar to the original track is because they are trying to trivialise Michael Jackson. In other words if someone was to watch this viral video, then they would consider Michael Jackson to be a sellout rather than the King Of Pop.

Pastiche


Pastiche is an artist's work that respectfully imitates the style of another artist's work. Pastiche and Homage are very similar since they involve the same thing. This music video is an example of a pastiche music video because the whole video was shot in one take. This was already done before by Lucas Secon in his song Lucas with the lid off in 1994. This however can also be seen as reference to Lucas who was the first one to shoot a one take music video. Therefore, the audience can remember the first artist to shoot a one take music video.

Surrealism


If something you see is surreal in a music video, then it is something so abstract that it's unreal. All animated music videos incorporate surrealism. An example of surreal music videos would be Coldplay because this video uses real locations but however the actual surrealism comes from the apes lip-syncing to the lyrics and dancing instead of swing from tree to tree. In other words, the apes are being given humanistic actions such as the choreographing and the lip-syncing used in this music video. This music video was effective in entertaining the audience as if it was an animated film. Surrealism is also used because the audience wants to be removed from modern-day society and placed in a different world.

Animation

Animated music videos involve drawings or plasticine models to act as an illusion in the music video. Animated music videos are more of a cartoon based approach to music videos. Their sole purpose is to make the video look more abstract and unique so that it interests the targeted audience so that they can be entertained by a short animation film.

Task 2B.1 (Individual) Report Andrew Goodwin

Goodwin Styles & Conventions

Performance (Genre Characteristics)

One of Goodwin's theories is that music videos include genre characteristics. One of the genre characteristics is performance which is common in music videos which are being produced today. Performance based music videos feature the choreographer which is generally the artist miming to the camera. In this video we see Eminem miming and choreographing throughout the video. The purpose of a performance based music video is to sell the artists fake image because the Eminem is the product of the video and the record label is selling that product to the audience. The genre of this music video is rap and rap has a base track of the performing artist.

Music and visuals (Illustrative, Amplified)

Illustrative music videos use images to convey meaning, Amplified music videos involve repetition of meaning to make the song memorable so that the target audience remembers the song. Contradicting music videos completely ignore the meaning of the song. An example of a illustrative and amplified music video is Eminem-Rap God. This music video is illustrative because it is showing shots of Eminem sitting on a throne connected to set of TV's showing him and no one else which illustrates the meaning that the world revolves around the Rap God Eminem, another reason as to why this music video is illustrative is because when the chorus comes in, the visuals begin to alter and the background becomes blurry. This implies that space becomes distorted making the audience think that the artist is the cause of the spacial distortion. To summarise, these shots and TV's are Illustrating Eminem's godlike image to the target audience.

Lyric and visuals Illustrative Amplified

This music video also shows a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals because of the repetition of the words 'rap god'. Specifically speaking, the two words 'rap god' has been repeated six times throughout the video and in combination with the him being a vessel for the televisions which are represented as different worlds it amplifies the meaning of becoming a God. The reason as to why this amplifies is because the meaning/concept of the song is being enhanced through repetition which allows the song to be memorable in the audience's mind and make them interpret Eminem as a omnipotent being rather than an ordinary human.

Intertextuality

This music video also encourages the use of intertextuality since you can see the artist performing on the TV's. Since his mind has been connected to all of the televisions. In addition, there were also intertextual references to american history i.e. Bill Clinton, and Monica Lewinsky being shown on the television and also intertextual references to DC character such as General Zod one of Superman's enemies and Norse mythology such as Thor and Odin. What is going on is that his thoughts are being leaked out of his mind and being displayed on TV, or it could be everything he has witnessed or experienced.

Analysis of 4 Death Metal Music Videos (2A)

God Dethroned- Poison Fog

Mise-en scene

Costume

The lead singer is wearing a black t-shirt which connotes death, despair, and the female guitarist was wearing white which represents light and innocence. The costumes are making a reference to what their audience would be wearing to see their shows live because this music video is performance based and the purpose of this video is to sell tickets to their targeted audience so that they can see them live.

Setting

For the first half of the song, they were performing in darkness which gives the impression that they are the demons in the music video. When the singer isn't death growling, the scene changes to a grave which represents all the humans who died in the building. There was definitely performance since you could see the source of the music.

Editing Techniques

Pace of edit

The pace of edit was very fast when the singer is metal screaming into the microphone. During the singer's metal screaming, buildings are being destroyed but when he is singing normally, the pace of the edit slows down. There was a match-on-action that was matching the action of them playing the guitar and the lead singer death growling or lip syncing in the music video.

Camera work

Shot Types

There are extreme close ups on the male guitarist's eyes and mouth to show that he is metal screaming and his eyes to suggest that his power and dominance. Which supports the dominant stereotype that men are dominant and powerful and beastly given the metal screaming in the video. 

Camera Angles

Low angle shot on the cross to indicate that religion is the main theme throughout the music video and a close up on the graves to represent the people who lost their lives.

Camera Movements

There was a lot of erratic movement with the camera to keep up with the quickened pace of edit. When the pace of edit slowed down, the camera movement slowed down as well and you could see panning and an attempted lens flare being used in the video. There was a reel transition at the end to indicate the end of the song. There was also a zoom on the lead singer to indicate that he is the one in power and no one else matters and he has also taken God's throne.


Suicide Silence- Slaves to the Substance 




In comparison to the God dethroned, there is a narrative which features a young man trying to survive the day by killing zombies but towards the end of the video, he dies.

Mise-En-Scene

The scene was set in a desolate village. This music video encouraged the use of intertextuality was used in the video to show the band performing their performance is controlling the zombies and commanding them to attack whereas there was no intertextuality in God dethroned's Poison Fog. The band are clearly playing the antagonist and the kid is the protagonist.

The narrative may similar to the TV series called the Walking Dead which is also about surviving the zombie apocalypse. The band was wearing worn out clothing to indicate that they were dead and the band is also in a different scene thought to be in the underworld. There is a link between the lyrics and visuals because you can tell that the music is the substance and the zombies are slaves to the substance as per the name of the song. However there is more to that link. The zombies are a metaphor meaning that Suicide Silence's audience are zombies and the audience as well would be slaves to their music.

Since it's a performance video as well, their live audience would be headbanging and showing loyalty to the band's music. In addition, the costume the boy was wearing which was a skeleton onesie. The skeleton onesie highlights the main theme of the video which is death.

Editing

There was a ryhtmic montage in both tracks in the beginning. In the beginning when the bell rang the music began and zombies started approaching. It is similar to God dethroned when explosions and the fire was in sync with the drums and the guitar. Both tracks incorporated low key lighting to indicate danger and both tracks had fast pace cutting but the music video Poison Fog changed between the pace of edit.

Camera 

Establishing shot to establish the location as if it was an actual movie. Close ups on the band through the television, to show their costume to hide their location and give the audience the impression that they are in the underworld. Also they are selling their fake image to the audience.

Cerebral Bore- The Bald Cadaver




This music video has no narrative just like Poison fog. It is a pure performance music video.

Mise-En-Scene

The scene of their performance is set in a dilapidated building which represents their character and their audience as rebellious, untidy, foul, evil. However the death growls from the lead singer are indistinct so therefore there is a relation ship between the music and the visuals his indistinct singing has a relation to the indistinct building that they are performing in. This also describes their rough style of music. Given that the setting is in a rough location it suits the genre because it gives the impression that the audience likes to look rough and if they were performing live, then their targeted audience would have the same costume. Given that the band members have tattoos it means that they have tainted their body with ink. This gives us the idea that they are impure.

Camera 

There was panning involved with the camera to indicate that the audience can't stay still given their short attention span so therefore they need to keep the audience entertained with a quickened pace of edit. In comparison to Poison Fog this music video elaborated on the performance side of the music video and how wild the audience would be in a live performance.

Editing

As I mentioned before, the pace of the edit is quick since the audience is watching this music video to think, they are watching the video to entertain themselves which is the sole purpose of death metal music videos. It is also a rhythmic montage because of the upbeat editing.

The Faceless- Deconsecrate




This is a performance/narrative music video

Mise-en-scene

Costume

The Band is wearing shirts and ties in a church. Suits and ties give the band a smart image and it sets a trend for their audience meaning that if the band is wearing shirt and ties, then it gives the audience an impression that shirt and ties are popular and they will end up wearing the shirt and ties to their live performance given that this music video is an advertisement for their performance.

Setting

The scene is set in a church. The church referred to as 'God's House' and it is a place for believers to pray. The scene is also important because the church is pointing out that God is the symbol and the theme of this music video is anti-religion which is the main theme in death metal. Low key lighting is also used to represent evil and create an ominous atmosphere for the audience and it is also one of the conventions of death metal.

Editing

Pace

The pace of edit is changes in the music video. When the chorus begins, fast pace cutting begins and the lead singer starts death growling. Towards the end when the police breaks in and takes the priest out of the church the edit begins to slow down.

Camera Work

Focus

Shallow focus was also used on the performing artists to make the camera work look shady, this represents the audience they are catering to are mysterious and shady, and they want to be concealed in the darkness. Pull focus was used to direct the audience's eyes to the headbanging guitarist.

Camera Angles

Low angle was used to establish a hierarchy within the church. In this music video there was a change in hierarchy from the low angle showing the priest to a high angle exposing the priests vulnerability when was being robbed.

Camera Movements

Erratic movement with the camera every time the video cuts to the performing band. The shaky camera work represents the behavior of the audience because young teenagers would be headbanging and jumping around since they are hyper. The same thing applies to Cerebral Bore and God Dethroned.

Shot Types

Close ups are used because the record labels demand it as it shows the artists selling themselves to the audience for money given that this is a performance based music video they want to advertise themselves for the purpose of attracting their audience. There were also close ups of some particular people in the congregation mostly women. However most genres tend to objectify women but death metal music in general objectify religion so the close up is showing that the young woman's faith is being violated by the band members which give the band a demonic image.

Self-Produced Artist (1B)

Image

The woman is putting on a fake image. Words which would describe her image is distraught, depressed, doubtful, melancholy.

Budget 

Low budget given that most of it was shot in her house through a camcorder and most of it was shot in the woods.

Audience

The audience the artist is appealing to is a teenage audience ranging from 15-18 because the video shows the hardships that she is experiencing as a teenager and that is common in everyday teenage life.

Synergy and Product Placement

There is no synergy nor product placement in this video.

Gimmicks used to promote.

There was a mix of flashbacks and flash forwards to indicate that she could be experiencing a premonition. Which is hyper real since no human being is capable of predicting the future.

Monetisation of outlets

If the artist is unsigned, then the artist keeps all of the ad revenue but this video has been demonetised because the music isn't their own.

Conclusion

What makes self produced artists different from Indie and major is that their videos are viral videos made for grabbing everyone's attention and the music acts as a soundtrack for the video. The music used in a self-produced artist's music video isn't their own so their video will most likely be demonetised if the unsigned artist doesn't credit the owner of the song. If the viral video has millions of views on YouTube, then the unsigned artist can keep all of the ad revenue. The advertising may appear as an annotation on self produced videos. To summarise, the advantage of being an unsigned artist means that you are free to be creative and artistic without constraints and you get to keep all the ad revenue if your viral video is successful in getting millions of views. The disadvantages is that the artist is at risk of having their video demonetised since the soundtrack used in their video may not be their own.

Indie artist (1B)

Image

An example of an indie rock band is The Decemberists. Since they are owned by an indie record label called Hush Records. Their image is unchanged because they have the freedom to express their art since indie labels are more artist friendly meaning that their music can be aimed at a specific audience in order for the people to listen and purchase their music. However, the artist isn't seen in the track called Down by the water. Meaning that indies are free to challenge the essential conventions of a music video.

Budget

In terms of the budget I would say that it is a high budget because the had to pay for the location and permission to use the train and most of the money was put towards the camera crew, editing, and the food needed to feed the actors. 

There was no synergy nor product placement in this music video.

Audience

The audience they are aiming at a more mature audience (23-40) since the visuals are not engaging enough to entice teenagers and encourage them to keep on watching and another reason as to why it is aimed at a more mature audience is because the visuals are in black and white to create a sense of nostalgia and make people think about the olden days. Whereas teenagers don't want to think given their short attention span and they only want to see colour.

Gimmicks used to promote

The Decemberists used a gimmick in the video towards the end when there was snow and it normally snows in the winter and the month December is in the winter season.

Monetisation of outlets 

This music video would be monetised through YouTube. The artist is paid $2 per 1000 views. Meaning 13,675/1000 x 2 would equal $27.35 but the artist gets 10% of the ad revenue which would be $2.73.

Conclusion

Compared to majors, indie artists tend to be more articulate in their music videos because they are signed to an indie label and that means they are free to express their art without having to change their image because they are targeting a specific audience where as majors would have to change their image over time to suit the audience's preferences. The advantages of being an indie artist is if your video gets a lot of views on YouTube, the indie artist receives a greater share of the ad revenue because you are not paying any money to any company. Another advantage is that they are free to express their art to the targeted audience. The disadvantage of being an indie artist is that you have to spend your own money on producing your own music.