Voyeurism In Music Videos

Definition of Voyeurism:  - a person who obtains sexual pleasure or excitement from theobservation of   someone undressing, having intercourse, etc Forms of the Male Gaze - The spectator's gaze: that of the spectator viewing the text, i.e. the reader(s) of the text.   - The Intra-diegetic gaze: in a text, a character gazes upon an object or another character in the text.   - The Extra-diegetic gaze: a textual character consciously addresses (looks at) the viewer, e.g. in dramaturgy, an aside to the audience; in cinema, acknowledgement of the fourth wall, the viewer.   - The camera's gaze: is the film director's gaze.   - The editorial gaze: emphasises a textual aspect, e.g. a photograph,  its cropping and caption direct the reader(s) to a specific person,  place, or object in the text. Laura Mulvey - Best known for her essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative  Cinema", written in 1973 and published in 1975 in the influential British film theory journal Screen.    - Her article was one of the first major essays that helped shift the orientation of film theory towards a  psychoanalytic framework, influenced by the theories  of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan.

Andrew Goodwin’s Theory

Here are two songs i really like at the moment. I think both music videos fit very well with the song. Ed Sheeran - The A Team in particular is one of my favourites, it's quite an emotional song when you listen to the words properly and watch the video carefully. It has a strong message behind it and is interesting to watch.

Genre

What is Genre?

Dictionary definition: A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter

Genre we have chosen and why


The song Andrea and I chose to make a music video to is from the electropop genre. Electro pop is one of the most dominating genres in the music industry with artists such as Lady Gaga, La Roux, Calvin Harris and many more. Furthermore we agreed that this particular genre of music is what suits our personality and us best which is why we decided to go with Electro pop.

What are the main generic conventions of a music video in your chosen genre? 

Background research:

Although synthpop in part arose from punk rock, it abandoned punk's emphasis on authenticity and often pursued a deliberate artificiality, sometimes using synthesizers to replace all other instruments. It owed relatively little to the foundations of early popular music in jazz, folk music or the blues, and instead of looking to America, in its early stages, it consciously focused on European and particularly Eastern European influences. Early synthpop has been described as "eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing", using droning electronics with little change in inflection. Later the introduction of dance beats made the music warmer and catchier and contained within the conventions of three-minute pop. Because synthesizers removed the need for large groups of musicians, these singers were often part of a duo where their partner played all the instrumentation.

Characteristics:

Synthpop was defined by its primary use of synthesizers, drum machines and sequencers, sometimes using them to replace all other instruments. Many synthpop musicians had limited musical skills, relying on the technology to produce or reproduce the music. The result was often minimalist, with grooves that were "typically woven together from simple repeated riffs often with no harmonic 'progression' to speak of". Early synthpop has been described as "eerie, sterile, and vaguely menacing", using droning electronics with little change in inflection. Common themes were isolation, urban, and feelings of being emotionally cold and hollow. In its second phase in the 1980s, the introduction of dance beats and more conventional rock instrumentation, made the music warmer and catchier and contained within the conventions of three-minute pop. Synthesizers were increasingly used to imitate the conventional and clichéd sound of orchestras and horns. Thin and treble dominant synthesized melodies and simple drum programmes gave way to thick, and compressed production, and a more conventional drum sound. Although synthpop in part arose from punk rock, it abandoned punk's emphasis on authenticity and often pursued a deliberate artificiality, drawing on the critically derided forms such as disco and glam rock.

Which iconography fo music vids in yout genre use?


Electro pop music videos usually consist of bold/ bright colours, lots of patterns and shapes, funky clothes, make-up (for girls), graphics etc. They look very artistic and some almost look like video games with all the graphics and patterns.

Is your chosen song's grenre typically narrative, performance, concept or a combination?

Our chosen song's genre is a combination of narrative, performanve and concept. However the music video that belongs to the song we've chosen (Aly & AJ - Potential Break-up Song) is all performance based but we plan to have a mixture in our own music video.

Which props, location and set design, costume, shot types, angles, stereiotypical characters are archetypal of your genre?

I've noticed that Electro pop music videos like the use of quick choppy shots, either really plain in Aly & Aj's case or really bold, bright, patterend clothes, various angles such as close-ups, low/high angle shots, panning shots etc.

In our last lesson which was on Friday 9th September we were given the task of creating a treatment pitch in our groups for our music video. As we're knew to A2 media we were puzzled at what that meant but after out teacher explained it and showed us some examples we realised that it's not that hard at all. We basically done the same thing for our AS media film opening.

TASK: To research, write and present a treatment pitch for your music video


What is a treatment?

* A treatment is a short outline of a media production designed to give a client or production team an overview of what the production might include based on a brief.

* Treatments are written descriptions, but can also include sketches, mock-ups, images and other draft items designed to demonstrate the intention of a production.

* A treatment is often used to “sell” an idea to a client. There is no hard and fast way to produce a treatment, although it is an integral aspect of the preproduction process.

What our treatment needs to INCLUDE:

•      Background on song

•      What is the basic narrative or concept of your video? Are you creating a performance, narrative or concept and why? Link this to your lyrics

•      What ‘feel’ do you want to provide for your audience?

•      How will you achieve this?

•      What are the codes and conventions of your genre?

•      In what ways are you conforming to or subverting them?

•      What themes do you have running through your video?

•      How will you use costume and make up to convey your messages?

•      Where is your location and why?

•      Have you obtained the band’s permission?

•      Could use this opportunity to gain audience feedback…

Here is our draft for the email we are planning on sending to the producers of Aly & Aj. We still however have to find an email address in order to contact them.

Dear    ,
our names are Andrea Walker and Beste Bayram, we are studying Media for A2 which involves producing a music video for our coursework. We are both big fans of Aly & Aj and we love their music particularly their 'Potential Breakup Song'. We were hoping you would give us your permission to use the song for our music video. We have no intent of selling our video it is merely just for school purposes. Please get back to us to let us know if this is ok and also contact us if there are any concerns.

Many Thanks

Song Choice

Aly & Aj - Potential Breakup Song

Explain Why You Have Chosen This Song And Why?

Both Andrea and I had similar ideas on what sort of thing we wanted to do for our music video. We both wanted to take part in being infront of the camera. Because of this we thought it would be best to find a song shared by two girls. After a lot of hard work and research we found only a few reasonable ones, but there was something about them that we didn't quite like. Luckily whilst i was doing my own home research i came across Aly & Aj, i listened to all of their songs in order to find the best ones. I put up the songs i liked out of them all onto my blog and went through them with Andrea in our next lesson. We listened to the songs a countless amount of times and agreed on the same song which is Aly & Aj's - Potential breakup song. The two main reasons to why we chose this song is because one, it has two females parts and two, it's not that well known. Another reason to why we chose this song is because as soon as we listened to it we started coming up with loads of interesting ideas about what we could include in our version of the music video.

Song Lyric's

[Verse 1]
It took too long, it took too long, it took too long, for you to call back,
And normally I would just forget that!
Except for the fact it was my birthday
My stupid birthday!

[Verse 2]
I played along, I played along, I played along,
Rolled right off my back!
But obviously my armor was cracked,
What kind of a boyfriend would forget that?
Who would forget that!

[Bridge]
The type of guy who doesn't see,
What he has until she leaves...
Don't let me go!
'Cause without me you know you're lost,
Wise up now or pay the cost,
Soon you will know!

[Chorus]
You're not livin',
'Til you're livin',
Livin' with me!

You're not winnin',
'Til you're winnin',
Winnin' me!

You're not gettin',
'Til you're gettin',
Gettin' to me!

You're not livin',
'Til you're livin',
Livin' for me!

This is the,
Potential break-up song,
Our album needs just one.
Oh baby, please, please tell me!

[Verse 3]
We got along, we got along, we got along until you did that
Now all I want is just my stuff back!
Do you get that?
Let me repeat that,
I want my stuff back!
You could send it in a box,
I don't care, just drop it off,
I won't be home!
Cause 'without me, you know you're lost,
Minus you, I'm better off,
Soon you will know!

[Chorus]
You're not livin',
'Til you're livin',
Livin' with me!

You're not winnin',
'Til you're winnin',
Winnin' me

You're not gettin',
'Til you're gettin',
Gettin' to me!

You're not livin',
'Til you're livin',
Livin' for me!

[Middle-Eight]
You can try, you can try,
You know I know it'd be a lie,
Without me, you're gonna die!
So you better think clearly, clearly,
Before you nearly, nearly,
Messed up the situation,
That you're gonna miss dearly, dearly c'mon!

[Chorus]
You're not livin',
'Til you're livin', (No)
Livin' with me!

You're not winnin',
'Til you're winnin', (No no noo! )
Winnin' me!

You're not gettin',
'Til you're gettin', (Till your gettin'! )
Gettin' to me!

You're not livin'
'Til you're livin' (No no no no no no no no)
Livin' for me

This is the
Potential break-up song.
Our album needs just one
Oh baby, please, please tell me!

This is the
Potential make-up song.
Please just admit you're wrong!
Which will it be?
Which will it be?
(Lalalalalala lalalalalala lalalalalala)

Different Ideas For Songs

Location

In mondays lesson Andrea and I were talking about where we'd like to film some of our music video. Due to the fact that we both went away in the summer holidays we came back with similar ideas. For example, we both liked the idea of filming by the beach and came up with possible things we could do their like:

• Shots of the waves
• Shots of us splashing around in the water
• Fun shots at the fair
• Peer shot
• Heart in the sand (washed away)

Summer Research

Record Label And Musical History

- Polydor Records was founded in Germany in 1946 as the popular music arm of the long-established Deutsche Grammophon label.

- UK division of Polydor was not established until ten years later.

- German Polydor released a single called My Bonnie by Tony Sheridan and The Beat Boys in August 1961 (backing group was the beatles).

- My Bonnie was the first official release by the group and was reissued two years later, when it briefly charted in Britain during the first flush of 'Beatlemania'.

- 1960s Polydor started signing a series of production deals with some of the most dynamic pop entrepreneurs. Giorgio Gomelsky, who had discovered the Rolling Stones and managed the Yardbirds, brought in Julie Driscoll and Brian Auger. Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp brought in the The Who, and via their Track Records imprint, Jimi Hendrix, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown and Thunderclap Newman. And Robert Stigwood brought two big-hitters to the label with the Bee Gees and Cream.

- At the same time, Polydor developed its American connections to become a significant soul and r'n'b powerhouse.

- Acts who came through Polydor: James Brown, UK license to the Stax and Atlantic labels gave them Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and a host of other top names.

- 1970s, Progressive rock was represented by the likes of the late, great Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton, both solo and with Derek and the Dominos. Glam rock was represented by Slade and the Rubettes.

- Swedish group who won the Eurovision song contest in 1974 dominated the charts all over the world for years to come. They went by the name of Abba and their greatest hits Gold album still sells strongly to this day.
 
- Polydor led the way in disco, with the Bee Gees and the chart-topping Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

- 1977-78, Polydor held the number one slot in the American charts for 23 weeks, with six different singles. At the same time, Polydor was in the forefront of the punk revolution, signing the Jam, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Sham 69, among others.

- 1980s, the dance-funk of Level 42, The Wonder Stuff and Paul Weller's Style Council added further diversity to the roster.

- 1990s the label became even more broad. Credible singer-songwriters such as Van Morrison and Eagle-Eye Cherry were signed alongside Britpop heroes Cast and Shed Seven. Former Stones Roses frontman Ian Brown launched a solo career on the label, while the Lighthouse Family and Boyzone flew the flag for the mainstream.

- Polydor's link with the Interscope, Geffen and A'n'M labels also brought on board an impressive roster of American talent, including Eminem, 50 Cent, Beck, Counting Crows and Marilyn Manson as well as the Nirvana catalogue.

- the label continues to boast plenty of big pop names from Ronan Keating to Daniel Bedingfield. From the realm of contemporary British urban music came the trailblazing Mercury Music Prize-winner Ms Dynamite, while Scissor Sisters, Snow Patrol and Sweden's The Hives spearhead an impressive alternative rock contingent.

Website where information was found: www.polydor.co.uk/history
(I have taken out the relevant information and presented it in bullet form)

How La Roux Represents Herself In The Media


LA ROUX is deffinitely better known for her electro-pop tunes than being on the catwalk. She performed a live show at Viktor and Rolf's menswear catwalk show in Paris. The design duo have adopted the British singer, real name Elly Jackson, as their new muse, dressing her in a slick suit taken from the menswear spring/summer 2011 range.

Elly says "Fashion and music have always gone hand-in-hand and this was an opportunity to do something different with the songs and in a completely different setting".

I think Elly presents herself as a lively, stylish, weird, talented and a tomboy type of person. I done a lot of research on how La Roux represents herself in the media but to be honest i wasn't able to find a variety of different representations. A lot about fashion came up whilst researching about her so it's fare to say that she represents herself as being stylish and into fashion as she has a unique look that many seem to like very much.Whilst researching on the internet i came across a question & answer with La Roux which gives us more information about herself and some about representation which you will see below.

Q&A With La Roux

Growing up, my favourite popstars had the extraordinary edge. Over-the-top style and the need to create a character. Annie Lennox did it and people like David Bowie too. Its why I think the New Romantics were so cool.

Im also inspired by Buddy Holly. I love all those tightly fitted pale suits, the big 50s quiffs. I always loved those things but it was finding the money and time to put them together that was the problem.

People say, Oh I like your style, but its hard to start dressing a certain way. I mean, if someone turned up to the office dressed like this, most people would think: F**k, shes weird.

If my look is changed its not La Roux. I had a shoot the other day with a US magazine and I think we p*ssed them off. They bought cool clothes and the stylist was lovely but I think they forget you arent a model. Im not a f**kng model. Im a singer. Like, people often want me to take my necklace off and Im not going to. If I comply, I dont look like me, then the whole image is ruined. But trying to be strong, and stick to what youre happy with, and not look like a c**t, is really hard.

Ive always been androgynous. I was a tomboy as a kid. I wanted to do all the things boys could do. I wanted to be accepted on the football team and I wanted to be able to pee standing up. Why should they get all the perks? That included clothes. Boys get more comfortable clothes. And better tailoring. They get some unbelievably well made suits and a sharp look that is hard to find as a woman. I much prefer strong lines and more angular cuts.

The way I dress affects my fan base. Ive got a strong gay and lesbian following. Ive got short hair and an air of mystery, which is always going to interest people. I guess its a grey area for them. But its weird for me. After one gig, this girl came up to me at the bar and said: Im not gay, but I really wanna f**k you. I was like, Well, you cant. Argh! It was sort of terrifying. Im not single either.

Evaluation Of La Roux - In For The Kill

I have chosen to analyse La Roux's - In For The Kill video which falls into the electropop genre. Her second single 'In For The Kill' was released on 16 March 2009.

In For The Kill features La Roux performing in a Toyota car throughout the whole video. The colours used in the video consist heavily of black. I can say that the video only consists of 3 obvious colours which is black, white and red/pink tones of lighting.

I'm not completely sure about what the message in this song is and what the lyrics actually mean. I had a read through the lyrics a couple of times and listened to the song a few times too. When i first heard this song i thought it had something to do with love/relationships. In order to get an accurate explanation i done some research to try and find out what the song is really about. I managed to find an explanation from Jackson herself on a lyrics website which says: "Jackson explained this '80s-derived song to Steve Harris of XFM radio: "It's about telling someone how you feel regardless of what you get back, and not waiting to find out if they want you or not." She added that when she wrote this, "I was quite in to someone in quite a deep and intense way and I went overseas (Paris) and told them I like them. It all fired back in my face but that's not the point you do it for yourself."

Here are the lyrics for In For The Kill:

We can fight our desires
But when we start making fires
We get ever so hot
Whether we like it or not
They say we can love who we trust
But what is love without lust?
Two hearts with accurate devotions
And what are feelings without emotions?

I'm going in for the kill
I'm doing it for a thrill
Oh I'm hoping you'll understand
And not let go of my hand
(x2)

I hang my hopes out on the line
Will they be ready for you in time
If you leave them out too long
They'll be withered by the sun
Full stops and exclamation marks
My words stumble before I start
How far can you send emotions?
Can this bridge cross the ocean?

I'm going in for the kill
I'm doing it for a thrill
Oh I'm hoping you'll understand
And not let go of my hand
(x2)

Let's go to war
To make peace
Let's be cold
To create heat
I hope in darkness
We can see
And you're not blinded by the light from me

I'm going in for the kill
I'm doing it for a thrill
Oh I'm hoping you'll understand
And not let go of my hand