Goodwins Theory of Analysis: Self Analysis

I thought that the best way to analyze my video was to use Goodwin's Theory Of Analysis to review the video.

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

I believe that our video fits the rap genre very well. One convention of rap videos is to have a recurring image of the artist on their own (or with other people if other people have input in the song), and often in the studio. This also ties in with point 4 of Goodwin's Theory. In our video, we have a recurring image of the star HB rapping into a microphone in what seems to be a studio environment. (Below)



This effect creates a professional representation of the artist (Dyer's Theory of Representation). This is much like other rap videos including 'Dreams' by The Game (Previously featured in my blog), and 'In Da Club' by 50 Cent (Example below)



Another way our video fits this point is through mise-en-scene. Hb wears a chain and a flat peak cap,(pictured below), typical of many rappers in the industry. Although I wanted the artist to appear as an individual, I still thought it would be important to include major factors of the rap genre, in this case clothing.



Another example of this rapper convention is T.I. (pictured below)




2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.

Our video has definite links with the songs lyrics, as I think it adds another element to the narrative by having the lyrics tie in with various elements of the song (mise-en-scene, HBs' actions etc.).

One way we incorporated the lyrics into the video was by using the characters actions. In this selected long shot (below), the lyrics are "Flyer than the rest". When filming the video, I pointed my hand to the sky, as if pointing to a bird or plane, hence fitting the lyrics.



Another way the lyrics were combined with the video was through mise-en-scene. One line of the song says "With the hat still fittin'" implying HB regularly wears hats. We took this idea and chose to include a hat (a flat peak, the most commonly seen hat in rap) in the mise-en-scene.


3. There is a relationship between music and visuals

There is definitely a link between the music and visuals in our video. Throughout the video, HB is rapping the song, with the lips syncing well with the song. This helps the audience create a link between him and the song, which would not of been made if HB never mouthed the words in the video. Another element of the music and visuals intertwining was through the use of actions by HB. In several sections his words correspond with his actions in the video (1st picture below) as well as corresponding with the beat of the music (the 2nd picture below shows HB bobbing his head in time with the song).





Another way I linked the visuals and the music is through editing. I often cut to different scenes in time with the beat of the music, creating an overall smooth transition. In the picture below we have HB going round a corner (1st picture) and it then switches to him walking round a different corner (2nd picture). This switch is made in time with the music.





4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work

Our video includes many different close ups of HB from various angles. Varying from an angled close up to an extremem close up, we believe that the variety in angles and distances create a idolising image of HB, making it seem like people are viewing him from many different angles, all trying to catch a glimpse of him. Here are some examples,





As far as the artists motifs, we do have some recurring images throughout the video, one of a girls lips in the chorus and one of HB rapping into a microphone. The lips create a slight sense of mystery as you do not see the whole of the girls face, where as the the shot of HB in the "studio" shows him in his prime element, rapping.






5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

Our video contains several references to notion of looking. In one scene, We have the camera looking at a mirror at HB's (Jacks) reflection. This creates a frame of the characters reflection using his body. It could be perceived as the main character himself looking in the mirror (which was intended) or being from a different persons point of view. (Picture below)



This is very relevant in all genres of music video, not just rap. In the picture below, Pink is looking and then punching a mirror, from almost the exact same angle we used in our video.



Our video also includes point of view shots which create the notion of looking. One example is when HB is signing autographs for his fans, the camera is positioned in front of his face creating a point of view shot (1st picture below). Another way we created a notion of looking is by switching between perspectives during the same shot. In the 2nd and 3rd pictures below, we see the camera shot switch round by 180 degrees, hence switching from Sam's perspective to Jacks.





Although our video does not contain images of the voyeuristic treatment of women as much as typical rap videos, it does have some elements of it. As a recurring extreme close up in the chorus, a girls lips lip sync the words to the chorus. This creates quite a subtly sensual image. (Picture below)



Nicki Minaj is an example of a rap artist that uses the voyeuristic treatment of women more so than our video. Even though she is a women herself, she has no problem with showing herself in a sensual way. (Picture below)



6. There is often intertextual reference

We do not have any mjaor intertextual references in our video. The only other reference to other media concepts is the use of band merchandise. In the video, HB (Me) is wearing Architects (British band) t-shirt and a While She Sleeps (British band) Varsity Jacket. This links HB with his British surroundings and style.

Sample Shots

In this shot we tried to include various elements of what we had learnt so far in the making of the video. At first, we tried an over the shoulder shot, but as we wanted to include the mirror, the camera could be seen in the mirror. We then decided to do our own low angle shot from the side of the characters waist, as this image included everything that the over the shoulder shot did. We then decided to include titles in the video, and thought this shot would be perfect for the artists name.






In this shot, we tried to create our own DIY crane shot, with the help of a small outbuilding on the school grounds. We felt that this shot made a good transition from the previous shot (a long shot from the other side), and it also created a sense of the character HB being constantly watched, as he is a very sought after rapper. In the editing stage I decided to fade this shot into the next close up of me in the studio as I thought the video needed a wide variety of shot transitions instead of just straight cuts.





We used this shot as a recurring image throughout the video. We thought it added another dimension to the artists profile (not only are the audience seeing him in an urban environment, they now see him in a studio environment). This idea was inspired by the studio shots used in The Games' 'Dreams' video (photo below) which I have previously included in this blog (Below).

HB-'Never Let The Party Stop'-Final Video

this is the final version of our music video.

We have fixed our minor problems with the lip syncing and are very happy with the end product.

Evidence of Editing

This video shows us editing the faulty lip syncing which was the main problem in our rough cut video.

Rough Cut Video Facebook & Peer Feedback

This is the feedback I received when I posted the rough cut on Facebook. Feedback has been generally positive, with much of the audience especially liking the final scene. Some comments have been made about the lip syncing being slightly out in some places, which we were aware of. We hope to have the final video completed with the lip syncing fixed.

During class my peers viewed my video and gave me feedback. Some of their feedback included:

Positives

-Steady shots
-Good transitions/editing
-Good variety of editing techniques
-Good variety of shot types
-Well lip synced

Negatives

-Lighting sometimes not ideal
-Lips sometimes out of frame

ROUGH CUT VIDEO

This is the rough cut of the video. At the moment, we are happy with the majority of the shots, be it location and syncing. The main problem is that we aren't happy with some of the lip syncing as it is slightly out of time. We will hopefully have the final cut of the video up by the end of this week.

CALL SHEET

FILMING DAY 1-PRACTICE

ALL- Report to Garden City Park for mise-en-scene photography and filming. Duration: 1 hour(s)

FILMING DAY 2-MAIN FILMING

David, Jack and Sam-Report to School at 10am for opening shot filmings and progression filmings.
Jenni-Report to Davids house at 12pm with car. All proceed to City Centre.
ALL-Film at Middle Class estate.

FILMING DAY 3-CLUB SCENE

ALL (INCLUDING EXTRAS)-Report to Drama Room at 3pm for club filming.

NOTE: CLUB SCENE CANCELLED DUE TO LACK OF ATTENDANCE, CHANGED TO BACKSTAGE SCENE

FILMING DAY 4-BACKSTAGE SCENES

ALL(INCLUDING ED)-Report to Backstage area for final filming.
ALL-Report to Media room for lip and studio filming.

Film Change

We were scheduled to film a club scene for the video yesterday, yet a combination of circumstances meant that we had to re-think the whole climax of the video, completely scrapping the club scene idea. The main reasons were-

-We were not able to use the lights in the drama studio, which was part of the appeal of using that room in the first place.
-We had a limited amount of extras, meaning a poor sense of the "club" atmosphere


Instead, we chose to change the climax. We have 'HB' walking through the backstage area of the venue and being met by venue staff and avid fans, before taking his place behind the curtain. We filmed and edited it today, and should have the rough edit and final cut uploaded by next week, staying well within our original plans. We are incredibly happy with how the video is looking so far, and think that the final version will be as good as we could of possibly made it.

Timeline and Sholist

I made this timeline/call sheet so that I could keep track of our progression whilst making the video, and it also helped me in the research and planning stages as I could see clearly what we needed for the video and could then think of how this could be achieved.

Target Audience

We have analyzed the content of the lyrics and the hip hop genre as a whole in order to determine our target audience. We believe that our products target audience is 15 to 30 year old men and women, which in the music business, is a mass audience and key to many artists success.

Where as hip hop used to be a very limited genre, mainly associated with "thugs", in recent years it has erupted into the music mainstream, with artists like Jay-Z and Eminem having number 1 hits across the world. This leads us to believe that our hip hop music video is aimed at one of the most important and broad mass audiences in the music business today.

We believe that our CD cover will appeal to the target audience as it is very simple and distinct. We made it black and white as this design is heavily used by famous rapper Jay-Z (Check earlier post on the blog). We would hope for our CD to be sold in chain music stores like HMV in order to reach as wider audience as possible, as well as iTunes, due to the increase in online downloads. Our video will appeal to our mass audience as it is depicting an experience from the stars perspective. This allows the audience to feel as if they are alongside the star, and generally closer to him. We would hope to have our video on both Major (MTV) and "Indie" (AKA) music channels. Our advert fits in with the conventions of rap and club music, with the club scene in the background. We hope it would be seen in major music magazines such as NME and Q, as well as Hip Hop based magazines such as Vibe and Source.

This is a mind map of my ideas for our target audience.

Amateur vs Professional

Amateur Video or 'What I Go To School For' by Busted.



Professional Video for 'What I Go To School For' by Busted.



Busted were one of the most popular boybands of the decade, meaning it would be very difficult for amateurs to emulate the success and professionalism of their videos. The video I have found, a take on their video for the song 'What I Go To School For', was one of the best and most accurate remakes I could find on Youtube. it is normally very difficult for students to recreate a video so well, but this group have done a great job.

The mise-en-scene is very similar in both videos. The amateur video has more light in their video as they have no real control over the light (Most of their light is simply sunlight. This is different to the professional video who used combinations of dark and bright light throughout the video. The clothing is very similar in both videos, with the professional video being slightly more extravert. The professional video's costumes are more exaggerated as they want their audience to understand that it is set in a school, even if it is slightly unrealistic. The amateur video has very subtle school clothing as they used their actual school uniform! The professional has a very detailed narrative which works very effectively in the video. The amateur video tries to follow the same narrative and do so quite well.

The editing in the professional video is generally very quick, with generally quick edits and minimal fades. The amateur video is very similar, with the edits not being quite so erratic. Both videos are put together very well, with continuity being kept throughout. There are numerous camera shots used in both videos, including Panning, Over The Shoulder, Close Up, Extreme Close Up and Handheld Shots. The amateur video has the majority of the shots that the professional video does although some lack in professionalism. In almost all of the Professional shots, it is clear a tripod or another device has been used to steady the camera. In the amateur video this is also present, yet some handheld shots are far unsteadier than the professional shots.

The sound is very well linked with the visuals in both videos. The lip syncing in the Professional video is virtually perfect. The syncing in the amateur video is of a very high standards, yet sometimes unclear as the characters do not exaggerate their mouths movements, making it difficult to link with the lyrics. Overall, the amateur video does a very good job of emulating the professional video, with some elements being ever so slightly different, mainly due to the lack of funding and equipment that is used in the professional video.

Editing Progress

We have now edited 2 minutes and 14 seconds of our film, with the rest being filmed on the 18th of November. We are very proud of our work, with myself taking control of the editing, with great help from David and Sam. Whilst myself and David focused on the main bulk of the editing task, Sam and Jenni then filmed the "lips" sequence from various angles as an extreme close up. This is a very important shot as it is a recurring image throughout the video.

Myself and David, with help from Sam and Jenni, spent roughly 3 to 4 hours editing our current video, and we are incredibly happy with the result. As we only have one scene left to film, we are all focusing on the mise-en-scene and camera shots to ensure that we get everything we need to make the climax as good as possible.

Progress

Having done the majority of our filming (everything apart from the climactic club scene), we have begun editing the piece. So far we are very pleased with it, having currently edited 1 minute and 41 seconds of the 3 minute long song.

We have included many different shot types, and have even began to vary in cuts between shots, using both quick edits and fades. We hope to continue with this progress and have all of our current piece edited before we shoot the club scene, making the final editing process simpler.

Filming

We have done the majority of our filming in the half term period. With a vast amount of shots taken on School grounds, Garden City Park and an upmarket estate, we managed to get various different types of shots, including Extreme Close Ups, Close Ups, Tracking Shots, Mid Shots, Panning Shots Long Shots and many more.

We used Jenni's car as a base for our mobile Tracking Shots, which allowed the team to follow me rapping down the road. We also used a tripod to make sure the camera was steady when filming. We used parts of the school environment to obtain high angle shots, placing our camera on top of a raised building.

We are now in preparation for our next and final scene, as well as one short scene. They climax of the video has the star walking into a club and finding his way to the stage in time to perform the last verse and chorus of the song. We plan on using various shots throughout, as well as 15 to 25 extras, to give the shot a real "club" vibe.