FORMATION

FORMATION: BEYONCE (2016)

directed by Melina Matsoukas

lead single to Lemonade album

realised day before Super Bowl

music video black representation

Representation- process or portrayal of someone or something in a certain way

(creates meaning for audience)   

-nothing we study in the media is real 
-everything a constructed or represented 

cultivation - self for filling prophesy

Nicki Minaj- ANACONDA (2014)

primary representation- young black women

young black women are consistently sexualised eg. mid shot of women buttocks

sexual premiscurity is incoded through gesture and shot types 

the screen wobble emphasises the size of her buttocks  

empowerment through sexuality 

many black women are faulsely represented   

Lil Pump- GUCCI GANG (2017)

primary representation- ethnic minorities 

connotes disrespect for authority through gesture and piff

subversive as there is no violence, guns, or sexual behaviour  

women less presented and in less of a sexual way however lyrics are still explicit 

Horror film conventions

SUSPIRIA (1977)

genre conventions = paradigmatic features

• non diegetic soundtrack cuts out, functioning as a proairetic codes sign posting up coming violence
• mid shot of girl hanging covered in blood, low key lighting
• suspenseful framing of female protagonist standing in corner of empty women
• consistent venerability of women emphasised through there young features and lack fighting back attitude   

References to Riptide:

• women being attacked threatened by a male figure
• stereotypically pretty women
• either lowkey or highkey lighting to connote fear or impending death  

Surrealism 

-art movement started in France

-something that follows the logic of dreams 

Un Perro Andaluz (1929)

the audience just accept the weird cuts 

Things are not questioned eg. man with hole in his hand cut to the beach 


Binary oppositions -Claude Levi Strauss theory 
day vs night
Bart vs Lessa
busy city vs quite country
noise vs silence 

Producers use binary oppositions to create a narrative

contrasts give each other meaning  

audience can instantly identifies with characters and situations

emphasise and exaggerates the two opposites  

  

RIPTIDE

VANCE JOY- RIPTIDE 2013

1. extra post modern 
2. use of juxtapoitional distressing creepy and aesthetically pleasing images
3. strong link between visuals and lyrics 
4. binary opposition between conventional music video and subversive music video 
5. 'riptide' high angle long shot of the sea, connotations of danger and extremity 
6. montage of closeups of everyday items
7. establish themes of travel and gives the audience escapism  
8. metaphorical lyrics of splitting up a relationship
9. mixture of discontinuous editing, some shots have cause and effect with narrative
10. horror film connotations- blond female tied to a tree
11. contrapuntal imagery- cult horror films eg Blair witch project 
12. female gender emphasise through mie-en-scene of heels, lipstick, nail varnish 
13. lacks a coherent narrative 
14. unconventional master shot of glamours singer lip syncing badly 
15. mise-en-sene of blood and smeared makeup can have connotations of abuse  
16. not explicit therefore subliminal and postmodern- leave the audience to wonder 

subsidiary= company owned by another company 

Vance Joy- singer/songwriter, signed by Atlantic Records (subsidiary of major label Warner)

categories as Indie folk pop genre, platenuim selling single 

Video directed by Dimitri Basil and Laura Gorun- just over 2 hundred mill views on youtube 

Objectification- the process of a character or person is portrayed like an inanimate object 

Male gaze- (vanzoonans theory) women in media are placed in assumption for the gratification of heterosexual men  

Sexualisation- process of presenting someone purely for sex

Voyeurism- the pleasure of watching someone without there knowledge

Scopophillia- the love of watching (same as voyeurism) 

Romanisation- to think about or describe someone as attractive or more interesting than they are, connotations of love 

Cognitive dissonance- subtitles are different on screen to whats being said or sung  

High angle shots are used to show superiority and power over the character 

Intersexuality of slasher film (women being crept up on by murder)

voyerism for the audience as the girl is unaware of the camera 

blond girl, long hair, loose clothing all connotes romantic holiday vibes  

WOMEN IN THE VIDEO

Every women presented in this video are stereotypically attractive
They are interchangeable and dispensable, audience does not tend to note them specifically
Women are consistently threatened throughout the video  
Consistent sexualised and objectified by the camera
Also subversive as women are shown as fighters and doing magic tricks which is not a typical depiction 
Vastly polysemic as does not confine to a single genre or presentation


INTERPRATIONS:
about a divorce 
about abuse/violence
about unrequited love 
about a summer fling 
   

  Audience unusually close to the performer, high angle shot

stereotypically model looks, red lipstick, tanned skin, sharp features 

main focus under spot light, clearly representing her ads glamorous and sophisticated

slightly older women (25-35 guess) 

represented as venerable and emotional when makeup smudged and crying 

singing the words wrong symbolises distress 

IRONIC AND KNOWING VEIW POINT- 

• tongue and cheek playing on hegemonic perspectives of women 
• using sexy characters in a non sexy way
• mid shot of man standing in front of women ironically showing patriarchal hegemony 
• sexualised images utilised referential codes 
• many film references draws attention to negative portrail of women in media 
• close up of women singing words wrong gives connotations of rebellion 
• whole video lacks any anchorage 

CREEPY AND SEXIST VEIW POINT-

• shows the issues women go through eg domestic violence   

The video is highly polysemic and most of all subversive of the hegemonic ideologies perspectives normally seen in music videos! 

Montage editing- series of short shots are edited into a sequence to condense space, time, and information

Eyeline match- is a film editing technique where the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing

Beat matching- synchronising the tempos of two recordings to enable a smooth transition between them in a set of uninterrupted music

Continuity editing- process in film and video creation, of combining more-or-less related shots, or different components cut from a single shot into a sequence

Jump cut- where there is a cut to the same scene, normally a mistake 


-Intertextual references to surrealist Cinema
-gets across abstract concepts in short space of time 

MUSIC VIDEOS

MUSIC VIDEOS...

component 1A) Media language and Representation  

component 1B) Audience and Industry 

music video definition-

• montage of clips with song in background
• visual representation of song 
• short film that accompanies the music 
• video that gives context to the sound
• advertising the song!

Where do we see them?

YouTube

Vevo

KEY TERMS-

Modes/ language/ polysemy/ meaning/ conventions/ intertextuality/ audience/ representation/ audience response/ ideologies/ construction/ processes/ stereotypes/ social and cultural context

social and cultural context= whats going on in society at the time

construction= building of a represention by the producer

music videos are significantly shorter than other forms of visual media eg. Tv shows and films.... 

AUDIENCES RESPONSE- audience tend to be very protective over there favourite artists 

what can people do with their fave band/artists?

• aspire to be like them
• buy there merchandise eg. posters 
• represent yourself through them 
• connect to them through social media 
• see them live 

SCOPEYTONE music video=

France Gall- Baby Pop 1965

audience would have been impressed as music videos are not common 

poor quality but good for the eire

appeal of new technology, advanced for its time 

How is France Gall represented

young, pretty, can't dance, beauty icon

use of close up and mid shots gives a direct mode with the audience  

mise-en-scene of baking dancers shows 'friends' and lively atmosphere 

REBECCA- Vanity Angle 1989

the editing is beat matched 

fast pace with every 80s cliché possible

white and black backing dancers- creates ethnic diversity- excitement and exotic 

Pulp- Babies 1994

clear narrative with sisters to match lyrics 

conventional and unconventional with multiple captions

presentation of ironically cool British kids   

self deprecating 

Convergence= coming together of two previously seperate industry 

eg. film + music = music video

Benefits

target broader audience 

can utilise advising

choose specific audiences 

new art form 

This is called SYNERGY= The interconnectivity of media products leads to a result of more of the sum of its parts eg. merchandising tie-ins 

On of the reason younger audiences are also targeted is because they have a more expendable income than the older generation  

MTV:   

(music television)

Music Videos 

1. short timing around 3 mins
2. may not include narrative
3. can stream for free
4. lower in cost
5. lower expected levels of engagement
6. expected to watch many times 
7. prioritise sound track over narrative
8. made after music has been made
9. audience less likely to make effort to watch
10. form of advising/ promotion for the artist
11. rely on intense visual effects 
12. stand alone product
13. based around the song
14. faster pace editing (average shot length 1s) 

Cinema

1. usually between 90-120 mins long
2. always have a story line
3. able to purchase after realise 
4. very high production rate. need big team
5. higher expected levels of engagement 
6. may watch once or twice 
7. priorities narrative over soundtrack 
8. music made to fir film 
9. audience go out of there way to watch
10. form of art/ are the product
11. don't rely on intense effects  
12. can be part of a franchise eg sequels 
13. can be about anything 
14. slower pace editing (average shot length 4s)

CELEBRITY

"attribution of the glamorous or notorious status to an individual in the public sphere"

-can be a derogatory term

-known by the public 

-somebody who holds a significant amount of notoriety 

-well known for something specific 

-owns a lot of cultural capital- value through reputation

-must have mainstream appeal 

-currently notorious  

Lady Gaga -Applause 2013

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pco91kroVgQ

she is encoded by the producer 

what makes her a celebrity?

lack of makeup- subversive celebrity 

lack of clothing- catches attention 

many close up/mid shots- emphasise her emotion 

 stage setting- connotes performance aspect 

high key lighting- looks like spot light 

• Celebrity provides audience with the gratification of surveillance 
• They are also an escapist fantasy
• Role models to look up too and idolise   
• to entertain and give an objective in life 
• used to advertise and promote 

Metanarrative= over arching or system of beliefs, basically living your life through a system and routine 

• some narratives of life are religion- gives you rules and routines to follow eg. go to church weekly and love your neighbours 

• some narratives of life are science- understand people and the world we live in eg. medicine

• some narratives are of marriage- metanarratives change eg. olden days you had to marry a virgin whereas now days thats not the case

CELEBRITY CAN PROVIDE US WITH AN IDEOLOGY: "BE YOUR SELF"

Diegesis= in the world of the narrative
Diegetic sound is sound in the world of the narrative eg. dialog 

non Diegetic sound is not in the world of the narrative eg. music/sound track

(In music videos the diegesis of the sound is NOT clear)

Postmodernism= media product that breaks the rules-subversive  

Why world postmodern be used?

uniqueness

put across deeper meaning

catch audience attention 

Gratification in media products

In what ways can audiences take please from media products?

Similar life style- seeing people of similar age, social situation and similar ideologies to target audience

Escapism- by assuming the the life of target audiences is flawed, a media product can temporarily allow a perfect world to live in

Surveillance/voyeurism- allows the target audience to see situations and people that they would not normally see

Sexual gratification- where the target audience take pleasure in seeing people they find attractive

Social interaction- where the audience are able to use the media product to make friends and integrated into society


PRAY IN C (music video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiore9Z5iUg

Gratification for audience:

• Two girls almost kissing- allows a heterosexual male audience to create fetish like fantasy- sexual gratification- devalues the idea of lesbian sexuality- Van Zoonen assumption of male audience
• mid/long shot of two girls flashing the camera- also for heterosexual male audience gratification- stereotyping and sexualising young women 
• Mexican day of the dead theme- preferred reading 'it looks cool'- escapism for audience- oppositional reading, cultural appropriation, very inappropriate
• The group of guys skating about and fooling around- escapism- just having fun and messing around with no responsibilities 
• Painting graffiti on the walls- simliar lifestyle- young and rebellious youth can see others 'living the dream'
• Private party- pleasure of observing cool party- surveillance- secret and dark feel
• Face paint being applied- girl carefully doing her makeup- almost like a makeup tutorial- satisfaction and pleasure taken from time and effort plus beauty
• Mid shot of women arse- allows a heterosexual male audience escapism to look purely at the womens arse in slow mo

Rebecca Black 'Friday'

        

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0

Everything wrong with this music video:

• very bad lip syncing 
• trashy edits eg. bus stop sign
• very saturated colours
• awful lyrics about morning routine 
•