Music Promotion package

Music Promotion Package on Prezi

Prezi is a new type of presentation software which presents information in a much more unique way through the use of animations and extreme customization.This was our initial use of this new software and we had trouble opening it on the Mac computers at school therefore causing us to have to make it again but we didn't have time to put up the marketin section of the prezi.

Genre Case Study: Example - Changed the way you kiss me

 

This is Example's video to his dance hit "Changed the way you kiss me" single, and his music consists of a combination of house, dub-step and drum bass. There are various ways in which the artists and the genre are represented throughout the micro-elements. One of the ways in which they've done this is through the use of cinematography, mise en scene and editing. 

Cinematography

An example of the ways in which the house/dance genre is represented can be denoted when there is an aerial shot of the of extras dancing, all clustered together on the dance floor. This connotes the party atmosphere that can usually be felt when listening to this type of music but also the large group of people placed within such a small environment helps to convey that sense of "togetherness" referring back to "house" music. In addition the extras are jumping to the beat of the music creating a rhythmic style within the video further creating a heavy emphasis on the beat, which is normally the focus when creating dance, house and drum & bass styles of music.

Another way in which the genre is represented is throughout a long shot denoted when the camera is orientated towards the stage; this helps to only establish location which then creates links to the genre. This is because of the fact that this genre tend to have elements of conceptual and performance, which can vary between very simplistic settings and glamorous, high keys, big budget locations, whilst this video contains a combination of both. This is because of the fact the main star performance is based on a stage with hey key lighting, but remains as the prime location throughout the entire video. 

One of the ways in which the artist is represented is denoted during a close up whilst he's performing with a microphone. This connotes that he is the prime focus for the video, allowing the audience to draw their attention to him but also connotes the idea that he's also a performance artists that would most probabaly hold concerts within raves and club, all places where dance music is usually played.

Mise en scene:

Locations

The location within this video takes places within a concert hall/club with the main star and band on stage, and he's performing to a large audeince. This connotes themes of clubs and raving all of which reinforce the notion of this genre being focused more around the music rather than the way in which the artist themselves are represented. Furthermore by having it placed in such a simple location it allows the audience to feel capable of relating to that environment, but also makes it seem more personal to the audience allowing them to feel more involved in the performance as well as that genre.

Clothing

When it comes to the artist within this genre he wears simplistic clothes such as jeans and a shirt, and this once again shows that he doesn't focus on his star image but the music, as time and dedication is taken in making the music it therefore means he doesn't wear branded clothing items or accessories, unlike artists from many genres such as hip hop, pop and RnB.

Lighting

The lighting within the video varies between high lighting to low key lighting, and at point focuses on the performer and the band whilst still focusing on the audience at certain points all. This in a way represents him as being someone an audeince is capable of relating to on a more personal level, making it easier for them to connect to their music.

Conceptual: Katy B - Witches Brew

Mise en scene:

Location
The most noticable location within the music video consists of the star being in a haunted enchanted forest and this settting helps to further emphasise the message she is trying to put across to her audience. This concepts consists of getting her man through the use of magic and seduction, and those elements are reinforced as she's placed within an environment that witches tend to be associated with, and it connotes a sense of mystical, creepy and enchanting emotions, which would help to further retain the interest of the audience.

Costume
She wears a variety of different costumes within the music one, the most predominate being her darkest costume consisting of a black coat, and a black latex overall with black shoes. In wearing this she helps to project the message that is constantly reinforced throughout her lyrics, for example when she says "book of darkness". From this we can connote a sense of darkness and despair but also helps present her lyrics in a more graphic way. In addition by her wearing a black outfit further inforces the theme that she's presenting to the audience and the sense of "Witches Brew" has very dark connotations and she represents that through what she wear, which also help to make it seem more realistic. Another one of her costumes are a lot more revealing connoting the main stars sexual presence creating a sense of empowerment by exploiting her body to her audience, encouraging the "male gaze",which in turn would further help to reinforce her purpose within the video which is to get her man. Furthermore she in a way uses this voyeristic effect to further draw attention to herself while retaining her dominance consistently throguhout the video.

Lighting
The use of lighting within this video helps to create that mysterious,eery effect, due to the fact that at certain points the lighting hides her features therefore hiding her identity from the audience, whislt at certain points it helps to excentuate her features for example at around 0:13, we as the audience really focus on her face drawing more attention to the star. The lighting is predominanatly used during close ups of her, and is natural high key lighting.

Editing:
The video has a heavy emphasis when it comes to post-production as in order for it to have created that mystic and "witch" effect a large amount of effects were required, and this helped to give the video more content. For example one of the major effects used are when she's in the room with the male character tied up and everything in the room is slowed down, whilst she isn't affected. This connotes themes of manipulation and magic, which all use lyrical methods such as amplify in order vto present the meaning behind the song to the audience. Furthermore it has be put in sync with the music so the scenario suits the music at that point in time, allowing it to flow fluidly.

Type of video:
Katy B's video is a clear example of a conceptual perfromance based video that uses methods of illustration and amplify when linking the lyrics and the video. This is clearly evident as there is no mian storyline within the video, as the events that take place aren't completely realted to the lyrics.

Gender Representation Case Study: Alexis Jordon - Good Girl

Within this video Alexis both conforms and subverts from the typical gender representations of women in music video, and in doing this she in a sense could potentially convey two parts of the stars of  persona representing herself as dominant and passive. Alexis Jordan at point within her video conforms to the normal stereotype of female representation, whilst still being capable of being conveying her message to the audience from two perspectives. 
An example of her conforming to the stereotype is denoted when she sitting on the speaker and is singing whilst the guy is standing next to her, whilst she is wearing an pink dress and he's wearing a black costume. From this we can connote that within this shot she is represented as being inferior, and this is further emphasised by her wearing a pink dress. However in comparison to the man who is wearing all black connoting both his masculinity but also his dominance over her. In addition the way in which she is positioned in a coy manner towards the male once again make  it is seem as if she is giving herself away to the male further conforming to the woman's role within a video. In addition to her costume since its quite short we can in a way connote that she is objectifying her body exposing her legs and her chest making her at that point within the video a sexual object.

An example of when she subverts the stereotype of women within music video is denoted when she is sitting on the black motorcycle wearing a black catsuit. From this we can connote her new dominance within the music video in contrast to her previous shot of her being a lot more feminine. In addition whilst she is using her sexual prowess to attract the males attention she is giving her a sense of empowerment, and this is further conveyed by her lying on the motorcycle which is a very masculine machine. Despite the fact there is no male character within the video she isn't represented in a passive manner but is portraying herself in a more aggressive manner rather than conforming to the stereotypical depiction of women as being soft and feminine. The way in which she is positioned is in a suggestive manner, and she is wearying a costume to reveals her chest, which creates a voyeurism effect.

In this video the theory of the male gaze can be used as at certain points throughout the video as she conforms to the stereotype of a female within music video. For example this is denoted when is wearing a very low cut dress, shaking her finger to the screen. From this we can connote that at this point she is attracting males as she's wearing a revealing outfit and it shows her as being passive as she's giving up her body for the views pleasure. This then causes her to seem like a sexual object creating a sense of the "male gaze". However the action she is doing contradicts that notion because she is signifying that whist is dressed in such a provocative manner she is not giving anything and connotes the idea that she's in charge of the situation at hand. Therefore this allows her to use this sexual prowess that she possess and turn it into a sense of female empowerment but still retains the concept of love and relationships within her music video.

The genre of this artist is predominantly pop which usually consists of dance routines, dramatic shots and upbeat music, but also tends to convey notions of love, relationships and friendships. 

Dancing within pop video is a very common conventions and this video conforms to that, and it represents the star in a objectified way, because during that moment the star and the dancers purpose is purely for display and for the pleasure of the audience. In addition they usually help to highlight the main star, and in this case its a women, which allows her to draw more attention in comparison to a male star dancing.

 At this point it further contains the conventions of a pop video as this is a dramatic moment within the video, usually singing the chorus in order to fully express the ideals she is showing to her audience. In addition at this point she is represented in a slightly different way, whilst she is still passive it conveys a more "girly" side of the star that isn't consistently seen throughout the video. Furthermore it helps reinforce the ideas of love and relationships that are anchored by the lyric "You might mistake me for a heart breaker".

The star persona of the artist could possibly be the various personalities that she expresses throughout the video, which consists of a confident, dominant female that's a little more wild but also a calm, "girly" very feminine, passive individual. As shown above both of these personalities could potentially form the stars own persona, but i also think that she is the type of person who wouldn't be afraid to conform to the normal stereotype of a female within music videos but is also capable of expressing a side of her that subverts from the norm, and portrays her in a male's role, yet she still retains her sexual prowess that can be given to the audience.

Hurtwood House - Crazy In Love (Student Analysis)

This is an example of past students work who have done a cover to Beyonce's "Crazy in Love". Ths is an example of a performance based music video using illustation and amplfiy to convey the lyrics to the audience.

Conventions:

The conventions that are evident within the video are a combination of illustration and amplify as there are direct links between the actions within the video, whilst at certain points only ever making loose connections to the lyrics. An example of when illustation is used is denoted when they say "Crazy In Love" and during that scene  there is a man thats been stabbed. In doing this you can connote that they've taken that lyrics literally and have demonstrated that by emphasising a the word "crazy" by displaying a graphic image to the audience.  An example of where amplify is used is when they say "you got me sprung and i dont care who see's" you're able to denote one of the mian performers goign wild and begins dancing, whilst there is noone actually looking at her within the video; there is a loose connection between what she does in the video and the lyrics. This then allow both of them to anchor each other.

Another well displaced convnetion was music tempo, as the entire video was edited to the beat quite well but was also aided by the main stars performance at that moment in time. This is denoted when the tempo decreses and the speed at which the scenes cut to each other slow down to the point where it remain in one shot for about ten seconds, and as the tempo increses again then everything returns cutting quickly and their performance increses. We can connote that the video cwas clearly made to the beat of the music creating a rhythmic flow constantly found throughout the music video.

Furthermore they use conventions such as voyerism, empowerment throughout a larrge proportion of the video. An example of when they use empowerment is denoted when the three main stars are in jail cells after the scene has cut away from a dead male. You connote their sense of power and dominance within the video causing the males within the video to seem less powerful subverting from the usual depiction of women in music videos. An example of voyerism is actually placed within the music video, and this is denoted when a man is watching the female stars perform on the stage, allowing you to witness the "male gaze" first-hand. In doing this you can connote the usual depiction of female's sexuality as purely a sexual object or "eye candy".

Mise En Scene:

Location

The are very few locations within the video but all still help to convey the messgae in which the charatcers are dispalying to the audience. Their first location is on a performers stage which helps to connote their power within the entire music video but only through their sexual prowess. In addition they convey themselves in a way that conforms to a womans roll within a video, which is a sexual object as they're performing for a man's pleasure.

Costume
Within the entire video they have two particular outfits, one of which is a lot more sexual as more of their body is shown whilst the other outfits are a lot more convered. The main singer out of the singer tends to wear more revealing clothes, helping to connote that she is the main star within the video but also draws the audiences attention to her in comparison to every one else.

Lighting
When it comes to the lighting it is mostly focused on the main singer within the video once again connoting her importance within the video, in comparison to the other singers who are positioned to the side of the stage where there is less light. Furthermore by having the light focus on the main singer helps to excentuate her features further to the audience relating back to the idea of sexual empoerment.

Narrative: Ed Sheeran - The A Team

  

Mise en scene:

Location 

There are a variety of different locations found within Ed Sheeran's narrative video, all of which anchor the lyrics through its mise en scene helping to personify the message he is trying to convey to the audience. The locations vary between a park, a main road, outside a store and inside a hotel room giving a sense of variety within each of the different scenes. The more open sequences such as the park and the main road allowed the audience to fully soak in the changing environment that the character has been placed in creating a sense of loneliness is also portayed to the audience becuase since she's placed within the centre of these locations creating a clear social divide between her and the rest of society but also connoting a lack in positive progress throughout the entire video. When it came to much smaller locations such as the bedroom, it created a sense of intimacy between her and the audience. In addition it allows the audeince to empathize with her on an emotional level, allowing the lyrics to have as greater impact. However i fell as if the variation in locations helps to project her feeling at that moment within that moment, for example the park connotes a sense of freedom, the main road connotes loneliness and the hotel room connotes a sense of lust, liking back to the lyrics.

Lighting

When it comes to the video it solely relied on natural lighting that is evident within that immediate area. Lighting is not a key element within this video as its not a conceptual or performance video, which tend to be more glamourous and possess a lot more artificial lighting.

Costume

As the main focus of this video is the female character, she has two predominant costumes within the entire music video, both of which help show her progression throughout the entire narrative. You denote her costume as being a baggy tracksuit and a coat, all of which connote her being homeless; this is then proven further through the location she wakes up in. By having her wear those cloths causes the audience to begin asking questions about how she ended up in that position but also allow Sheeran's message be put across, by conveying her as being vulnerable, lonley and innocense. Furthermore the image remains in the audeinces minds if her costume is drastic from the norm. When it comes to her second costume, which connotes her as being a prostitue shows a development within the video from being this innocent, vulnerable person to someone who's doing anything in order to get by. By having such a drastic change helps not only convey the severity of her situtation but also once again causes the audience to connect with her on an emotional level. 

Props 

Various props were used within the video but the key ones were drugs, "Big Issue" magazine, flowers and a blanket due to the fact that they all have a significant link to either the lyrics or the narrative development. The flowers convey the characters sense of innocense within the video, and that despite her current situation as well as decision that she makes she's still able to see the beauty within everything. This in a way makes her character more relatable to the audeince as it shows that she's not any better or worse than we all are. The blanket denoted within the video connotes a sense of vulnerablity to the audience as she doesn't have a stable environment but also helps to leave a more dramatic visual image in the audiences minds. The use of drugs within the video shows the negatives of her lifestyle but also helps explains the video as a whole as it isn't a chronologically ordered video, and also becuase its such a graphic image its causes you to only be capable of imaging her situtation giving the story even greater depth. The uses of the magazine "Big Issue" is an intertexual reference to that magazine but also represents the people that tend to sell them, as she dreses and acts in a similar way.

Editing:

Editing proved to play a key role within this video as some of the editing techniques help make the narrative more dramatic and emotional. One of the inital effects that are used throughout the entire narrative is the black and white effect, which connotes a how simple her situation is to understand put creates a shock and awe effect during grahic parts of the video exentuating focal parts of the video. One of which include her laying dead right in the beginning of the video, and the black and white effect cause the audience to focus on her piercing lifeless eyes. Another editing technique used was non- continuity editing as the beginning of the video started off with future events, which raised questions as to what has happened. Another editing effect used was time increase and this is denoted when the entire area around her is speed up and she remians atationary. Connoting the passing of time but also suggest that whilst everyone else's lives are moving on she remians in the same depressing situation she's been in from the beginnig of the video.

Cinematograhpy

Shot types

One of the shots used within the video a lot were close ups and they were preodominanatly close ups of the main characters face. This can be denoted in the initial sequence when it starts up with a close up of her face and slowly begins to zoom away. This connotes a sense of horror in an instant as its the first image the audience see, and becuase its a strong image its doesn't fade away over the course of the video, giving it a sense of repeatabilty. Furthermore i believe that in makng this one of the first things seen within the video it causes the audeicne to want to know whats happened and why allowing them to take any morals they get from the narrative but also creates an emotional connection between us and the charatcer.

Another shot used are long shots, which not only establishies location but also helps to see the changing environment shes been placed in moving the narrative along. This is denoted when she standing outside angel station, near the flowers with a large group of people behind her. This helps to connotes that she is deviated from the rest of society and has no place in the world but as aformentioned in "location" it represents her character as being innocent, vulnerable and not in charge of her future.

Types of video
Ed Sheeran's music video is an example of a narrative that use method of illustaration and amplify when it comes to linking the videos to the video. This is denoted through the build up of events that occur throughout the entire video and eventually reach an outcome. Furthermore there is clear character progression that moves in a negative direction as the events that occur gradually get worse.

Ji** In My Pants: Intertexuality analysis

This is a parody video of the pop genre as a whole and was created by Lonely Island records, which are known for creating videos that highlight the negative points of a genre. 

Intertexuality:

The intertexual references in which this video is referring to is the Pop and RnB genre and their heavy emphasis on sexual experiences but also a man's need to gain sexual pleasure from a woman. They expose the ways in which both these genres exaggerate these sexual encounters to the optimum point. Furthermore in order for them exaggerate the situation the even further they placed them in the most absurd of locations such as a supermarket, nighclub, parking lot etc. In order to create a humoursly absurd effect that remains constant throughout the entire video. An example of when they make reference to the pop genre is denoted when the stars are placed in the most unrealistic of locations such as the parking lot, where the background isnt a controlled environment. From this when can connte how ridiculous those types of videos are and begin to pick up on them.

Target Audience

The target audience would consist of a variation in ethnicities and this is due to the fact that pop is part of the mainstream indutry meaninig that they're mainstream would have such a variartion between them, making it hard to pick a particularly audience for the entire genre. However for this particular song these stars would appeal to white teenage girls aged 15-20, and  this is due to that fact that the charatcers themselves were white and could possibly be within that age range.