Initial planning idea

My group consists of 4 people,. They are Amiee Austin, George Hoy, Jake Poulter and myself. Individually we all have certain skills which will contribute to the success of our music video as a whole. Together so far we have all inputed creative ideas and discussed our strong points which consists of creativity, camera and editing skills.

In our first group meeting there was lots of discussions about the theme and genre we were going to use. As a group we felt that the genre of a song reflected the theme we could include, for example we felt that a dance song which was fast paced would connote happiness and friendship whereas a slow country song stereotypically connote heartbreak and sadness. As a group the main theme and concept we wanted to include in our video was happiness, friendship and family rather than heartbreak and sadness. After discussing this we decided to do a dance song as hapiness, having fun and partying with friend is one of the many conventions of a dance video. We then decided on the song Wake me up by Avicii, we feel this song is upbeat and the lyrics are positive enough for the themes we would like to include. We also feel the slow paced at the beginning and end of the song and the fast paced beat throughout the middle of the song will enable us to create a contrasting narrative. As a group we had other idea's such as 'Londons Caliing' by Clash, as we wanted to include an element of being in the city however felt the song was too slow and drery. We also considered 'The sun don't shine' by Sonix which we was close to choosing however we felt the lyrics in 'Wake me up' would connote our themes and concept ideas more. The way we are going to choose to connote out themes are through a narrative/concept music video there will be some performance such a dancing but this will be used within our narrative and not a performance direct to the camera.

As our basic concept is about family, friends and having fun we chose our narrative to consist two teenage boys, who were best friends going to a party. Although our music video narrative is of two best friends going to a party out music video will start from the morning after. We chose to do this in order to create a flashback affect by using jump cuts and fades to flashback back to the night before. We wanted to include flashbacks of the two boys partying rather than the narrative going in chronological order so we could represent the lyrics of finding their way back home. The boys do not know how they got to the place they find themselves waking up in the morning, but the flashback help them gain their drunken memories back. In between flashback the two teenage boys will be filmed making their way home laughing at te flashbacks if the night before, eventually the boys go seperate ways so they can go home. Upon arrival we will use a split screen to contrast the differences between family life. One boy will return home to his warm family home greeting his little sister whereas the other will be an only child going to a place he doesn't really like to call home. The idea of this is to contrast how friends and having fun is important however your family will always be the ones you go home to yet some people are not lucky enough to have families like others.

The first point we considered once we had come up with our basic idea was mise-en-scene. In order to make out party scenes seems realistic we wanted to include realistic clothing therefor our characters will be dressed in casual party clothes as they are teenage boys and they tend to wear very basic clothing also because the party we are portraying isn't massively glamorous and teenage boys do not tend to go to party's in suits ect. For lighting we chose to use lowkey for the party scene with flashing lights as it is conventional to the party scene and dance genre and natural lighting for the day time scenes as when filming it will be light out showing it is the morning after. Icongograohy was another important element of mise-en-scene we needed to include to portray a realistic party scene. As we will be filming the party scenes of out music video at an actual party this will not be a problem as we will have all iconography needed which will include thins such as alcoholic drink, empty beer bottles, lights ect. For location we chose to film in a club for the party scene as our party scene will be real, London for the scene where yh boys wake up as we feel this is an iconic location in which people will recognise and remember and out own homes for the scene where the boys return home in order for out scenes to be realistic. Characters will be positioned centre frame throughout the video as they are the significant characters and the narrative is based around them. 

The second point we discussed was how the artist is being represented. The real artist (Avicii) will not be featuring in our music video as we are recreating the music video. However as our music video is not performance based we will not be aiming to re-represent the artist through our characters either therefor there will not be a representation of the arist only on the characters who are part of the narrative. 

Cinematography was the next element we discussed. As a group we talked about using lots of variety when talking about cinematography, we started off with the basics such as close up to show emotions such as happiness and confusion then decided on mid shots and long shots to show the characters movements, then decided on panning shots to establish setting.

For editing we decided that we will include fast editing such as straight cuts and jump cuts to follow conventions of the dance genre and party scene as well as slow editing as it is commonly used to slow down scenes in order to let the audience see what is happening in a party more clearly within dance music videos such as 'we found love' by Rihanna. We also chose to use fading techniques to fade the flashbacks in and out to make them seems like they are actually fading back into the characters memory.

When choosing the style of music video we wanting to create more of a narrative based video. This is because it would be difficult to create a performance type as the dance genre is more about listening to the beat and dancing to the song rather than feeling the emotions of the words sung. We also chose to include concept as we did not want our music video to be meaningless, but have a positive message to our target audience.

Another vital element we had to consider when planning our music video was the codes and conventions we where going to follow. The dance genre portrays happiness and having fun therefore we chose to include party scene and being happy with lots of friends. Within the party scene we wanting to include all the conventional elements of a party for example flashing lights, alcohol and dancing in order for our target audience to be able to relate to the music video and be able to build a relationship with our characters.

Our target audience was something we also had to consider, we discussed who we thought our narrative idea and style of music video would best relate to along with the actual song. Our target audiences ended up being young teens/adults (15-25) we decided on this age group for many reasons. Firstly the song is very current and doing well in the charts along with the dance genre which is also recently become very popular amongst young people and more dance songs are appearing in the charts such as kissfm top 40 which is watched by a lot of young teens/adults. Another reason is that Avicii's target audience is roughly the same therefore as it is the same song we feel ours should be similar. And lastly we feel the narrative we want to create appeals best to young teens and adults as they are currently at the the age where they are going out partying, having fun with their friends however facing tough times with finding themselves or even at home with family as teens tend to argue a lot with parents.

When discussing what theory's we wanting to follow we chose to follow both Goodwin's and Dyers however not all the points. For Goodwin's theory we knew we wanted to ensure our music video contained genre characteristics, this was so we had more of a chance of getting our music video appealing to our target audience also because we simply liked the characteristics of a dance music video and want to recreate it as we feel it will be very fun. We also wanted to follow the second and third point of his theory where 'music and visuals' and 'lyrics and visuals' share a relationship, we chose to follow these points as we feel it contributes a lot towards making a music video appealing as we feel that as teenagers when we watch a music video and don't get the meaning in connection to the lyrics, we feel less affected by the song. We do not want our audience to feel like that as we want the visuals to highlight the meaning and beat of the song. We decided we would not follow his point of voyeuristic treatment of the female body as we want to keep the attention on Jake and George and we also felt that intertexual references where unnecessary as we wanted to focus on the concept of our music video.

For Dyers theory we decided to use 2 of his most common values of a star which where youthfulness and rebelliousness, along with many of our own values such as fun, loving. We also decided to try and follow his 2 paradoxes of an artist being simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary as well as present and absent.

We then carried out research in order to build our inspirations and ideas for our music video. This included us researching other music videos from the dance genre and more into Avicii as an artist. We also annotated the lyrics of 'Don't wake me' in order to gain further understanding of the meaning of the song. This research has been presented in other posts.

Copyright

Copyright is the law put in place which gives creators of origional pieces of work exclusive rights to it. After a piece of work has physical form, for example a song, the creator becomes copyright holder. The copyright holder can then take credit for the work allowing them to sell, display and reproduce the work. Generally copyright is 'the right to copy' which is why we must ask the copyright holders of our song 'Wake me up' By Avicii permission to use the song.  If we do not gain permission to use the song or use it without asking copyright holder, our music video could be taken down and we could also possibly be sewed if the music video was created in order to gain profit. 

In order ask permission for copyright on our chosen song i contacted the copyright holder via email.





                      

Andrew Goodwins theory

Music video analysis helps us break up music videos up in order to gain more understanding of them and what the artist and director/producers are trying to portray. It is very important in order to understand how a music video appeals to an audience in the music industry in order to gain sucess. Many music videos are unique in their own way however Andrew Goodwin's writing in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' states 7 characteristics which he expects to be seen in successful music videos. 

Andrew Goodwin's writing in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' - 1992 Routledge.

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals.

4. The demands for the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist.

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

6. There is often intertexual reference.

Goodwin also stated that we should take into consideration whether the music video is primarily performance based, narrative based, narrative based or concept based.

To back up these points I have chosen to analyse the music video 'We Found Love' - Rihanna. The music video is narrative based and falls into the dance/pop genre. Rihanna's target audience ranges from the ages of 13-24 of both genders. She is able to target both genders because of her image. She as an artist appeals to boys as they may find her attractive and girls as they may aspire to be like her. Although as an artist her target audience starts at the age of 13 upwards, it is evident in this music video that she and the directors are trying to target the older part of her audience which may range from 16-24, especially in recent years where she has become more edgy and rebellious. Camera shots within the music video which show sexual scenes, drugs, alcohol and relationships are what make this video appeal to 16-24 year old's as most of them understand the content of all these things.

The first point of Goodwin's theory is evident throughout the music video as it demonstrates a number of characteristics which follow the dance/pop genre. The video shows many jump shots of people partying in a film and also drugs such a pills which are related to the party scene. However the music video also goes against the genre characteristics as for some part of the video Rihanna and her partner are portrayed as unhappy and angry when mid shots show them arguing in their car. This relates to the audience as 16-24 year old's as partying is what most of them enjoy doing because they are young and also understand relationships.

The music video then relates to the second point of theory which states that the lyrics match visuals as they song is about hopeless love. 'Hopeless love' is demonstrated throughout the video with camera shots of Rihanna and her partner, being passionate with each other and lusting each other however in the next shot arguing and looking resentful to each other and then making up again. This contrasts their love and making it appeal to their audience because the audience will understand that relationships aren't always happy and they go through bad times as well.

Thirdly the music matches the visuals as when the beat kicks in and gets faster so do the visuals. Shots are shown of people dancing in a field and also Rihanna and her partner on a funfair ride spinning around in circles and also scenes fast forwarding getting faster in sync with the beat. The flashing lights are also in time with the beat. This helps the music video appeal to audience as they understand the party atmosphere and how fast paced it is.

Within the video there are lots of close-ups of Rihanna. This is because the directors want to promote Rihanna. They do this by representing the artist and showing the audience the emotions of the artist. By doing this the audience may be able to relate to the artist or understand the artist more. 

Camera shots throughout the music video show close up of Rihanna's body features such as her legs, bum and boobs, this proves Goodwin's theory of voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Directors include shots like this to attract a male audience as boys generally do not listen to female artists. However when the female artist is portrayed as sexy, this appeals to the male audience as they become attracted to the female artist and want to keep watching her videos. These shots also help to represent Rihanna's image, Rihanna wants to appeal to her through being provoctive and sexy then thats what the director will aim to represent her as. However if Rihanna wanted to come across as an innocent and classy young adult these shots may not have been included within the music video. The final point is not followed within this music video. There are not much references to brands films or other songs within the video and most loactions are unknown not giving away any intertexual references. This may be because the directors wanted the music video to be based around the artist and narrative only without any distractions.

 

Research into music channels and target audience

I chose to analyse different music channels in order to gain more understanding in how they appeal to different audiences.

The first music channel i am going to be analysing is MTV. MTV's target audience consist of 12-24 year olds, this is evident through the programmes and music which is broad casted on the music channel. Programmes include reality TV shows such as 'Geordie shore' and 'Teen mom' and plays mainly chart music such as the top 40 in order to relate to their audience as young teen/adults can relate the the programmes as they are based on real life and the music because it is in the charts. Examples of artist who appear on MTV are:
-Rhianna
-Justin Bieber
-Jessie J
-Will.i.am
-Chris Brown
who all have similar target audiences to the channel as a whole.

The MTV logo helps their audience identify MTV as a brand. MTV is a brand because it has a number of international sister channels such as Comedy Central, VH1, Nickelodeon. Therefor their logo helps them advertise the brand of MTV on the other channels and allow it to be recognised by audience. The logo appeals to MTV's audience because it is clear and bold, the white and black contrast and font comes across as modern, appealing the audience as they are 12-24 years of age and are surrounded by modern technology ect.

As well as MTV the main channel there are also other broken down channels from MTV, These include MTV dance, base, hits, rocks and classics. MTV already appeals to a wider audience however some people may have specific preferences only wanting to hear the music they like, therefor MTV have supplied this. These channels may attract more audience in a way as the audience know they are getting what the want for example someone isn't going to watch MTV rock and hear hip hop. MTV could also do this as they know their brand is big enough that people will watch the other channels. I feel MTV have done this to attract more audience and make them feel although MTV cares about the individuals tastes.

                             

The next music channel i chose to analyse was BOX television, who target audiences from the age of 18 to 25. The music channel plays a wide variety of music genres allowing it to appeal to a wider audience as more genres attract more music tastes. Genres played on the music channel include rnb, hip-hop, pop, house, dance and urban music. The channel also broadcasts shows like the top 40 which attracts younger audiences as it is generally recent music which is targeted towards them anyway. BOX television also attracts audiences through releasing new upcoming music, once the audience know they can find the newest songs on the channel they return. Examples of artists who appear regularly on the music channel BOX television are:
-Rita Ora
-Bruno Mars
-Stooshe
-Rihanna
-Jay Z

BOX Television is used as a form of branding through its competitions and events as well as the channels in itself and its logo. The logo is bold and simply helping brand the music channel as modern and stylish which appeals to its target audience of 18-25 year olds. The letters within the logo are also shaped to represent a box which the audience may think is clever leading them to remembering the logo.

                  

The third music channel i analysed was VH1. The music channel aims to attract audiences between the ages of 25-45. This is because the wide variety of music it chooses to play which ranges back from the 80's to current music. VH1 plays this type of music as it will attract and appeal to the audience they are targeting. The music will appeal the audience as 80's music belongs to the older target audience era. After that the older target audience would have grown up and been surrounded by any music after that. As for the younger half, the music played would appeal to them as they would enjoy the more recent music as well as the 80's as their parents have probably played it to them throughout their childhood. Examples of artists who feature on the channel on a regular basis are:
-Madona
-Micheal Jackson
-Take That
-Whiteney Houston
-Kings of Leon

The music channel is used as a form of branding through the VH1 logo. The logo represents the 80's music displayed through its bright colours which were popular in the 80's however uses the font and box to make it stand out. It also helps the logo appear more modern in order to appeal to the younger audience who are in their mid 20's, as well as the older audience who will like the bright colours used as it takes them back to their era.

         

Scuzz is the next music channel i analysed. Although scuzz had a similar target audience to the other music channels (18-30), it targeted more of a niche market. Rather than playing chart music which is very general to the public preference Scuzz decides to play mainly heavy metal and rock music. This may appeal the their audience as they know they can watch the channel and hear what they want to hear rather than hearing all genres and some songs you like. It also appeals to the audiences as the channel plays many sub-genres of rock and metal which aren't very popular and therefor do not get played much. Examples of artists who feature on the channel which you may not here in mainstream music that appears on the chart are:
-You And Me At Six
-Paramore
-The Killers
-Slipknot
-Young Guns

The logo again helps brand the channel as it is edgy, bold, made up of dark colours such as grey and looks like rock! Image wise the logo follows some conventions of rock: dark colours, edgy ect therefor it helps attract an their target audience of rock and metal lovers as when they see the logo they assume that is is associated with rock and think it is cool.

               

The final music channel i have chose to analyse is Kiss. The channel again have a younger audience of 15-25. The channel plays music belonging to lots of different genres such as hip hop, rnb, deep house, grime, garage and pop. As the channel plays such a wide variety a larger audience is attracted to the channel, alot of the music played belonging to the genres are also in the chart which attracts many people as chart music is decided by the sales and amount of views by the public. However i feel such a variety may divert audience who prefer once genre for example listeners who enjoy dance might rather watch MTV dance so they do not have to listen to genres they do not like. Examples of Artist who appear in the channel are:
-Calvin Harris
-Tinie Tempa
-Ellie Golding
-Jessie J
-Duke Demont

Kiss brands itself as a channel delivering the latest music to its audience as well as songs which are classics of their genre for example an rnb classic would be 'Shaggy- It wasn't me'. The channels logo is diverse which represent the wide range of audience that it attracts.  It is very colourful appealing the eye, it is also cleverly designed as the K is made to look like it is eating the rest of the letters helping the audience remember the logo.

It is important for music channels to appeal to a certain audience as it means they know what artist to play and what programmes to screen without them being rejected by the audience and to gain as many views as possible. It is also important for music channels to target a certain target audience so they can make money as company's come to them to advertise their products which will also have to appeal to their audience in order to be successful.

From analysing music channels i feel there are lots of variety because there are so many audiences to appeal to, and although multiple amount of music channels may play the same type of music they are just as successful as those who specialise in specific genres. I learnt that most music channels target audiences who are teenagers/young adults and broadcast more recent songs who are sung by recent artists like Rihanna and Calvin Harris. This shows me that recent music appeals more to the age group of 15-24 as it is what the music play to attract the audience and has led me to the decision that i will also target the same age group and create a recent and modern music video which will appeal to them. I decided this as if i was to broadcast my music video i would be able to ask popular music channels such as kiss, mtv and box to play my music video as they have the same target audience as me and i would be able to attract my audience more easier than creating a music video to a heavy metal song which would not get played on the more popular channels.

What is a music video?

A music video is a short narrative consisting of visual images used to represents the artist and interpret their lyrics. Music videos have many purposes but are most commonly used as a marketing tool, which promotes the artist, song and sometimes brand names. When promoting the artist a music video aims to help the audience build a relationship with the artist allowing them to an insight of their lifestyle. An artist may decide to make a music video to meet their fans needs who may highly request it and also make it more available worldwide. 

An example where a music video aims to build a relationship with its fans is Justin Biebers- Beauty and a beat. The music video starts off with private footage of Justin which had apparently been 'leaked'. It then goes on to show the audience Justin playing his piano and how he spends times away from the stage, ie playing table tennis with friends. By showing this to the audience it makes them feel as they know him more as they have more of a personal insight to his life. They also may feel like they can relate to him as they are seeing an ordinary side to him as he is doing activities that they might also do. When the beat kicks in is when Justin is shown joining his friends at a huge pool party which he had rented out especially. As the music video goes on the audience are introduced to some of Justin’s friends. The music video also aims to promote the video game 'Just Dance 4' as it is shown various times within the music video, fans of Justin would want what he has and therefor buy it. Overall the music video aims to promote Justin Bieber and represent him as a normal teen enjoying time with his friends, along with his songs by building relationships with him and the audience, possibly making him more money and gaining more fans. 

Music videos can have three styles to them, performance (singing/dancing), narrative (telling a story) and concept (selling audience ideas and themes). An example of a music video which has all three is Christina Aguilera- Beautiful. The video shows different images of Christiana singing the song throughout (performance), telling a number of different people stories within her lyrics (narrative) and selling a concept to the audience which is that everyone is beautiful in their own way no matter what they look like or how different they are (concept).

The music video I have chosen to analyse is Nelly ft Kelly Rowland - Dilemma. The music video was created to promote the artist and their albums (Nelly- Nellyville and Kelly Rowlands- Simply deep) along with the song itself. The music video follows the styles of performance and narrative as both Nelly and Kelly are shown performing the song singing and dancing to a camera along with them playing out a story of them both falling for each other although they both have partners. The song is a mix between Hip Hop and RnB as Nelly and Kelly’s rapping and singing are combined. 

The music video follows many of the conventions for the genre. RnB and Hip Hop videos usually start with a slow beat with a fast beat then kicking in which happens at the beginning of Dilemma. Stylish clothes is also a generic convention of Rnb/Hip Hop music videos. The music video to Dilemma follows these conventions as they are both dressed in the current style wearing expensive brands such as Gucci, which is promoted in the music video. Which leads me to another convention of showing the artists lifestyle, this convention is also followed as Nelly shows up in an expensive car and as a rapper Nelly would have expensive possessions as his music has made him wealthy. The last 2 of the conventions this music video follows is showing artists facial expressions and dancing together or individually (without a set routine). Throughout the music video the camera shows close ups of the artist faces showing their emotions towards each other and towards the end of the video long shots show the couple dancing together on the street outside their homes. 

The purpose of this music video is also to represent both the artists. Through watching the music video i have come to the conclusion that the artists want to be represented as young and hip as they have all the latest designer brands and expensive cars. Both artists may also want to represent themselves as having a 'romance' this is because the visuals will match the lyrics and narrative they are trying to portray and also possibly make the audience 'talk' and question whether there is a romance going on in real life, this will help both artists gain public and media attention. As well as promoting both of the artists new albums, the shots in the music video aim to promote the brands such as Gucci, Mercedes and nokia. 

This music video relates the an audience as it promotes the song amongst them as well as helping the audience buy into both of the artists lifestyle which fans may appreciate. The music video may also appeal to an audience who idolise both artist as it shows them with materialistic things they may also desire such as nice cars and designer brands such as Gucci.

                                  

Research into music censorship

Censorship is the act of suppressing potential harmful and offensive content. Ofcom stands for the Office of Communications. It is a government-approved company, which aims to ensure people in the UK, get the best from their communications and are protected from scams and sharp practises while competition can thrive. Ofcom follow ‘The Communications Act 2003’ which says that Ofcom should follow the general duties of furthering the interests of citizens and consumers. One of their main legal duties within the music industry is to protect people who watch TV and listen to radio from harmful or offensive music/lyrics.
  

An example where Ofcom have took action upon a music video in order to follow their duties is Rihanna’s S&M. After being released in 2011 the song caused lots of controversy within the media and public eye, after Ofcom received a complaint for the video being ‘completely unsuitable for daytime’. The song contained themes of sexual bondage through explicit lyrics and images. These included images of Rihanna’s body and face being restrained by cellophane and walking a man like a dog whilst whipping him along with other scenes which were seen as sexually provocative. Lyrics the song included which were deemed inappropriate were ‘cause I may be bad but I’m perfectly good at it/ sex in the air I don’t care I like the smell of it/ chains and whips excite me/ make my body say ah ah ah ah’. Ofcom felt that this video raised issues under the Rule 1.3 of the Code, this states that ‘Children must also be protected by appropriate scheduling from material that is unsuitable for them’. The music was band in 11 countries, and radio stations have since played edited versions of the song and renames it ‘come on’. The video has also been banned from You Tube for being too sexually provocative.

Another example of a banned music video was MIA ‘born free’ released in 2010. The video was banned on You Tube as it because it nude scenes and images of red-headed people being kidnapped and murdered. The video discriminated against these people which could offend them. However the video caused so much controversy that the video spread worldwide across the internet.

                                           

This leads me to discuss whether or not music videos should be censored. There has been much discussion within the music industry whether music videos should be censored or not. Does censoring music really protect the people listening? My class and I discussed this, each adopting a role of artist, recording label, fans, and parents- for and against, kiss, MTV and channel aka concerning the issue of Eminem’s music which has previously been censored.

Eminem’s songs consist of plenty of explicit lyrics, which have been criticised for being too violent and disrespectful. Eminem has released songs about his own mother, disrespecting her and his ex partner Kim referring to her and women in general as "bitches and hos". Critics believe that other lyrics of Eminems may influence children into the wrong route of life for example.. "Follow me and do exactly what the song says: "Smoke weed, take pills, drop outta school, kill people and drink.". However do these really lead people to the wrong route and do people take them literally? 
In our debate we established that Eminem was against his songs being censored. We felt that Eminem did not care about what his lyrics portrayed to the audience as he just wanted to express his feeling and life experiences. After watching an interview it was clear that Eminem felt his lyrics could not have a bad impact upon his audience as he said he believes if someone is crazy enough to be led by his music/videos then they are crazy enough to do it anyway, he says that ‘music is only entertainment’. Eminem felt that his music could inspire them with obstacles they come across in life rather than lead them down a bad route.

Eminem’s record label agreed saying that lyrics cannot have a negative effect on audiences as they are simply lyrics. They felt his videos should not be censored. They said that many records have been sold and therefore people must love his music for what it is, therefore it does not need to be censored. If people/fans were offended by his lyrics and videos he would not be as successful as he is today and won as many Grammy’s.

When asking the fans they felt that his music simply represented his life and was not provoking. They felt that his lyrics could educate teenagers of the real world and teach them life situations. Fans said his videos were comical and were not taken seriously anyway. Although some fans felt this way, some understood why his music was censored. They believed censoring music videos was acceptable for daytime as he could still be truly represented after the watershed. They also found uncensored versions of his songs easy to find and therefore did not mind whether his music/music videos were censored during the day.

Parents who felt censorship wasn’t important said that it was their responsibility to raise their children and felt that they had raised them well enough not to be affected by some lyrics as their children are intelligent enough to know right from wrong without external influences. They also felt that their children could gain positives as it teaches them to be grateful for the life they have. Parents who felt that music videos should be censored felt that he was a bad influence. They felt that their children idolised Eminem and would take his lyrics seriously to a certain extent, adopting his ‘I don’t give a f***’ attitude towards life. The parents for censorship also felt that his explicit language would rub off on their children teaching them to use it. The parents also said that there is no harm in censorship as they can easily be uncensored or seen after the watershed.

Kiss 100 both agreed and disagreed with the censorship of music/music videos. Kiss has a large audience of all ages and do not wants to offend their audience and loose listeners therefore they agreed with censorship before the watershed. However they do not agree with some censorship and do not feel all lyrics censored are offensive to their audience. Kiss 100 felt Eminem should be portrayed the way he has chosen and therefore would play Eminem’s songs after the watershed with an appropriate introduction beforehand warning listeners.

MTV also agreed with censorship of harmful or offensive lyrics as their target audience ranges from 12-24. Lyrics may be inappropriate for the younger target audience who could be influenced by lyrics of their idols causing parents upset. As they are a very successful music channel they censor songs which may be harmful allowing them to keep up a good reputation with their audience.

Channel AKA's target audience starts from 16 and ends at around 24. They tend to broadcast underground music of artists who are not as popular as the ones in the charts and they believe that an artist should be portrayed how they wish to be portrayed. Because of this they do not make it their number one priority to censor explicit lyrics and things which may be considered harmful to children.

As a teenager, having an older brother and sister meant that throughout my childhood i grew up during the controversy of Eminem's growing career, listening to him occasionally when my brother would. I feel that as a 10 year old i did not really understand his lyrics and they did not really affect me although sometimes i would hear a swear word and think it was funny. I feel that children do not take these lyrics literally as they grow up around their parents morals and know what is right and wrong. Listening back to the music which was in the charts when i was around 10 years of age shocks me as now i understand what the lyrics mean which shows i did not take notice as a child. However i still feel lyrics and music videos especially should be censored before the watershed as i do feel lyrics along with music videos can influence children but more when they are actually seeing it and gaining more understanding then they would just listening to it. I also feel that music is a form of entertainment that should not cause harm and offend people. In the long run i feel censorship is good and can help prolong a children's childhood and although the older generation may want to listen to the explicit version, they can always gain access to it through other media.

Research into music genres

A music genre is a category which identifies pieces of music through the collective set of conventions they follow. For example, a song which falls under the pop genre would generally consist of lyrics about love or relationships, the music videos within the genre are usually performance based and may represent the artist as being happy and content with life and also shows them wearing fashionable clothes which are of bright colours to further connote the positive vibe which they are portraying. Although many music videos follow the characteristics and conventions of their genre, sometimes conventions may be challenged or developed, for example a pop music video may have an element of narrative all the way through rather than performance.

In order to further my knowledge in music genre, I chose to analyse 3 music videos which all belonged to different genres.

Over - Drake. 
The song Over belongs to the hip-hop/rap genre and was the first single released from his Thank Me Later album in 2010. Drake is first introduced in the music video through a close up of him sitting on his bed. The camera shot begins to show Drake looking down but then show Drake opening his eyes and looking directly into the camera as it pans upwards. This camera shot follows the conventions of the genre as hip-hop/rap is used to express the artists emotions about issues within life such as friends/family/success and troubles they have experience and even triumphs. As well as following the conventions of hip-hop/rap, this camera shot also allows Drake to instantly build a relationship with his target audience which ranges from the ages of 13-28 as they can see how he is feeling and want to know his story and why he is feeling that way.

The next camera shot, which displays the conventions of hip-hop/rap whilst building a relationship with the audience, is a low angle. This camera shot displays drake dancing whilst also showing editing style of his facial duplicating in the background of him. This camera shot conforms to the conventions of hip-hop/rap as within the music video this camera shot shows him dancing without routine. Unlike music video that belong to the pop genre, hip-hop/rap and rap music videos do not choose to have routine dancing within their music video as it may come across cheesy and too happy especially within rap songs where the artist, like Drake is trying to portray his emotions. Drake simply dances along with the rhythmic beat and flow of his rap, this helps build a relationship with the audience as they begin to understand what Drake is like as an artists and connotes to them that he loves music as he is dancing along with it. This may appeal to the audience also as following Goodwin’s theory they will see the relationship between the music, lyrics and visuals. The relationship between the music and visuals may stimulate their mind to also make them want to get up and dance along to the beat whilst the relationship between the lyrics and visuals may make them understand more about Drake as an artist and how he is feeling. 

As well as connoting Drakes emotions, this camera shot also portrays Drake lifestyle as the audience can see what he is wearing, again this is following the conventions of hip-hop/rap as generally artists are shown wearing stylish clothes as their talent has allowed them to becomes famous and live this lifestyle. This would relate to the target audience as they would aspire to also wear stylish clothes and live a wealthy lifestyle like Drake does as when the beat gets faster they can see he becomes happy with his career when he raps about his lifestyle throughout the song.  This camera shot also displays editing techniques; throughout the music video editing techniques are used to duplicate the images used of Drake. In some cases the images double in time with the beat, which follows Goodwin’s theory of visuals sharing a relationship with the music and also matches the fast paces beat and therefore follows conventions. This editing technique also helps build a relationship with his target audience as it connoted to them that Drake intends to become something special and grow within the music industry as the editing technique emphasises him and his talents. The audience may then become a fan as they know there is much more music to come and look forward to his next single release. 

This editing technique may fall under fast paced editing as the images of drake appear in time with the fast paced beat. Other fast paced editing is also used within the music video when Drake is sitting in his room and flashing lights and images of his city appear behind him. This fast paced editing again may excite the audience as it matches the visuals and also portrays his fast paces lifestyle to the audience.

The next editing style I used throughout the music video is fade, this technique falls under transitions and is applied when the producer wants one shot to fade out as another shot fades in. Within Drakes music video for over, this transition is applied where he changed location, the editing technique allows the music video seem more professional as the transition allows the shots to flow rather than using straight cuts throughout which may make the music video seem jumpy without editing. The fade shows that Drake is talking about another stage in his life and may even imply that he is reminiscing about the past while talking about the present stage in his life. This is important as it shows the audience the main points in his life and helps them understand more about his life and character which therefore helps them build a more personal, in depth relationship with him as an artist. 

Throughout the music video there are lots of elements of mise-en-scene, which follow the conventions of hip-hop/rap whilst appealing to the target audience.

The audience are first introduced to Drake sitting in his bedroom surrounded my lamps. This location and iconography are very domestic and personal, as the audience would see this as Drakes personal space where he chills out and thinks about his life, relating to the song as Drake sits on his bed and reflect on his success so far through rapping. This location and iconography relates to the target audience as they can relate to this personally space as they would have one of their own and build a closer relationship with him as he is letting them into his space and telling them about his life.

The lighting used within this clip is very low key, as the background has no lighting however lights are placed above Drake to draw the audience’s attention to him. This lighting helps highlight the artist to the audience leading them to focus on just him and nothing else which may lead them to notice his facial expressions and listen to his lyrics in more detail, thus building a closer relationship as they are not distracted by anything else. This low key lighting is especially conventional to the rap genre as generally, rap songs are used to portray emotion and usually this emotion is negative therefore this lighting is successful in relating to the genre when Drake is rapping about the negative things in his life. However when Drake begins to rap about more positive things like being himself “oh, yeah that’s right I’m doing me, I’m doing me, I’m living life right now man” the lighting gets brighter to help connote the more positive side of Drakes success. 

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Colour tints are also used within Drakes music video. Red tints are used as an overlay for Drakes music video. The red tints allow the audience to remain entertained and keep there attention on the music video as the colors are changing however the colour red also connotes Drakes low mood and how he is angry about the new people in his life who are only his friend because he is famous “who the f*** are ya’ll”Again this relates to rap genre as it portrays Drakes emotions which rap lyrics are supposed to do.

Within the music video, Drake did not particularly dress up, he is just seen wearing tracksuits and jackets by the audience throughout. This shows the audience that fame has not changed Drake as he is still down to earth and wearing normal clothes rather than fancy expensive clothes to show off all his money, this could make Drake appeal to the audience more as they may feel like he is still an ordinary person which follows paradox 1 of star dyers theory. This clothing is also conventional to hip-hop/rap as many artists have nothing before fame and start of wearing these kinds of clothes. 

Towards the end of the music video a shallow focus shows a women dancing wearing provocative clothing and also shows another women with nice hair and make-up and wearing expensive jewelry. The positioning of the first women behind Drake shows that she is a small part of his life as she is only seen in the background. The provocative clothing suggests that Drake may use the women a little bit for her body as the distance between them portrays a lustful relationship with no feelings involved. The next woman is shown in more detail through a close-up. I feel that this close-up portrays the women as having a bigger part within Drake life and possibly being more a love interest who he has a close connections with, this is because the women is portrayed in more detail, she is very pretty and looks classier than the other women and wears expensive jewelry rather than skimpy clothing. Both women may connote a love triangle that Drake is stuck in and contrast his difficulty between choosing lust or love. The voyeuristic treatment of the first women follows Goodwin’s theory which as he said most successful music videos portray women in this way to attract a wider audience. I feel this would attract the male gender more who would think highly of Drake for having beautiful women in his life and having to pick between two. The women within this music video follow the conventions of hip-hop/rap as generally a woman helps show success in life which is what an artist wants to portray.

The next music video I will evaluate is Flo-rida ‘Club can’t handle me’. This song belongs to the dance genre therefore I will be analysing what conventions it followed or challenged and how it related to its target audience.

This music video contains many camera shots which are conventional to the dance genre and also help build a relationship with the artist. The first camera shot which I identified fulfilling this purpose was a mid shot of Flo-rida surrounded by people partying. This camera shot portrays to the audience the emotions of Flo-rida which are very positive as he is smiling whilst dancing with his friends. This follows the conventions of dance as the genre is all about connoting positive vibes and people having a good time with friends. This camera shot would appeal to the audience as they would see how much fun Flo-rida is having and want to party with him or join in and start dancing along with the music.

 The second camera shot I felt was conventional to the dance genre was a high angle of the club. This camera shot shows what the club looks like from above and portrays the club in a positive way as the party goers are seen with their hands in the air, dancing together and having a good time. This again follows the conventions of dance as everyone is having a good time and will create a buzz within the audiences mind and make them feel like they want to go to a party. 

Both camera shots also show the location of the party which is an element of mise-en-scene. The location, which is a club is very conventional to the dance genre as dance music is mostly played in clubs and at party's or festivals where people will want to drink, dance and enjoy themselves.

Next, i looked at the editing techniques used within the music video. Throughout most of the music video, fast paced editing was used. Fast paces editing can consists of many styles. The styles which where used within this music video where straight cuts and also the retiming of shots (making them faster). Straight cuts are used where shots change angles of people partying in the club and shots showing people dancing are retimed in order to match the beat. Both editing styles combined helped the music video match the beat of the song, this follows one point of Goodwin's theory which states that the music should match the visuals. As the dance genre is fast paced, this was very conventional as the music and visuals where consistent with each other  These editing styles may have had an effect on the audience and would have made them feel the buzz of the crowd which would lead them to want to go out and party as the visuals and music working together engaged them into the beat of the music. 

Although fast editing was used and is very conventional to dance, slow editing was also used. Techniques for slow editing include transitions such as fade and also retiming of shots(making them slower). fades where used for transitions when the music slowed down and the camera shot changed to a different location and slowing down shots was evident in shots where the music slowed down for example when champagne was opened and spraying everywhere. These editing techniques may not sound conventional to the dance genre however this type of editing can still work within dance music videos. This is because editing techniques such as slowing downs shots can help the audience notice something they may not have within fast paced editing such as the significance of popping champagne which shows they have lots of money or the facial expressions on people face which connote the positive vibes of dance. Fades can also slow the music video down and make sure it is not too jumpy and quick for then audience to understand. Therefore helping the audience understand the music video through slow paced editing and also enjoy and engage through fast paced editing. 

Mise-en-scene consists of elements which can also hep a music video more conventional to its genre. The locations of a club, which has already been mentioned was conventional throughout as it was consistently used and consistently portrayed positive vibes of the people having fun. A DJ who featured in the song was also seen within the music video. This is very conventional to the dance genre as the DJ's are the people who produce the music for the song. 

Iconography was also used within the music video. A long shot of two lamboghinhi's where used at the beginning of the music video, another long shot was also shown of Flo-rida getting out of his car and throwing money in the air and also within the party scenes of the music video mid shots showed the audiences images of champagne and expensive alcohol. All 3 parts of this iconography help portray Flo-rida's lifestyle and how successful he is. This may entertain the audience as they would enjoy seeing this luxury life style and want to live it. Showing off a luxury lifestyle is not directly conventional to dance as the main aim within a majority of dance music videos is to show people having a good time with their friends, and brands are not focused on much. However positive vibes are still portrayed through the use of material objects as it shows how Flo-rida chooses to enjoy his life. 

                                                                        

Throughout the music video the lighting consisted of a contrast between low key lighting and bright lights/ strobe lighting. The bright lights consisted of bright colours like pink which are conventional to dance as these colours are very bright and bold and connote being happy and enjoying yourself.  The strobe lighting is also conventional as it is typically seen in locations where dance music is played such as clubs and festivals. The lighting used would help the audience understand the narrative more and engage into it more as the locations becomes more realistic to them. The bright lights will also keep them entertained and focused on the music video rather than getting bored and turning the music video off.

The final element of mise-en-scene which is seen within the music video is costume/hair and make-up. This means the image of the artist. Flo-rida is wearing a stylish jacket, expensive sunglasses and a gold chain. This again portrays Flo-rida's lifestyle and how he is enjoying his success and causes the audience to admire his success within the music industry. 

The next music I will be analysing is 'wings' by little mix. Little are a pop group which consists of four young adult female band members. As the music genre they produce songs to is pop, the music video should appeal to a wider audience as pop is a very mainstream genre.

The music video begins with a close up of each member edited into a split screen (x4). Both the camera shot and editing style used within this opening of the music video is conventional to the pop genre as the close-ups portray each band member to be happy as they begin to perform to the camera and also shows then to be very stylish and pretty as they have nice make up and hair. The close-ups also show some vibrant colour in the background behind the girls which the audience see when each girl take their turn in performing to the camera individually. Within the pop genre it is very common that artists are portrays as happy and content with life and also it is common that bright positive colour are used to support these representations. The camera shots allow the audience to see these happy emotions whilst the editing technique helps inform the audience that the girls are a group but at the same time all individual. This helps the audience build up a relationship with each member which leads to then understanding the group more, it also engages then into the music video and may refelct the positive moods to them.

Another camera shot used which I will be talking about is an extreme long shot. There are various long shots throughout the music video, most of them portray the girls as a group rather than separately. This particular shot however shows the audience more as it is a much wider frame. The extremes long shot includes the girl group with backing dancers in what looks like a large empty room where a party would be thrown. However the girls and backing dancers are simply performing a dance routine to the camera, the setting is quite dark however there is lots of lighting which highlight the girls and their performances. Although the setting is not as bright as other camera shots within the music video such as mid shots, I feel this camera shot is still very conventional as it portrays the girls all together as a band practising their dance which is very conventional to the dance genre as generally it consists of routines rather than I dependant dancing.

After the split screen editing style, each camera shot was enlarged one by one to introduce each member to the audience. Within these camera shots, there was more editing used. One editing technique which was used was fast paced editing. This included a ripple effect in the image of the girls and also a distorted effect where the image of the girl would jump around. This fast editing is effective in appealing to the audience as the visuals match the music which may engage them with beat by stimulating their visual and hearing senses, helping then to enjoy the music more. This point follows Goodwin's theory which states that within most successful music videos, the visuals share a relationship with the music. The fast paced editing also holds he audiences attentions and fulfils the purpose to entertain then as the images are constantly changing therefor the audience want to keep watching.

                                       

Next I will look at specific elements within the camera shots and editing techniques used which are called mise-en-scene. These elements are more detailed ways of appealing to a certain target audience and following the conventions of a music genre as it what is noticed most by the audience as a consumer would not really recognise a certain camera shot however they may notice element a within these camera shots such as setting, lightning, appearances, facial/body language and positions if characters, and may also be affected by these elements.

The first element of mise-en-scene are the setting and iconography used. Throughout the music video there is only two settings. The first setting is not very identifiable as it is simply the girls dancing in rooms with various backgrounds, each group member has a different colourful background and when they come together this background turns simply to low key lighting with lots of editing effects over such as lighting making the setting unknown. Although an unknown setting is unconventional to the pop genre as pop videos are very mainstream and recognisable by a wide audience, the colours of the backgrounds are conventional as they portray positive vibes e.g. a yellow background with a flower print connotes happiness. The next setting used, as mentioned earlier is a large room which looks like it used to be a factory but is now used for party's. This setting consists of low key lighting contrasted with bright lights to give the location a positive connotation of party's. The room also consists of a large wall in the middle which has the british flag on it. This is used to show the audience that the girl group are british and make the british audience proud to have successful girl groups in their culture. This may also help relate to audience from other counties as the british flag is admired as it is associated with the queen and London etc (tourist attractions) therefor audiences from other countries may be attracted to watch more of the girl group through media sites such as youtube as they like the fact that they are british. chairs are also used within this setting however do not have much significance to the genre or audience as they are simply used for the girls dance routine. 

                                      

The next element I noticed within the music video is lighting and colour. Camera shots show the girls dancing in an area where there is very low key lighting. This lighting is contrasted with very bright lighting such as strobes going across or flickers of bright light. Although low key lighting is not very conventional to the pop genre as generally it connotes bad moods, the bright lights have contrasted with them enough to create a setting which connotes positive vibes as the lighting reflects what would be a police setting such as a party where pop music would be played. This lighting will appeal to the older half of the (mainly) female target audience which ranges from to the ages of 8-18. The reason for this is that the older half if the audience (14-18) will be beginning to go to party's where this type if lighting is seen therefor they will enjoy seeing how artists who they like act in a similar setting with the same type of lighting.

The colours throughout the music video are very bright and vibrant. Colours such as pink, aqua, green, yellows and whites are used as a background for the artists when they are performing to the camera individually. These colours suggest that the artists are very positive and happy with the life as they connote very positive vibes. The colours and patterns also make the music video more interesting as there is lots for the audience to notice and take in. These colours would appeal to the younger half of the audience (8-14) as these colours are targeted to then throughout the audience.

The appearance of the girl group is also very conventional to pop and successful in appealing to their target audience. Firstly the girls hair and makeup looks very stylish however not too dramatic leading the audience to think they could have done it by themselves. This may make the teen girls within their target audience want to get advice of the girls on how to do hair and makeup and gain inspiration from their idols. This point would also follow paradox 1 of Dyers star theory which states that artists appear ordinary whilst being extra ordinary to the audience making them more appealing. Secondly, the girls outfits are also very stylish and fashionable as they are following mainstream trends such as high waisted shorts, aztec print, floral prints, checks, hats, bows, belly tops and football jerseys. Again, very bright colours and patterns are used throughout the girls outfits which would make then appeal to girls as they would appreciate fashion and want to experiment with colours and patterns. It is very common for the appearance of pop artists to follow the trends as generally they are trying to appeal to a wider mainstream audience.

                                     

                                      

Another convention of pop is that artists show positive and happy emotions to show that they are content with life. This is followed throughout the music video as the girls are constantly smiling and having a good time together as seen when they are dancing and laughing together showing their friendship and the bond they have through being a girl band.


Through my analyses of various music videos and their genres, I have discovered that technical elements such as artist representations, editing techniques and cinematography vary within different genres in order for the music video to follow the conventions of its genre and appeal to its target audience.

For example, it is conventional for a rap/hip-hop music video to focus on the lyrics, as usually they are written by the artists and have a meaning to the artist’s life in order to tell a story and engage the audience. Therefor Drakes music video used a variety of camera shots such as close up and mid-shots to show his body language and facial expressions in order portray to the audience the emotion behind his lyrics. Mise-en-scene also matches the focus of the music video as darker colours and settings are used to reflect Drake’s mood and lyrics within the music video. Editing styles also help to connote the meaning of lyrics as fades are used in order to reflect back on Drakes life along with fast editing to form a relationship with the music and visuals. This helps the music video appeal to the target audience as they focus more on Drakes subtle performance and understand his emotions, which lead them to relate to his emotions and understand more about his life.

Unlike rap/hip-hop, the dance genre focuses more on portraying lifestyle and materialistic objects, which make people happy in order to entertain the audiene. For example, Flo-ridas ‘Club cant handle me’ uses long shots to show off his expensive cars and high angles to display him and his friends having a good time at a glamorous party with champagne and pretty women. The editing styles also relate to the life style as throughout the music video, fast editing is used to portray the fast paced lifestyle. Flo-ridas representation also displays this as the camera shot show him being happy and enjoying life which follows the conventions of portraying positive vibes in the settings where dance music is played. This focus on materialistic objects and the fun, fast paced lifestyle of going out partying all the time relates to the audience as they will relate the lifestyle with the music and want to go out and party and experience the lifestyle they admire within the music video.

Pop music also aims to portray a positive vibe within the music videos however they do not focus as much on materialistic objects so they can entertain a wider audience. This is evident in ‘wings’ by Little Mix. Camera shots such as long shots and close-ups show the group performing to the camera, as dancing and singing is associated with being happy, these shots are successful in portraying the group as being happy and content with life which is conventional to pop. Fast editing also adds excitement to the music video, which again connotes positive vibes. The artists representation is also positive, even though the group are singing about getting let down they do not show any negative emotion and begin to sing about not letting anybody bring them down. All this positivity is connoted within pop music videos as they aim to appeal to a wide target audience and therefore portray positive emotions, which everyone can relate to, and also that can make their audience happy by making them excited when watching their music video.

Through analysing music videos from a variety of genres I have gained some inspiration and ideas for my own music video.

I enjoyed the element of Drake telling a story and engaging with his audience as I feel this is important in forming a loyal fan base as fans want to know about their artists as well as watch them perform. I also feel that this element would be suitable for my own music video as the artists I will be portraying will be new to the music industry therefor I feel it would be beneficial to tell the audience something about them so the audience have something to think about and can begin to build a relationship with the artist by understanding them more. Although I liked the element of telling a story, the low key lighting portraying negative moods all the way through did not appeal to me as it put a downer on the song which I wanted to enjoy. For this reason I enjoyed Little Mix’s music video as the group looked like they where enjoying performing to the camera as wanted to entertain their audience through their passion for music. Bright colours where also used to reflect their positive moods which was refreshing after Drakes music video which was full of low key lighting. Although I enjoyed this music video and feel it is important to portray positive vibes in order to keep the audience entertained, I also feel it got a bit cheesy and repetitive towards the end. Overall, I enjoyed Flo-ridas music video the most as it consisted of bright colours, which connoted positive vibes, however avoided being cheesy as these colours where contrasted with low-key lighting in the club setting. I also enjoyed the club setting and feel it would appeal to the target audience I am aiming to appeal to of teenagers. Although I liked this music video, I feel that the representation of his glamorous lifestyle was over powering. Personally, I enjoy watching artists who are still slightly down to earth and do not take things for granted. Therefor within my own music video I think I will aim to choose a song, which belongs to the dance genre. I will then follow most of the conventions of dance by using similar lighting to Flo-ridas music video and portraying a fun lifestyle of going out partying however I like the idea of portraying a meaningful concept and building an emotional relationship between the artist and audience through using a narrative.