My individual idea

Before we can agree upon our final group idea for our pop promo, we must independently think of a way in which we would create one. Reasons behind this is so we can all bring our own ideas to the table - and then pick through the best bits from each idea and bring it together into one overall treatment.
I listened to the song a number of times and because the song is called 'Kiss me' I thought it was necessary that kissing should be a cohesive theme throughout the video.

Overall Synopsis: Because the New Found Glory's version of 'Kiss me' is a pop/rock genre, I thought basing the music video in either a metal scrap yard or a garage would help bring a rock element to a soft topic of kissing. I thought it would also help complement the bands image and make the video more diverse and unique. (However, being realistic and considering our limitations of transport and carrying equipment - not to mention finding a suitable scrap yard, the location will have to be changed for our final idea. This location was just my take on how I could picture the video.) We would start off by seeing a young boy and girl (perhaps 13) - they would be generally messing around as you do when your young, my idea was that the scrap yard would be their sort of 'hide out'..similar to having a den. The couple would be acting quite shy but playful together and the scene will end with a kiss (when the first chorus begins) - this kiss would represent their first kiss. In the next phase, after the first chorus, we will see the same couple but as teenagers, revisiting this place together - but this time possibly drinking, smoking, hanging around possibly with a group of friends - this scene will also finish with a kiss, again, at the beginning of the first chorus. The same thing would happen in the last scene - but this time the couple will be elderly, they are returning to their little hide-out to reminisce their child hood and where they used to go together this will also finish with a kiss which should bring us on to the last chorus. The whole idea behind this was that I thought it was necessary for kissing to be the main element and I thought it would be effective and different if we could portray a couple growing old together, it may be something people can relate to or even aspire to.
Obviously the video would not all be narrative based, there would also be scenes of the band performing mainly during the chorus also in the scrap yard (but not part of the narrative) - it could almost be as if they were watching over this couple and watching their love unfold and grow whilst singing about it. They would be dressed casually (but with a bit of rockstar image) and energetic in performance. Like in most bands, the focus is usually on the vocalist - so we would conform to this idea and place him at the front and in the middle of the other band members, however we would include every band member and make sure they work well as a group.

Overall Treatment: We must acknowledge the song is fairly 'rock' based and like in most rock videos the speed of shots are quick, jumpy and often disorientating. It would be necessary to use a wide range of shots to make the video fast paced and interesting whilst relating to the song. Because it would be set in a scrap yard it's important we have establishing shots to let the audience understand the setting. A range of panning and tracking shots should be used to comply with the fast tempo'd nature of the song, we would also try and make the use of shots relate to the music. It would be effective if close ups could be used on key features such as the kissing, smiling, eyes and other signs of affection like holding hands, this would create a more personal feel. I also think use of handheld shots would add to the personal feel, but also give it that 'home video' look which would work for a couple growing up together, with perhaps making the first scene (as children) quite grainy and even with a sepia tone to make it look older.

Limitations: The idea of this exercise was to just imagine what we would expect the video to be like - if it was all possible (obviously still being realistic) so of course considering money, transport and resources a lot of my idea would be hard to achieve by being a college student. The first limitation is the location, it would probably not be agreed for us to film in a scrap yard (even if there was one near by) obviously considering health and safety and also being aware instruments would need an electricity source. Transport could be a problem, making sure our band could get there with all of their instruments. Another limitation would be finding characters for each of our roles - having to find three males and three females that would be happy to film and of course who could pass as being the same person could be problematic.

Research into other band (marketing and promotions)

To gain a wider understanding and to expand our ideas for our own music video, it is important that we analyse a similar band or artist. This way we can see how they have been represented in their music video and other areas in which they promote their band and either use or develop their techniques and apply it to our own work. The band that I will be researching is Kasabian, as they are also an established alternative rock band and fairly similar to New found glory and our band House.

In Kasabians' music video 'Underdog' it is evident that the main focus is performance, we see a variety of clips from their live concerts and how they are back stage and on tour. I believe the main aim of this video is to promote the band by showing how good they are at performing and how they interact with the crowd. The band are very energetic through out and this video really makes you want to go to their live performance - which goes to show they are achieving what they have aimed for.
Mes-en-scene:

Throughout the whole of this music video, we see Kasabian perform at a number of concerts with very large crowds. You see on screen what you'd expect to see from any live Rock performances - large, energetic crowds jumping to the music, screaming girl fans, arms in the air, typical rock star poses, flashing lights behind the band, casual rock star clothing (not very clean cut or smart), jumping around on stage, press and cameras to which the band are happy to pose for and general band connection. All of these factors are brought together and made to look very energetic and fun by using clever cinematography and editing. Again, to show off the band we see a wide range of close up shots of the band playing their instruments, singing or looking into the crowd - we usually see shots of band players by them selves rocking out on stage, it could be suggested this technique is used to show them as individual 'rock gods' - or their is no particular band leader, whereas there is always very wide shots of the crowd to show how big their fan base is. To emphasise this point further, camera angles usually tilt upward when focus is on the band and tilts downward when on the crowd. Lights are interestingly used in this video, we see a number of one point lighting with quite a dark overall scene which looks quite effective when focus is on one band member. Flashing lights are also used which emphasise the concert feel to the video.

After watching and analysing this video, it has helped me come up with a few ideas on how we can portray our bands performance by generating the same sort of energy. On promoting a band, i think it is important to show how they perform and interact not only with each other, but also their fans - so we will try and create this image for them by using similar techniques. Unfortunately it will be impossible to record our band performing in front of a crowd of this size, if any crowd at all - so instead we can make it out like they are at band practice and show how they would act. It would be easier for us to use similar sort of lighting in our studio - so we could use a range of one point lighting and strobe lighting.

Kasabian: By Emily Stansfield.

New found glory-marketing and promotions.

Newfound glory- their marketing and promotions.

From the marketing sides of things if you weren’t already aware of newfound glory then it has clearly been brought across that they are a highly energetic live band through their motif fronted t-shirts and fridge magnets. One t-shirt even shows two characters fighting with the slogan bruised and broken which to me suggests how there gigs must end up.
Amongst their cd covers its hard to tell what image they are trying to express due to the diversity of their cd covers as they are never following on from a previous images or cd names where as, for instance kanye west uses high school themes for his such as college dropout, late registration and graduation.
Alongside availability of wearing your favourite bands logo, which in itself is a brilliant form of advertising due to the amount of people who’ll see the bands name, they have also delved into internet promotion through my space which as can be remembered helped Lilly Allen rise to fame due to the popularity of the internet in itself. It enables anyone/anywhere to be able to access anything especially music therefore being a brilliant source of marketing. Within their myspace page they have streamed their upcoming songs and videos which are therefore available to be listened to free of charge.
As well as this you can now follow them amongst face book by requesting a friendship which again is great for the band. This way they can promote their album releases or upcoming tour dates within their statuses and every fan can therefore read it.

Their labels are also an aid to their advertising. For instance Geffen (one of their past labels) is owned by universal music group which is a subsidiary of Vivendi. This means that the past promotions of the band were possible through two other large global companies and not from just Geffen itself.
Geffen was originally seen as a great label to be able to promote their bands but it has been seen that they hadn’t managed to do as much for newfound glory after its consumption of their previous label MCA. This could be one of their reasons for not becoming as popular as a usual band of their genre..

What has also help promote them as a band is that their guitarist Chad Gilbert is dating Hayley Williams who is the lead singer of Paramore and who has a very large fan base, mainly for her good music but also her good looks are an added bonus. A recent tour called the Honda civic tour Paramore were the main headlining band with newfound glory and others as the support. This again helps promote the band to people who may not be there for them or have heard them which in turn can creates more fans and an increase of word of mouth promotion as well as using hayley to make guest appearances within their live shows which helps boost ticket sales

 

 

New Found Glory: By Josh Featherstone

Getting to know our band

Before we had our first meeting with the band, me and my group came up with a few questions to ask them. The idea behind this was to try and get to know them on a deeper level which will make it easier when it comes to working with them, there were a few things that we thought were important to know, this includes; what type of band they actually are - and if they base themselves on another famous band - this was important so we could see where they are coming from, and perhaps where they aspire to go. We also wanted to know about their individual passion for music eg, how long they have been playing instruments for and if music is something they would like to be involved with future wise. We were a bit apprehensive at first, because our band had been put together via the college, so they had not come together through personal reasons. However, we feel confident working with the band as they seem to get on well with each other, they all seem passionate about music and they seem reliable to work with.   We also wanted to know if they want to be portrayed in a certain way - considering styling and narrative. Reasons behind this is because we want to have a good working relationship with the band, and to make sure they are happy and enjoy working with us - it will make the whole process easy and enjoyable.

Here is a copy of our questionnaire for the first meeting:

James: Vocalist

Alex: Guitar

Fagan: Bass guitar

Steven: Guitar

Tom: Drums

How do you want to be portrayed? – Nothing too specific, preferably casually dressed in their own style

What do you aspire to achieve? - It was pretty easy to see that the majority were just happy and eager to see a good video being produced. One that would be able to suit the song and to see a good promotion of the band.

What’s your favourite genre of music and how long have you been playing your chosen instrument for?

Alex: Everything and anything suited his tastes for musical inspiration and enjoyment for the art. He has played the guitar for the past 4 years

Fagan: The same as Alex in the sense of musical tastes. Usually he plays the guitar which he has done for the past 4 years but has had to pick up the bass for this specific type of song that will be played….he has only played the bass for 3 weeks!!!

Steven: Also said the same about his musical tastes and has played the guitar for 7 years.

Tom :As well as the others explained his music taste as diverse and enjoyed anything. He has played the drums for the past 6 to 7 years.

James :His musical taste weren’t as varied as the others but still had quite a vast difference between the two he used as inspiration which are either metal or Michael Jackson. He has been singing for over 18years.

What are your strengths and weaknesses? A few suggested that they wanted to learn/develop more of an onstage presence and develop that little bit extra confidence.

Are you all close friends? This question surprised us because the band hadn’t been personally chosen. It was a type of ‘name out of the hat scenario’ within their college group but they said that they all worked well together as a whole which was a relief.

Is music something you’ll pursue as a career? Everyone exclaimed a straight away YES! A few would continue to pursue it through university, through work, basically whatever it would take they were willing and hungry to achieve their biggest goal which is a signed deal with a record company.

Our song!

Because my group has been paired up with a College band, we do not have the privilege to choose what ever song we want, instead our band have a particular song that they knew and can play well. In this case, our band called "House" are very good at playing New found glory's version of Kiss me. My group are very pleased with this song choice as we feel there are quite a lot of creative things to do with it. Its also quite a popular song, with it's other version from "Sixpence none the richer" so it's accessible to all.

Lyrics to 'Kiss Me'

Kiss me out of the bearded barley
Nightly, beside the green, green grass
Swing, swing, swing the spinning step
I'll wear those shoes and you will wear that dress.

Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling
So kiss me

Kiss me down by the broken tree house
Swing me upon its hanging tire
Bring, bring, bring your flowered hat
We'll take the trail marked on your father's map

Oh, kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling
So kiss me

Kiss me beneath the milky twilight
Lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling
So kiss me
So kiss me
So kiss me
So kiss me

New found glory's video:

Promotional Package

All Saints: Black Coffee

All Saints were one of the most successful girl bands of the 90's who achieved a total of 5 number 1's. I chose this music video to analyse because I really like the overall feel it creates, its very unusual for a girl band to have a cold and moody video, but this isn't unusual for All Saints as we can see in their other video 'Pure Shores'. It could be suggested that this more mysterious way of presenting themselves is in contrast to the more bubbly and in-your-face rivals at the time - The Spice Girls.

The video was set inside a luxury city apartment and on the roof top of the apartment at night. Even inside the lighting is still very dark, usually only a small part of what we see on screen is visible - with the rest being blacked out. Any lighting that we do see, applying mainly to when outside, has quite an obvious blue tint - the colour blue is usually associated with coldness, so this has been done deliberately to set that sort of tone. I also believe the overall tone to this video is classy as no harsh colours have been used, this is enhanced by the surroundings and the set of the video.

The narrative of the video is based around a variety of young couples in heat of an argument, in each different case we see one member of the band singing and sensually dancing in the background - although the arguing couple cant see them and 'The saint' isn't looking at the couple. In each scenario the argument reaches a peak and something ends up getting smashed or thrown, this is were we see interesting visual effects and clever editing - the scene freezes, leaving something half way through the air or half smashed, something similar to the special effects to 'bullet time' in 'The Matrix'. Once the scene has frozen the camera then zooms in and often pans slowly round the situation, the meaning behind this effect is to probably get across the message that you should stop and think to assess the situation before taking it too far. The lyrics 'Freeze the moment' during this time also go hand in hand with the visuals. I think this effect works beautifully in the music video, its not often something you see so not only is it unique but it adds quality to the video and promotes that sort of image for the band. The setting of the rooftop looking over the city also works with the 'expensive' feel of the video, having band members on the roof can reflect the idea that the All Saint girls are quite big stars and can 'over rule' cities - however, the clothing on the girls differ with this idea, being very casually dressed could show they are also down to earth. The cinematography used develops this idea, usually when you have a person standing on a roof top, the camera will most likely be tilting up at them to add to that feel of being dominated, however, all camera angles are eye-level with the band to create that feeling of indifference.

Camera movements are very smooth throughout the video which suits the pace and feel of the song, there isn't much variation of camera angels however, usually just close ups, establishing shots or long shots take up the majority of the video - perhaps just so it feels more calm and slow. The same concept applies to the editing which is fairly long takes of a montage of couples arguing and the group singing. At the end of the video, clever editing techniques make the visuals fit in with the music in the foreground - when a distinctive beat is made, the All Saint girls freeze one by one. Although quite a lot of music videos use this technique, this one makes it really obvious, I think this effect works really nicely as it proves it has been edited professionally and emphasises not only the music but whats going on visually.

When regarding the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals you can quite clearly see contradiction. With the lyrics in the back ground saying 'I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here' the couple on screen couldn't look more like they want to get away from each other! I think the use of contradiction in a music video is really unique and in some ways makes you pay attention to the lyrics and visuals more - whereas in a music video that involves everything that's being sung about can be obvious and in some cases dull. However, there are some small links between the lyrics and visuals - when we hear 'freeze the moment', everything freezes (apart from the 'Saint' in the back ground) when only having this small relationship between the lyrics and visuals, it really emphasises the point. 

Although we see a mixture of performance, narrative and concept its quite obvious the narrative and the concept highly out weigh the performance. Narrative includes the different couples arguing in their apartments, however we don't know the story behind their argument or how it ends. Concept is mainly put across by a mixture of the special effects (freezing and zooming), contradiction and use of lighting and tones- it could be suggested that using all of these together makes the point that, as I've mentioned before, you should assess the situation by almost freezing it and/or calming down before doing anything too drastic. The cool tones used adds to this idea of calming down.

 However, when we assess the performance we never actually see a shot of All Saints together, singing as a band. They are performing by singing and dancing individually and its all very subtle which does suit the feel of the song, but there is no sense of 'togetherness' projected by the band which could be quite damaging for their promotion. All Saints were in fact not on talking terms during the production of this video, hence why they are not together - but it shouldn't be the message they want to get across.

Even though most people regard the intended audience of 90's girl bands are young girls - I feel the overall tone and concept to this video is more likely to appeal to an older audience, considering the actors in the narratives are adults and are in adult situations that people can relate to.  

Micheal and Janet Jackson - Scream

Video directed by: Mark Romanek

Micheal and Janet Jacksons music video 'Scream' has become a great success, winning awards for best dance video, best choreography, best art-directed and also won a Grammy for the best music video - it also appeared in the Guinness world records for being the most expensive music video ever made costing $7 million! The idea behind 'Scream' was Jackson's retaliation to the overwhelming bad press he was getting at the time, his younger sister Janet was in full support of her brother and the two wrote the song together. 

The highly sci-fi themed video is set on a futuristic space ship, with the feeling of wanting to get away from the media and to just be left alone in the different 'fun' rooms that we see inside the space ship. The black and white (almost silver) tone also adds to the sci-fi effect, but could also have been used to create a sense of distancing themselves further from the world. Like many Jackson videos, there are many shots of dancing and dynamic movements, the two are wearing very tight, shiny leather costumes - and strangely enough the hair and make up are very similar on the siblings sometimes making it hard to tell the difference, this technique may have been used to show the closeness between them, and again to add to the overall sci-fi feel.

Aggression seems to be a cohesive theme throughout the video - guitars, mirrors and vases are getting smashed, the two are almost singing through gritted teeth and we see Janet Jackson flash the middle finger. Aggression is an unusual thing to see from either of them, however, this does reflect the whole meaning behind the song. I think this whole video is visually beautiful, everything comes nicely together to create a professional dynamic feel. 

Cinematography is interesting throughout this video, there are a variation of camera angles and techniques that help create the futuristic sense, focus is always very sharp, which makes it very 'in your face'. At one point micheal Jacksons face rotates 360 degrees when he sings - this could portray him 'going out of his mind' with the media. Close -ups, long shots, high angles and low angles are used - these camera angles change quite quickly, scene by scene which makes the pace very fast and visual. 

The visual effects are very important throughout this video, everything seems very angular, crisp and dynamic - making it seem very classy. We've already established that it is shot inside a spaceship but to emphases this, effects were used to show them dancing on the walls and ceilings and sometimes floating in mid air, although using these techniques could be seen as quite risky, with the chance of it looking abit tacky, I think it is pulled of perfectly in this video with the right balance of editing and cinematography. The editing intensifies imagery in dance routines.

The relationship between the lyrics and visuals are mainly evident once you know the reason behind the song - however, we can obviously see that 'stop pressuring me' and 'makes me want to scream' are visual on screen because the two look as though they mean what they are saying through facial expressions, actions and lyrics. There is also a relationship between the music and the visuals, during the very fast paced music we see very energetic performances, the same concept applies for when there is slower music when it is pretty much stillness and Micheal is meditating. Also when there is a scream or a smash, we see this visually.

We do not see much intertextuality in Scream as is it is a very unique idea, however there are references to Andy Warhol's self portrait and other artists work. But mainly we see a great deal of Japanese drawings in the back ground - there is also a Japanese character that i thought is meant to resemble Micheal.

The Japanese drawings may also be a technique of creating a futuristic feel.

Like all of Jacksons videos, performance is key - most of his career is formed around his ability to be an incredible performer, meaning his music videos are very important for him. However there is also concept behind this video, like i have already explained - it is his backlash to the media for making up stories and portraying him in a bad light. So although the video is mainly aimed at fans (like most music videos) it is also intended for the media to see.

Analyses of Pop Promos: Blink 182 - Miss you

Video directed by: Jonas Akerlund



The general feel of Blink 182 song "I miss you" (Feb 2004) is quite sombre, downbeat and dark - this is reflected throughout the music video. Regarding Mes-en-scene, almost everything portrayed is gothic and dark. Location wise, Blink 182 are filmed playing the song in a mist surrounded castle on a stormy night, within this castle we see a number of gothic, almost ghostly like women who we also see outside the castle. Other things we see throughout the video include spiders, wolves, roses, Siamese cats, broken glass and a lake - the band are dressed in 1920's suites and are wearing pale make-up, all of these have gothic connotations and suite the dark feel of the song. I think this song and video stand out from the rest of their work because usualy they are quite playful and creative with their videos (see video for Whats my age again for example where the band are running through a town and performing naked. )

The editing and visual effects also help to create a ghostly feel, scenes fade into each other and a lot of the images are blurred. Alot of the shots are very quick and flashy, apart from when focus is on the band, and there is a range of jump cuts, it could be suggested that this use of cinematography project a nightmare feel.
There is a close relationship between the music and the visuals as through most of it we physically see the band playing, and the dark, sombre feel of the music is projected visually. However, unlike in some videos, there is not a very close relationship between the lyrics and visuals. The only evidence of this is when the line "Your already the voice inside my head" is sung, we see a woman fading - this could be a visual of her fading out of his mind, spiders are also mentioned in the lyrics but apart from that we only see a variation of unrelated gothic images.

There arnt any obvious use of intertextuality within this video - however the lyrics "We can live like jack and sally" and "we'll have Halloween on Christmas" are inspierd by Tim Burtons film Nightmare before Christmas. This pop promo is mainly performance based rather than narrative - as alot of it is takes of the band playing, I think the video is a good way to promote the band as it still keeps their new rock genre, but it is a darker version of their usual light-hearted, comical videos and shows they can be versatile.




Watch video here!

Report/Overview of Pop Promos: What makes a good pop promo?

Relationship between what we hear and what we see: To make a good Pop promo, a few things need to be taken into consideration. Firstly the decision has to be made whether the visuals illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics - an example of a video were the visuals illustrate the lyrics is Eminem - Stan. The lyrics describe how Stan is an over obsessed fan of Eminem, he wrote him countless letters, has pictures of him on the walls and eventually crashes his car whilst his pregnant girlfriend is in the boot. The lyrics of this song practically narrate the visuals perfectly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSLZFdqwh7E&ob=av2e.

The lyrics set the tone and feel for the overall song and music video, key lines will usually be evident via the visuals to enhance meaning and importance. Editing must also be used to suit the music, fast tempo songs are more than likely to have quick, short shots whereas more mellow, calm songs - usually from female artists, such as Dido, will have much longer and slower shots to suit the feel of the song. The use of editing may also be used to amplify certain beats or sounds from the foreground (such as drum beat) which makes the visuals really fit in nicely with what we hear, it will also help make the music video look clean cut and professional.    

Genre codes and conventions: Music videos seemed to have taken to their own codes and conventions depending of the genre of music they belong to. The codes and conventions apply to many different areas when regarding music videos - these include; variety of camera shots depending on the style, editing techniques (use of jump cuts in fast paced music) and especially Mes-en-scene, which varies obviously between each genre; props, locations and costume could suggest which genre the music video belonged to - even without any sound.

A lot of the music channels you see on TV conform to their own specific style of music - if you were to watch MTV dance for a long period of time you will notice that many of the music videos played will have very similar styles, many are likely to be set inside a club with flashing lights, usually with a mixture of girls and boys dancing and flirting. It is also evident that the camera work will be similar within certain genres, perhaps different genres focusing on different things. For example, Dance videos would focus on clubs, lights and dancing whereas Rock videos would focus on instruments, large crowds and the band  

RnB music videos have the most obvious signs of codes and conventions these include:

• Cars
• Money
• Girls (usually half dressed)
• Jewellery
• Expensive objects
• Other signs of rebellion etc..
• Close up of expensive objects
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtUVQei3nX4&ob=av2These

These codes and conventions work to create an image for the artist and music, using RnB as an example again - many rappers sing about how they came from a very poor background in the ghetto and then went on to make something of themselves, which means they like to physically show their wealth using music videos.

Music videos can help create star image in many ways as musical artists can choose how they want to be presented to the world, pop artists, such as the former Britney Spears created a star image for herself by being a very pretty, bubbly, innocent and influential singer for young girls - this image may not have been as possible if it wasn't for her music videos which projected her this way. However, other medias can be used to help create and/or emphasise an artists star image - their single or album cover photograph would have been planned out carefully, you can also tell from this how the artist wants to be portrayed - some artists even chose not to have their own photograph on the cover, this could suggest they are more abstract or creative. You can learn what the artist is like in day-to-day life via other media coverage such as interviews or other public displays - whether they keep their star image or if it is some sort of ulta-ego, whether they really do act or dress like they do in their music videos or if they keep their private life separate. Using Britney Spears as an example again, public displays can be dangerous and could break down your star image and even career.

Pop promos are also used to maintain an artists popularity and/or to re-invent their image - the need to 'keep up with the times' is essential for a musical artists career, if you look at Maddonna for example, it would be very hard to expect that her career would still exist if it wasn't for her constant image change. This concept applies to many lengthy careers in the music industry. Pop promos make it possible for a star to show the world how they look, dress, dance and what their attitude is at that moment in time - just a song alone would not have the same effect and would make it harder for a star to maintain their career. However, the need to re-invent does not soley apply to ageing artist - Rhianna is an example of a star who changed her look from 'girl next door' to a more fierce 'bad girl' - this change made her popularity rocket. Music videos are also a good way to create new fashions based on celebrates styles, not only can it influence fans and media consumers, but also other artists - lady gaga for example, although her fashions do not exactly catch on -its the fact she is daring and kooky that has made it more acceptable to be 'different' - most of lady gagas career is based on these styles which is only made possible from her music videos.

Voyeurism:  Voyeurism usually refers to the idea of pleasure gained by looking, normally at a sexual object. Laura Mulvey (1975) proposed that because filmmakers are usually male, the voyeurism is predominantly through a male gaze - this means that many music videos, whether it be a male or female artist will have some sort of sexual female on display who is effectively portrayed as an object. The sexual display of the females can be projected via costume, camera work and movement and the significance of using voyeurism is not only to promote the music video, but to create that feeling of power and dominance (as the female on display is usually unaware she is being watched) and also female dancers can enhance the ego of male artists.

It is very unusual to see voyeurism through a female gaze - even if the artist is female you will more than likely find she is the one on sexual display.

History of the development and importance of pop promos

      Music videos are now almost a necessity when it comes to promoting and creating an image for musical artists, it is also a way of showing how an artist can perform without being at a live show. Music videos also benefit the audience as they have made it possible to not only listen to artists sing, but also as a form of visual entertainment, and perhaps something to aspire to. It is evident that the use and rise of music videos has changed the music industry dramatically as it is not only about the singing voice of an artist/band – but the whole package.

During my research –I was surprised to find that the TV show ‘countdown’ used video clips in 1974 to promote bands that were to appear on the show. Realizing that this sort of ‘advertising’ was a good marketing device, music industries and artists began to create their own music videos.  Shortly after in 1980, a band called ‘Split Endz’ recorded a set of music videos on cassette for each song on their album.

However, the most significant point in the history of pop promos was the launch of U.S music channel MTV in 1981, the concept behind this channel was to play music videos 24/7 and was created specifically for the promotion and entertainment of music videos. It had a huge impact on music industries and popular culture “video killed the radio star” was the first song to be aired on the 1^st of August 1981. Because MTV was mainly aimed at a younger audience they had to think of a way to widen their market and popularity, so in 1985 MTV launched a second music channel VH1 which featured older, softer music.  To widen the audience even more - MTV Europe was introduced in 1987 and if that wasn’t enough MTV Asia in 1991. The development of MTV resulted in pretty much a worldwide industry, promoting music industries, artists, culture and video and entertainment techniques – re-shaping the image and popularity of music. MTV Launch

One of the world’s most popular and influential music video of all time was Micheal Jacksons 14 minuet “Thriller” released in 1983 – its popularity stemmed from being like a short movie, which then became an incentive for other music videos to have a narrative.

Recently, more techniques of advertising pop promos have raised thanks to the world wide web and the use of youtube – which has made it possible to access any music video you can think of at any time. Youtube was originally set up for ordinary people to upload personal home videos, but after noticing how popular it became - and how many people viewed these videos - most musical artists have their own youtube sites where fans can view their videos and can also get access to new, upper coming songs and videos.

 

Introduction

My name is Emily Stansfield, I am 17 years old and I'm currently studying A2 media studies at Suffolk New College. Our overall assignment this year is to create our own music video and completed promotional package for a college band. However, before we can complete this we need to research and understand the development of music videos, analyse how different bands, genres and stars are represented via music videos and use or develop our findings to create our own piece.

For this project we will be put into groups of no more than 4 - within our groups we each need to choose an area to focus on whilst creating our video, my area will be the art director and for this I need to make sure what is seen on screen is how we want it to look to the best of our ability.