Added value

In this post i will be talking about how music videos have helps songs become bigger and better hits. Music videos can add value to songs.

A-ha - take on me

A-ha is a Norwegian band that released "Take on me" in 1984. However the song wasn't a big hit but director Steve Barron helped to make a second music video to give the song some added value. He used pencil sketch animation to make the video unique. This music video became a great success and is now considered one of the best music videos. Due to this success the song itself got added value as it was boosted to number 1 in the charts as people loved the music video. The music video won 6 music video awards.

Here is the music video below:

Sinead O'Connor - Nothing compares 2 U

Sinead O'Connor is an Irish singer who because a worldwide hit with a cover of Prince's song "Nothing compares 2 U". However the cover didn't become a hit straight away and didn't reach number 1 in the charts. This was until John Maybury directed the music video for the song. The music video became a huge hit and added value to the song which helped O'Connors international breakthrough with this number 1 song. The video became a hit due to O'Connor's performance as  she cried real tears due to personal issues on film which was used in the final product. The music video won the award for MTV video of the year

Here is the music video below:

Chainsmokers - Closer
This example is how a video can add value in current songs. The Chainsmokers song "Closer" was successful and did reach the charts but did not reach number 1 until their video was released which boosted the song to number 1 where it stayed for a few weeks. An important reason why this video adds value is because the singers are not even in the video it is a random couple meaning that the director used actors to get the right look and style he wants. Furthermore the music video added more value as it distracted viewers due to the bad live performance.
The first video blow is the live performance while the second is the music video:

Branding of Adele and Lady GaGa

Lady Gaga

Her brand:

• Not just a pop artist - she is a fashion icon and her music videos have strong visual images to "amplify" on the meaning of the song.
• Strong woman who stands up for her beliefs
• She has a wacky and weird side.
• changes personality for each album (like David Bowie)

Her unique selling point:

• Different type of weird 
• Darker side and not afraid to show it
• Trend setter 
• weird fashion but still stylish and glamorous 
• pop music with no auto-tune - most artists use auto-tune but Gaga has a good voice so doesn't need it

How she is marketed:

• Target market would be teen girls 
• Weird and over the top but a good balance
• great voice and can hit high notes

Here are 3 music videos that show how Lady Gaga has evolved overtime, the first video is more of a stereotypical pop music video; the theme is still weird but not as weird as the next video. "Born this way" is one of the weirdest videos Ive seen and this is to make a statement and get the video more views. The last video is quick normal compared to all her other work as she is growing older so its maturing more.

"Poker Face"

"Born This Way"

"Perfect Illusion"

Adele

Her brand;

• Normal person - but glamorous
• Down to earth - she meets fans and is a very calm person like she inst famous but accepts it
• Break up music - because everyone even celebrities can relate to breakups 
• English

Her unique selling point:

• Normal person
• Great voice
• Very relatable

 How she is marketed:

• Target market would be people facing breakups and teen girls/ early twenties 
• Marketed as a woman with a great powerful voice
• Music videos are slow and usually black and white or other darker colours 

Here are three music videos over the years of Adele, from this we can see her transformation from a regular person (In "Someone like you") to a glamorous normal person who used colour to present different emotions (In "Send My Love ")

"Someone Like You"

"Hello"

"Send My Love (To Your New Lover)"

Andrew Goodwin - key features of a music video

Andrew Goodwin identified different key features in a music video. They are the following:

Genre characteristics
Genre characteristics is when there are certain features present in a music video that depend on the genre of the song. So this means Pop songs may usually have a dance routine along with some narrative to tell a story. A good example is Lady GaGa as she always has dance routines in her videos.

"Judas - Lady GaGa"

Another good example for pop would be boy bands as there always seems to be a dance routine. An example would be boy bands like: NSYNC, New Kids on the Block, Take That and One Direction.

"Bye Bye Bye - NSYNC"

Another genre characteristic is metal videos. In these music videos, the band will usually be seen doing a performance with abstract surroundings or even at concert; the band members would have long hair and usually wear leather and have dry ice for a stage presence effect. Here is some examples of Metallica.

"Enter sandman - Metallica"

"No leaf clover - Metallica"

Relationship between song and visuals

There are 3 different types of relationships that a music video can have with the song, the video can "Illustrate", "Amplify" or "Ignore"

Illustrate is where the the lyrics can be seen in the video so for example if there is a lyric about a car, there will be a car in that shot of the video to illustrate what is happening. An example could be Adele "Hello" as the song repeats the lyrics about calling someone and in the video we can see Adele talking on the phone and also the lyrics are depressed about a break up or loosing someone so the video is dark lighting and sad. Here is the video - 

"Hello - Adele"

Amplify is where the lyrics have a meaning behind them but in the video the meaning is further expanded by the visuals to give a bigger and better meaning. For example, we can use Micheal Jackson's Man in the Mirror video. The songs message is about self change to improve yourself. However along with the video the message becomes improve yourself to improve the world, to make the world a better place. Here is the video - 

"Man in the Mirror - Micheal Jackson"

Ignore is where the video contradicts the lyrics or just ignores them. This could be a narrative about a story but the story doesn't relate to the lyrics so i doesn't make sense. A good example is Carly Rae Jepsen "I really like you" as the video is about a guy that she really likes but in the video we just see Tom Hanks walking around a city. Therefore the video ignore the lyrics of the song. Here is the video - 

"I really like you - Carly Rae Jepsen"

Inter-textual referencing
Within music videos there are sometimes references to other artists, movies and videos. A good example is "Walks like Rhianna" by The Wanted. In this video, The Wanted recreated famous boy band scenes from N'Sync, The Backstreet boy and Take That. Here are some screenshots of the original music videos along side with The Wanted

NSync - Bye Bye Bye

The Wanted

The Wanted

Goodwin also stated that there is a feature in most music videos where there will be people "looking" around and not doing much. 

Styles of music videos

There are many different types of music videos that we need to know to help us have some more research about what our music video may consist of.

Narrative
A narrative music video is when the video seems to be like a story; the whole video has a meaning.
My example of a narrative is of "Faded - Alan Walker". The story behind this video is some lost who is trying to find his home. He is seen running around through a post apocalyptic world that seems to have been destroyed by war. At the end of the video the boy finds his home however its is destroyed and in ruins.

Animation
An animation is where the video consists of stop motion animation, or edited effects. So overall the video is of inanimate objects.
My animation example is of "Burn the Witch - Radiohead"

pastiche

A pastiche is a video that is set in a certain time period. This could be a certain era or year etc.

My example of a Pastiche is "Hey Ya! - Outcast". This video is set in the 1950s

Parody
A parody is a video that mocks and mimics a certain feature. This could be a person or costume or even an act. A parody is where this feature is made fun of.
My parody is of "Walks like Rihanna - The Wanted". This music video is used to make fun of other boy bands and there costumes, dances and settings.

Performance based
A performance based is a video where the artist is seen performing the song, so they will be singing and playing an instrument.
My example of a performance based music video is of the Red Hot Chilli Peppers - By the way

Intertextual
Intertextual is similar to a parody but instead of making fun off or mock; rather its used to show appreciation. This means in these types of videos features may be copied to show respect.
The example i have used is "Love Story - Taylor Swift". This is a intertextual video as many features make reference to Romeo and Juliet and this video provides a modern theme to the love story. 

Concert live

This is where a music video is made from actual concert footage of the artist performing to an actual audience.
The concert music video example was hard to find but i was able to use clips from The Katy Perry movie where she turned her performances into music videos - here is her signing

"California Gurls"

Cinematic
This type of video is where the video seems like a movie, it has actors and props that all come together to provide a deeper meaning.

The example i am using is "Telephone - Lady GaGa". This is a cinematic is is has dancing, a story, performance and acting so the video seems more like a short film.

AbstractAn abstract is where the video seems a bit weird and has mostly has no connection to the lyrics of the song.
My example is of "Born This Way - Lady GaGa". This is abstract as there are weird themes, editing, makeup and costumes. The only reference to the lyrics is where we see GaGa give birth to an alien

Purpose of the music video

There are 2 main purposes for a music video:

• Promotion / Publicity
• Make money – increase sales.

Promotion

A music video is used to promotes the artist, single and the album. This is because the music video adds more content so the audience will be exposed to more of that song/artist meaning that the audience may like the song more and buy it along with the album and maybe even older songs. So being as the audience see more content this will persuade them to buy the song/album. Furthermore if there is more content for the audience to be exposed to, This means that the artists profile can get more awareness so that the audience may know more about that artist and may end up become in long term fan. They may also buy older songs and tell their friends to make the artist more popular. 

Music videos are also used as promotion for product placement. Popular pop artists usually promote their own fragrances in their video. A few good example are popular pop artists like Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Christina Aguillera - here are some videos:

Within the first 20 seconds in "Work B*tch" by Britney Spears see her fragrance that was new at the time.

The Music Video exists as only one strand of a multimedia campaign as it is primarily used to promote the song and artist. Furthermore, different people like directors and animators can get involved meaning they can be promoted as well. Other platforms that can be used to promote the song and artist include: Television shows, radio, adverts etc.

The music industry as a whole has a relationship with a number of different media: Radio, TV, Print media, Film, New Media.

Making money

Synergy

Synergy is where different people/organisations from different media areas come together to make a video that may help to promote something that is closely linked to that music video. The best example is when a music video is made for a song that featured in a film. This video will then have some shots of the film which will make the viewers go see the movie and vise versa for those who watch the movie, they will go watch the music video. This means more money will be made as customers are going from different media areas and spending more money. This benefits all the media products involved.

An example of synergy with films and music videos is "Skyfall". Adele sang the main song in the James Bond movie and this helped both the film and artist. The film benefited as a huge artist like Adele was featuring in the song track and helped to make exciting trailers. Adele was benefited as she got to have a music video with movie scenes and James Bond fans also where exposed to her song.

Here is the music video:

Here is another example, this is "Love me like you do" by Ellie Goulding and the film this song is from is "Fifty Shades of Grey"

What makes a music video successful 

A successful music video has to be original but artistic. This is so the video matches the lyrics and portrays the right image but also has good and quick editing with some effects, props and good acting to make it believable, eye catching and artistic.

A music videos success can be measured on YouTube views and downloads. If these numbers are high in a short amount of time then the music video is considered successful. YouTube will help with word of mouth as many people can see the video so may tell others. However the risk of illegal downloads increase when a video is posted on YouTube as people can use YouTube converters to get the video for free. Other platforms can be on TV channels like MTV. Usually people put this channel on so they can have music videos playing at a party/event so this can help create word of mouth.

Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Music videos are important for artists as it helps create a brand and image. However music videos would most likely not be popular if it wasn't for Queen making "Bohemian Rhapsody" music video. This was the first music video to be taken seriously as if it was artwork. This music video helped to get the song to number 1 in the charts and it was therefore considered a big success.

Music industry - Record companies and Organic/Synthetic music

Record companies

So firstly there are 4 main multi-national corporations within the music industry:

• Universal
• Sony Music
• Warner Brothers
• EMI

These groups are referred to as "The majors" as they dominate the music industry. They are mostly conglomerates due to having connections in other media areas like film. 

Universal music group

Universal music group own many different labels with some of the best being "Republic" some people who are signed to them are use stars like: Ariana Grande, Black Sabbath, Florence + the Machine, Gotye, The Weeknd and Zendaya.


Sony Music

Sony's main music labels include "Columbia" and "RCA" which have huge artist like Kings of Leon, Beyonce, Avril Lavinge, Justin Timberlake, Britany Spears, The Chainsmokers and Fifth Harmony signed to them







Warner Brothers

Some of Warner Brothers labels include "Beluga Heights" and There artists include: Lily Allen, Van Halen, Prince, Red hot chilli peppers, Madonna and Black Sabbath








EMI

EMI is also a conglomerate but was divided up into the other major record companies. This makes the EMI music group a consortium that has different fractions based in other music companies. Before being divided up, EMI was a london based studio. Some of the artist signed to EMI are: Queen, The beatles, Robbie William and The Beach Boys

Major-Independent Companies
Most of these "Majors" own/license a series of smaller subsidiary companies in order to reach different kinds of audiences in different kinds of genre. Examples of these subsidiary labels include:

• Columbia
• Island
• Syco
• RCA
• Virgin and many more

These companies are known as "Major-independents".

Independent companies

There are a huge number of small companies with little or no financial connection to the majors.These companies often concentrate on a small number of acts, within specialised niches in the industry. These are called ‘Independents’. An example of a highly successful independent  is ‘Domino Records’. 
It is often that record labels begin as independents, but then are bought by a major and then become major-independents.

Types of music

There are 2 different types of music:

• Organic 
• Synthetic

Organic

The term ‘Organic’ is used to describe bands where the music comes first, they make the kind of music they want to make and then the record labels (if signed) try and sell this music to the correct market segment. This means that the artist decide what they want to do and what music they want to play. This may mean having to sacrifice some fame and money but the artist gets to enjoy their music. 

 ‘Organic’ music often appeals to a niche, but can appeal to a mass audience too.

The Beatles / Radiohead are a good example of an organic band. The Beatles even played in Hamburg before they had a record deal just because they loved the music so they wanted to entertain using their own style

The Beatles

Radiohead

The Band members knew each other and had a shared love of music. The music came first – then the fame. 

Another artist who is organic is Sia as she doesn't want all the fame she has as she just wants to make good music for her fans. This is why she covers her face at every public appearance so that she can stay un-known. Sia writes her own music and she has control of how she is seen/her personaility.

Sia

Synthetic

The term ‘Synthetic’ refers to ‘manufactured groups ( ‘X Factor’ methodology), and it is the record labels that control what the artists do. Meaning that the artist have very little say as the record company is shaping them to maximise their success. 

A gap in the market is identified, and then it is exploited by the development of music, and often the artist, to suit this gap.

Money is the ultimate goal in this operation. Acts such as “One Direction” and “The Spice Girls” are a good examples of “manufactured” artists. However the best example is "The Monkees" as they were synthetically made to rival The Beatles due to there worldwide success. They were made to be the American version of The Beatles and they even had a TV show to help boost popularity so they can try to rival The Beatles.

The Monkees

In this video we can see that they are very similar to The Beatles in every way

One Direction is also synthetic as they were put together by Simon Cowell. They didn't write their own songs as other singers like Ed Sheeran and they were told what to wear. They were shaped to fit a younger girl audience.

One Direction

In this video we can see how they are shaped to fit a certain audience.

The Spice Girls are very Synthetic as there songs were wrote for them and they were even given new personalities like "Scary spice", "Posh spice", "Ginger spice", "Baby spice" and "Sporty spice". Their style was changed so that they could be unique and different.

The Spice Girls

History of the music video

Early popular music stars before the birth of the music video..

In the early 1940s the biggest music star in the world was Bing Crosby. By the late 40s he was joined by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra was the first star to have girls screaming at him in concert. Sinatra's fan were know as bobbysoxes. By the 1950s Rock and Roll was popular and Elvis Presley  was the biggest star in the world.
The only way fans could see these starts were: in concert, in films or in TV Specials.

Bing Crosby singing in the film "White Christmas"

The Beatles and  the birth of the Music Video.

 The Beatles became huge world wide stars in the 1960s. Inthe early days fans could see them in concert, on television and in the films "A Hard Days Night" and "Help".

 When The Beatles would perform at concerts, the screams from the audience would be so loud you couldn't even hear them sing. Eventually, The Beatles got tired of singing in concerts due to the screaming, They decided to come up with a completely new way for their fans to see them perform - through a music video.

The Beatles went to Hampstead Heath in London for the afternoon and made two short films to promote their new double "A" sided single "Paperback Writer" and "Rain".

These short promotional films became the first music video. Interesting many of the genre characteristics were present in these two films: lip syncing, pretending to play instruments and close ups of the singers.

"Paperback Writer"

"Rain"

Queen  "Bohemian Rhapsody"

 "Bohemian Rhapsody" was the first significant music video. Queen had released the song and it was a moderate hit. However, when they released the music video it generated a lot of interest in the single. The song went to the top of the charts where it stayed for a number of weeks.

This was the first music video to directly influence record sales. In addition it was the first music video that was artistic and imaginative. In a sense "Bohemnian Rhapsody" raised the bar for other music videos. The music video was now an important tool in the promotion of a song.

Micheal Jackson's "Thriller"

Perhaps the most famous music video was "Thriller". It was certainly the most expensive to make. Indeed a twenty minute extended version of the video was released in cinemas. This was the first time the music video was as important if not more important than the song it was promoting.

Album art exercise and evaluation

The practise making a album cover, we was gives random links to give random text and images to give us an artist, album title and images. We then had to use these images to create an album cover and here is mine:

Here are my base images:

This image is the background, what i changed was i made the image brighter by using higher contrast and then blurred it by using the blur tool. So using the contract helped to add more colour to the dark image as the orange is now brighter and the purple is much more visible. Furthermore this contract helped to refine the larger tree more as the original was very dark making the background and tree merge slightly.

With this image i cropped the background out so i only had the object left and then used the setting to make it all black and white. Then i used the tools on the right hand bar to lower the opacity so the sunset could be seen through the object. One i done this i moved the two image over each other and made them one.

Lastly i added text using the text tool and typed in my artist (West Branch) and then the album title (The lies we tell ourselves). I then removed the present contour effect to make the text more visible and added an outer glow so the text stands out more.

I feel for a first attempt at using Photoshop in years i feel like what my vision was and the outcome where very similar and i was successful using the random images I was provided with.