Vladimir Propp

Vladimir Propp extended the Russian Formalist approach to the study of narrative structure. In the Formalist approach, sentence structures were broken down into analyzable elements, and Propp used this method by analogy to analyze Russian fairy tales. By breaking down a large number of Russian folk tales into their smallest narrative units.

Vladimir Propp had turned long paragraphs into smaller verses to keep the audience more interested, it actually helps the artist as well because it makes the lyrics easier to remember when it is in versus instead of sentences.

An example of this would be from the song we had chosen, Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield. Her verses are broken down so they are easier to understood and keep he audience more interested. For example, 

"Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your innovations
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten"

Extension Excercise

Strengths and weaknesses
The choose the first video that was shown to us. Naive. The music video's editing was really well done and was affective. We could see the relationship between the artist and the girl who was playing in the video. The edit when she blew out smoke then faded to his face was very affected as it looked like she blew the smoke onto the artist's face. The camera was always steady didn't see it shake once.
A weakness was in the mis en scene in one part, in the beginning of the video we see her walking towards us, but we also see a empty McDonald' cup in the screen which straight away got out attention.

Andrew Goodwin felt that traditional narrative analyses don’t really apply to music videos. That music videos are built around songs, which music videos, uses the singer both as narrator and as a character and that this singer often looks directly at the camera. For this particular music video it wasn't like that because we didn't really see the artist or the girl look into the camera.

Andrew Goodwin also said there are three types of relation between songs and videos: illustration, amplification and disjuncture.

The music video i choose has the illustration relation, the songs lyrics relate to the songs video, even the songs name "Naive" suits the video.

Susuana from 283goswell on Vimeo.

Lip Synch tutorial

The title of the song is 'Chic, le Freak', the song was very upbeat and easy to learn.



Whilst doing the lip synch tutorial I learnt alot of things that I didn't know before.
Things such using marks to mark the beats in the song so that is editing is efficient and goes with the song, and having to actually sing out the sing whilst filming so that it doesn't look fake.
I personally enjoy the whole process very much and look forward to doing the real music video.

Lip Synch Tutorial

During the lip synch tutorial I have learnt how to line up the video we had recorded with the song that the teacher had chosen.

What I find challenging was actually was holding the camera steady, this time we wasn’t allowed to use a tripod so we had to hold the camera up our selves not trying to move it so it’s in a steady shot.

I have learnt how to use markers on final cut pro, this was very helpful in two ways. First of all we marked one marker on the beat where the first lyric is said, then again on the video when the first lyric is said in order to link them up and make it suit. The second would be putting the markers on the timeline on every beat, after that was done we had to slice the videos into bits with the razor tool, then delete couple of bits in the video to see the artist sing the song from all different angels and positions.

When we was editing the opening to the thriller movie, we had lots of short clips that we had to crop down a bit then try put it together to try make it look right. Whereas for the music video we had to record basically the same thing over and over again but in different angels and positions, we also had to record without stopping it to make it line up properly with the soundtrack.

Example and analysis of videos that follow amplification, disjuncture and illustration.

Amplification: K koke, Tallman, Squinge, - Burying My Peers.

In this songs video we see images of cemeteries, graves and statures. Where as the song itself is about how they hard there life is, how they live it and what kind of days they have. Then again, all three of the artists talk about how they lost someone and how hard for them it was to get threw the pain.

Disjuncture – Egypt - In The Morning

In this songs video we see her at a club partying, we get the impression it’s at night.

Whereas the songs title is “in the morning”. Even the song’s lyrics are, “in the morning, 

when I wanna be with you, in the morning, I let your love come in, in the morning, 

all I think about is you, in the morning, I let your love come in.

Illustration: Michael Jackson – Earth Song

In this songs video we see poorer countries, we see elephants dying, so we get the impression on what is happening in today’s world. Then near the ends the videos starts to play backwards ad everything comes back to its original form. The songs lyrics are similar, couple of lyrics from his song, It's our planet's womb (What about us) What about animals (What about it).

Summary of Andrew Goodwin’s theory on music.

Andrew Goodwin feels that traditional narrative analyses don’t really apply to pop videos. That pop videos are built around songs, which pop videos, uses the singer both as narrator and as a character and that this singer often looks directly at the camera.

Pop videos relay on repetition, pop videos would repeat images in the way the song repeats choruses or lines.

Pop song videos have a form of closure and ending, they build up to a climax or to a constant repetition before fading away.

There are three types of relation between songs and videos: illustration, amplification and disjuncture.

Illustration is where the video tells the sort of the lyric. Amplification occurs when the video introduces new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning. Disjuncture is where there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric.

Pop videos often easily recognisable features, although Michael Jackson gave I a bit of a twirl in his videos. Another feature is that women are presented as objects of male desire. Whereas some female artist do this deliberately do it but is different because they look back at the viewers through the camera and can cease to be passive.

In some videos, different objects represent the different instruments in the music.

Videos also try appeal to as wide audience as possible without alienating the core target audience.

Finally videos that are from songs writers for a particular movie often incorporate images from that movie in the video.

Planning

lip synch tutorial

Song-Le Freak
Recreated by Group 33
In the video there are different angle shots.

Research- Copyright Letter

95 Exeter Road

Edmonton

London

N9 0LL

18^th August 2010

Sony Music Entertainment UK

9 Derry Street

,

London,

W8 5HY

Dear Sir or Madam

Request Copyright Permission to use part or whole of:

Natasha Bedingfield-Unwritten

I am a student of A Level Media Studies and for my Advanced Portfolio I will be working in a group to produce a promotional package for the release of a new album track. I would like to request permission to use the above track for this project.

The finished project will not be made available publicly and will be used solely for coursework purposes. The holder of the original copyright will be fully acknowledged in the finished project.

If you do not hold the rights for this song I should be grateful if you could forward this request to the appropriate person, or return it to me with the contact details in order that I might approach the copyright holder directly.

Yours faithfully,

Sheree Barnes

sheree.senrab@yahoo.co.uk

Copyright Letter

4 Foxley Close

Mountford Estate

Dalston 

London

            E8 2JN

A&R Dept
 EMI Records
 4th Floor
 EMI House
 43 Brook Green
 London
 W6 7EF

Dear Sir/ Madam

I request Copyright Permission to use the following artists: Joss Stone, Lilly Allen and Corrine Bailey Rae.

I am a student studying my second year of A Level Media Studies and for my Advance Portfolio; I will be working in-group to produce a promotional package for the release of a new album track. I would like to request permission to use the above artist tracks for the project.

The product will not be available for the public; though the music video maybe display to Media students at the end of term. The finish project will be used solely for coursework purposes. The holder of the original copyright will be fully acknowledged in the finish project.

If you do not hold the rights for this song, I should be grateful if you could forward this request to the appropriate person, or return it to me with contact details in order that I might approach the copyright holder directly.

Yours faithfully

Clara Louise Clarke-Osbourne

Aa09781@student.candi.ac.uk

Letter requesting copyright clearance

24/09/10

XL Recordings

1 Codrinton Mews,

London W112EH

()

020 8870 7511

Dear Sir or Madam

Request Copyright Permission to use part or whole of:

Dizzee Rascal & Lilly Allen - Wanna Be

I am a student of A level media studies and for my advance portfolio I will be working in a group to produce promotional package for the release of a new album track. I would like request permission to us the above track for this project.   

This finished project will not be made available publicly and will be used solely for coursework purposes. The holder of the original copyright will be fully acknowledged in the finished project.

If you do not hold the rights for this song, I should be grateful if you could forward this request to the appropriate person, or return it to me with the contact details in order that I might approach the copyright holder directly.

Yours faithfully

Sukru Taskiran

sukrutaskiran@googlemail.com

Andrew Goodwin Summary

Andrew Goodwin Theory Book

The Andrew Goodwin summary    

Andrew Goodwin made key points when listing the functions of music videos. His prime focus was on the pop genre; though he briefly talked about heavy metal and hip pop. He pointed out the obvious stereotypes these types of videos process “women presented as object for male desire.” However this isn’t seen in pop videos because; they don’t follow traditional narrative structures, “Normality-problem-resolution.” Videos in the pop genre base the narrative themes around the song.

This isn’t because pop videos try and be “avant garde;” they simply focus on the singer which both narrator and character. By adopting both rolls, viewers feel more engaged with their favourite artists. Goodwin said that “pop videos rely on repetition.” Images are repeated as much as the chorus and certain lines in the song. He went on to say that; certain parts or rhythms get repeated to familiarise the genre to the audience.

When making videos, all artists imagine creating something never seen before; but still keeping to their genres expectations. With the three types of relations music and videos have; it’s easier to categorise videos in. These are the examples of what I have found:-

1.      Illustration: “Bad Boys” Alexandra Burke; This video uses dance to express the narrator’s feelings, which is sung by the artist who also plays the lead character. The mood is shown by fast cuts that mimic the characters cerography.

2.      Amplification: “The fear” Lilly Allen; this video has two setting that join together in the course of the video. Both of the settings contradict each other, but echo’s the meaning of the song.

3.      Disjuncture: “Beautiful” James Blunt; the meaning of the song and the video to go with it are polls apart. Instead of having character’s in a brightly lit cornfield in the countryside, with two people romantically in love with each other. James Blunt opted setting on a rooftop, narrating his song then jumping in to the sea. Videos of the disjunction theme are the ones that stand out more because; they don’t follow the traditional structures Andrew Goodwin example “Man in the Mirror” Michael Jackson.

Andrew Goodwin closes his analysis by stating; music videos try and reach out to wide audience. Thought keeping in mind their “core target audience” and lastly artists that write songs for films usually contain clips of the future movie. “Already taken” Trey Songz for Step Up 3D.

Research

Amplification- Cherly Cole- Fight for this love
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMiy_UsrPDs


In this video the lyrics of Fight for this love is being amplied in the video through the repetition of the actions of fighting for this love.





Illustration-Dizzee Rascal- Dance Wiv Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GibLntdLiJA


In this video the song is being illusrated through the singer actually being a participant in the video and dancing with a girl in the video.





Disjuncture- Tinie Tempah
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SoKT900YbCc

In this video the structure of the video doesn't match what the lyrics are actually saying, but is just merely for visual stimulation.

Research

Andrew Goodwin's theory on music videos covered all the different aspects of how a music video is structured. He first writes about reasons for different narrative structures such as:
1. Building pop videos around the songs-they don't pose a traditional narrative structures
2.The singers are both narrators and characters
3.The singer often looks directly aaaaaaat the camera-this is a extension of the performance and trying to involve the viewer in the performance.

Goodwin also feels that pop videos rely on repetition, repeating images and choruses or lines throughout the video. The intextuality of the song allows viewers to become familiar with the genre upholding certain expectations. The video would get played on TV, the song on radio and it might appear in adverts making the song familiar through repetition.

In his theory 3 minute singles are based on a video which have a particular structure. They tend to build up to a climax or consist of repeat sequences that fade away.

There is also the visualisation of the video it may go beyond the actual meaning of the song. Some videos provide a visual pleasure that encourages repeated viewing.On the other hand it could be used to promote a film such as Celine Dion's video for her song 'My Heart will Go On' featuring shots from the movie promoting it.He also states that there are three relations between songs and videos: illustration,amplification and disjunture.

In pop videos there are usually easily recogniseable features such as in Michael Jackosn videos he would twirl or yelp. Anothe feature is the way in which women are objectified, fulfilling male desire. Heavy metal and Hip Hop videos tend to feature these stereotypes. Artists such as Madonna and Beyonce deliberately present themselves in the way also, but cease to be passive.

An important of music videos are also to appeal to a large audience, whilst trying not to alienate core target audiences.

Research

Adele Chasing Pavements http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBmwdlBFs1s



The narrative of the video relates to the song, as the couple in the video are on a pavement chasing each other through a dance routine. The overall structure of the video is nonlinear as the storyline doesn't build but repeats shots to go with the song. The lyrics link to the song illusrating 'chasing pavements'.
The genre of Adele's music covers from pop to soul and indie music.
The representation of Adele in this music video isn't passive as she is actively taking part in the video and isn't dressed stereotypically, but in a coat and jeans. The way the video is filmed makes it seem like a serious song. The video doesn't really specifically focus on gender, but Adele as the singer and main character is seen as being the one in control.
Through editing they slow down certain parts to match the pace of the song.There is repetition in the shots back to the couple dancing on the pavement. The way in which it is edited matches the genre. The effects of the editing also gives creates an overall mood of being relaxed and calm.