Kanye west - Touch The Sky
The music video touch the sky is an illustrative video, which references links to Evil Knievil with a linear narrative. Within the video the scenes represent the lyrics especially in the chorus e.g. “For the day I die am going to touch the sky” within the scene they use a rocket plane, which is aimed at the grand canyon so the video is implying that when he touches the sky it’ll be the day he dies if anything wrong. The music video touch the sky uses intertextual references because the audience has to know who Evil Knievil was and what he strived to achieve.
This music video has a linear narrative, which is in chronological order where the lyrics and the video coincide with each other and they both tell the story. The narrative also shows the tension between Evil Knievil (Kanye West) and his wife (Pamela Anderson) because of the deadly stunts he did. Another intextual reference to the 70’s is that a news reporter questions on an interview with Kanye Wets’s character how “Nixon” (President Richard Nixon) would react the stunts he was about to perform (Evil Knievel performed in the 70’s). Although towards the end of the music video the narrative becomes an enigma because you don’t know if Kanye West has died and is in heaven or is next to the crash site. This adds mystery towards the end of the video.
The mise-en-scene within the video is very impressive because it uses all the accessories of the 1970s which the music video is based in. The video uses certain techniques at the beginning of the music video, such as the credits to represent typical conventions of 70’s movies. The costumes and hair styles are key factors of the music video because its states what time the music video is based in and who the music video is about. Plus the costume that Kanye West is wearing in the video is very similar to the one Evil Knievel wore, however the audience will have to know who and what Evil Knievel did to understand the intertextuality. The sceneries of the video are quite extraordinary with the desert, the Grand Canyon, the limo, and the Caravan all giving the audience incite to what Evil Knievil used for his stunts.
Touch the sky uses a lot of fast paced editing and camera shots. For example the crane shot which is filmed using a helicopter, zooms in on the limo quite quickly. This shot adds to the realism of a 70’s action movie. Another technique that is used to make the video look similair to a 70’s action movie is the way the shots focus in on certain actions and then the box that the action is being shown in, shrinks, at this point another box appears showing a different action or the same action from a different angle or camera view. This technique was used many times in 70’s action movies, to show two shots of the same action happening at the same time. Pans are used in the music video to show the largeness of the Grand Canyon. Low angle shots are used to show Kanye West in heaven, this symbolises that he is more powerful in heaven watching over everyone from a great height. Close up shots are used to show the expressions on the characters faces, and what emotions these expressions symbolise.
Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Monday, 28 September 2009
Music Video Analysis
Blink 182 - All The Small Things
The video uses amplacation as the video is edited to the beat of the music and the video is in sync with the song, as the band members are moving their lips in time with the vocals. Even though this video uses amplacation it is also a spoof/parody of other artist’s music videos, such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. The video uses intertextuality because the audience needs to have seen the other videos All the Small Things is making reference to, to fully understand the music video.
All the Small Things has a multi-strand narrative because the video includes many different parody’s of other music videos. You also see the band performing with all their instruments which is separate from the parody’s. You can see this because the band are wearing their usual clothes which show that they belong to the pop-punk genre of music, i.e. they are wearing shorts, long socks, guitar’s played low down, and they have piercings and tattoos.
The mise-en-scene is very different in this music video because overall it has to represent other music videos that the band are making a parody of. At the beginning of the video you see blink 182, dressed to look the Backstreet Boys with their white suits and sunglasses, walking away from a white jet, with the words “Blink 182” written on it. You then see a crowd of screaming girls which then cuts to the Mark Hoppus (Bass Player) of Blink 182 dancing, making fun of the backstreet boys. Another part of the mise-en-scene that makes Blink 182 look like the Backstreet Boys is the fact they are dressed in black t-shirts with cream trousers, dancing like the Backstreet Boys on a beach. The band also parody Britney Spears, as in a couple of scenes you see Tom Delonge (Guitarist) and other band members dancing in combat clothes, designed for woman, in a dance hall. When Tom Delonge is standing beside static binoculars, and licking them, it’s making reference to Britney Spears’s music video, “Sometimes”, even the shot of the head, with the binoculars on the right, is exactly the same as the “Sometimes” video. The video makes reference to Christina Aguilera’s music video for “Genie In A Bottle”, as you see Tom Delonge laying in the sand with flowers around him.
All the Small Things is a spoof so it means that certain aspects of the mise-en-scene are going to be different than the videos the band are making reference to. For example there is a section in the video when you see Mark Tom Delonge in a white shirt, and a gold chain, with his hair being blown, however the camera moves back to find that he is actually sitting on a toilet.
The music video for All The Small Things doesn’t really use many editing techniques, because the video is trying to mimic the camera shots and editing techniques used on the music videos the band are referencing. For example a fade in to a medium long shot is used to show the band all dressed in white at the beginning of the video and a tracking shot is used to show the crowd of screaming girls. A lot of low angle tracking shots are used also, making reference to many of Britney Spears’s music videos. Also a fade is used once or twice in the video to make a transition to the next shot. Another commonly used editing techniques are cut zoom ins, and cut zoom outs, to either focus on a certain band members face, or to focus on the whole band performing etc.
The video uses amplacation as the video is edited to the beat of the music and the video is in sync with the song, as the band members are moving their lips in time with the vocals. Even though this video uses amplacation it is also a spoof/parody of other artist’s music videos, such as the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera. The video uses intertextuality because the audience needs to have seen the other videos All the Small Things is making reference to, to fully understand the music video.
All the Small Things has a multi-strand narrative because the video includes many different parody’s of other music videos. You also see the band performing with all their instruments which is separate from the parody’s. You can see this because the band are wearing their usual clothes which show that they belong to the pop-punk genre of music, i.e. they are wearing shorts, long socks, guitar’s played low down, and they have piercings and tattoos.
The mise-en-scene is very different in this music video because overall it has to represent other music videos that the band are making a parody of. At the beginning of the video you see blink 182, dressed to look the Backstreet Boys with their white suits and sunglasses, walking away from a white jet, with the words “Blink 182” written on it. You then see a crowd of screaming girls which then cuts to the Mark Hoppus (Bass Player) of Blink 182 dancing, making fun of the backstreet boys. Another part of the mise-en-scene that makes Blink 182 look like the Backstreet Boys is the fact they are dressed in black t-shirts with cream trousers, dancing like the Backstreet Boys on a beach. The band also parody Britney Spears, as in a couple of scenes you see Tom Delonge (Guitarist) and other band members dancing in combat clothes, designed for woman, in a dance hall. When Tom Delonge is standing beside static binoculars, and licking them, it’s making reference to Britney Spears’s music video, “Sometimes”, even the shot of the head, with the binoculars on the right, is exactly the same as the “Sometimes” video. The video makes reference to Christina Aguilera’s music video for “Genie In A Bottle”, as you see Tom Delonge laying in the sand with flowers around him.
All the Small Things is a spoof so it means that certain aspects of the mise-en-scene are going to be different than the videos the band are making reference to. For example there is a section in the video when you see Mark Tom Delonge in a white shirt, and a gold chain, with his hair being blown, however the camera moves back to find that he is actually sitting on a toilet.
The music video for All The Small Things doesn’t really use many editing techniques, because the video is trying to mimic the camera shots and editing techniques used on the music videos the band are referencing. For example a fade in to a medium long shot is used to show the band all dressed in white at the beginning of the video and a tracking shot is used to show the crowd of screaming girls. A lot of low angle tracking shots are used also, making reference to many of Britney Spears’s music videos. Also a fade is used once or twice in the video to make a transition to the next shot. Another commonly used editing techniques are cut zoom ins, and cut zoom outs, to either focus on a certain band members face, or to focus on the whole band performing etc.
Green Day - When I Come Around
The video uses amplacation because the shots match the beat of the song and are in sync with the music. The characters in the video have different storylines which lead on from one another, so the video uses a multi-strand narrative.
The music video for ‘When I Come Around’ basically shows different people and how these people contrast each other. The video does this by the camera focusing on one individual, then you see a point-of-view shot of what this person is looking at, which is the next person in the sequence and so-on. This carry’s on until you see the same person that you see at the beginning of the video looking through a window.
At the beginning of the video, establishing shots show were the video is set. You see the rooftops of high buildings, implying the video is set in a city or a large town. The same long shots are used at the end of the video to imply that the song has done a ‘full circle’ almost. The video is also set in the night time so artificial lighting is used throughout the video for mise-en-scene. Tracking medium long shots are used to follow the band members walking through the streets. However you notice that the front man of the band Billie Joe is shown to be in front of the other two band members most of the time. This could be considered to be a MEAT shot also as you see the lead singer closer up.
Cut Zoom Ins are used a lot in the video to gradually show you each person. This is mixed with cross-cutting so that you don’t just see one person then another straight away without not seeing the person the camera was originally focusing on again. Fade outs and fade ins are used for transitions in the video as the action goes from the band walking to the couple walking up the steps to a hotel or apartment.
The band members in the video are wearing very casual, almost untidy clothing showing you that they don’t really care about there appearence necessarily. However the actual characters in the video are wearing contrasting clothing to each other. As one man in the video is wearing a dressing gown, and then the next person the camera focuses on is a woman wearing a suit and a hat, this is so the characters are juxtaposed between each other.
Crane shots are used in the video to follow the person the camera is focusing on at the time. For example the camera focuses on the man wearing the dressing gown in the room with the woman sitting on the couch. The camera then seems to move over the couch following the man to window.
As the solo begins in the song the pace of the video changes as the editing become quicker and you see a point-of-view shot from a person sitting in a car. The time at this point in the video has also been speeded up to match the fast pase of the song.
The video uses amplacation because the shots match the beat of the song and are in sync with the music. The characters in the video have different storylines which lead on from one another, so the video uses a multi-strand narrative.
The music video for ‘When I Come Around’ basically shows different people and how these people contrast each other. The video does this by the camera focusing on one individual, then you see a point-of-view shot of what this person is looking at, which is the next person in the sequence and so-on. This carry’s on until you see the same person that you see at the beginning of the video looking through a window.
At the beginning of the video, establishing shots show were the video is set. You see the rooftops of high buildings, implying the video is set in a city or a large town. The same long shots are used at the end of the video to imply that the song has done a ‘full circle’ almost. The video is also set in the night time so artificial lighting is used throughout the video for mise-en-scene. Tracking medium long shots are used to follow the band members walking through the streets. However you notice that the front man of the band Billie Joe is shown to be in front of the other two band members most of the time. This could be considered to be a MEAT shot also as you see the lead singer closer up.
Cut Zoom Ins are used a lot in the video to gradually show you each person. This is mixed with cross-cutting so that you don’t just see one person then another straight away without not seeing the person the camera was originally focusing on again. Fade outs and fade ins are used for transitions in the video as the action goes from the band walking to the couple walking up the steps to a hotel or apartment.
The band members in the video are wearing very casual, almost untidy clothing showing you that they don’t really care about there appearence necessarily. However the actual characters in the video are wearing contrasting clothing to each other. As one man in the video is wearing a dressing gown, and then the next person the camera focuses on is a woman wearing a suit and a hat, this is so the characters are juxtaposed between each other.
Crane shots are used in the video to follow the person the camera is focusing on at the time. For example the camera focuses on the man wearing the dressing gown in the room with the woman sitting on the couch. The camera then seems to move over the couch following the man to window.
As the solo begins in the song the pace of the video changes as the editing become quicker and you see a point-of-view shot from a person sitting in a car. The time at this point in the video has also been speeded up to match the fast pase of the song.
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Album Cover Breakdown 3
London Calling – The Clash
Monday, 21 September 2009
Album Cover Breakdown 2
American idiot by Green Day
The Green day album cover is a classic and memorable punk rock cover, which gives the classic message that war isn’t the answer. The heart shaped grenade can be perceived as when you hold a grenade you are basically taking someone’s life or a more common saying “you have someone’s life your hands”. This album is a concept album about America’s idiots, which is basically, is the album title “American idiot”. The colours of the album are very bold with the black background; the blood red heart shaped grenade and font, the white arm and font makes the whole album stand out. The generic conventions are adhered because of the mise-en-scene.
Album Cover Breakdown 1
Blink 182 Self-Titled Album
Blink 182 are a pop-punk band, however this particular album was more alternative than their usual songs.
Blink 182 have always been quite lively and funny in the way they act. So their CD covers are usually light hearted, i.e. they don’t have some deep meaning that people can’t see. The CD cover above shows this because the colours are bright, and lively. The logo is also lively, because it shows a smiley face. Overall the CD cover looks like it is meant to represent graffiti art, with the paint blotches. This could be seen as being rebellious because doing graffiti on a wall is anti-social. The parental advisory sticker on the cover is usually placed on any Blink 182 CD because they use bad language in their songs a lot , this adds to the rebellious element of the cover. The generic conventions have been adhered because Blink 182 are a rebellious and lively band, this is shown by certain elements of the mise-en-scene, including the parental advisory sticker and the smiley face logo.
Friday, 18 September 2009
Song choice 2
We have decided to use one of our own songs called "Look At Me", this will mean that we will not need permission to use the song. Therefore we can carry on with our work. Plus it will make our music video more original.
Thursday, 17 September 2009
Song Choice
We are currently waiting for reply's from different bands, however deadlines need to met, so we have decided to use one of our own songs, with no copyright restrictions.
In the mean time we are going choose one song by an artists that we haven't had a reply from yet, "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger, and we are going to breakdown the lyrics and do other prep work, just in case we have a reply in the near future.
We are also going to breakdown the lyrics of our own song etc. This means that if we have no reply from Harvey Danger, then we can use our own song.
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