Textual Analysis - Album Covers

Textual Analysis - Alum Covers

Birdy creates similar music to Gabrielle Aplin (the artists who song I want to use in my video). Her album cover and her videos seem to be carrying the same 'plain and simple' theme, although the lighting on the album cover is alot lighter than the lighting in her videos. She is giving a vacant stare on the cover which implies she is in a deep matter of thought. And the long shot of her shows her fashion style and makes her look small and innocent. This could be relating to her target audience of teenage girls. The image makes the artist look naïve which could relate to her target audience of teenage girls, which in your teen years is when you stereotypically start to experience 'real life'. This could be giving people an insight of what to expect in her music with the 'deep thinking' I believe this is what she was stying to achieve.

This is the back cover of Birdy's album. This is a conventional back cover of an album. It is still in keeping with the front of the album with the 'indie' style, keeping continuity throughout the album cover. Although there is not picture of Birdy on the back it also could be another insight in the simple, minimalistic approach Birdy gives to her music and texts.

Through the front and the back cover of this album I think Birdy had been represented in a couple of different ways. I think with the simplistic way the album is designed emphasises the style of music Birdy creates. I think the mis-en0-scene is a huge factor for this as the clothes she is wearing are all plain and simple, but contemporary with the fashion, which is the style of her music. With the image of Birdy on the front it could be percieved as either showing the 'deeper meaning' behind her music which is what I personally think it does. Or it could be showing her innocence so her target audience are able to relate and confide in her music.

On the album cover that I am going to create I want to make it fairly similar to this album as I want to create the innocent vibe of the artist through the album cover and I think the vancy in her stare helps contribute towards the innocence of the artist.

From doing this piece of research I now have many ideas of what I want on my album cover. I think it is important for the type of artist I am making the album digipak for that some of what I do is very conventional. This is important as although challenging the conventions is a good thing. I think I will do a conventional front cover, using a close up image of the artist, but may create a slightly less conventional back cover.

Textual Analysis – Birdy Skinny Love

  I have chosen to do a textual analysis of Birdy's “Skinny Love” because this is the genre of music I plan to create my music video for. It is song similar to the Gabrielle Aplin song that I want to use.  

The term skinny love is defined as "When you're in a relationship because you need to be, but that's not necessarily why you should be in a relationship. And that's skinny; it doesn't have weight. Skinny love doesn't have a chance because it's not nourished."

 

   One of the first shots in the music video is a mid-close up of the artist at a piano, this shot is pretty cliché for this genre of music. But it gives the audience an impression of what the video is going to be like. It also implies that the singer has written the song as they are playing it at the piano. Therefore making it more impressive for the audience. The duration of the shot is five seconds which is quite a slow for an editing pace, but it suits the pace to the song.  

The next few shots are of the singer walking through a run-down house which again, is pretty cliché for this genre of music.

Camera Shots

 Mid Shot

 Close up

 Mid-Close up

 Long Shot

Extreme Close up

The camera shots throughout the music video there aren't really any long-shots besides the one which I have shown, I think this is because the song is very emotional and they want the audience to feel this, making it quite intimate and more relatable. 

Mis En Scene

The mise en scene in the video is all very natural and neutral. The setting is all very run down which implies the song is about a bad memory or just a memory of the relationship she is or was in.  

Cinematography 

Focus graphs are a huge factor of Indie music videos. 

Sound

The sound throughout is non-diegetic as it is a song added after editing.  

Who is the target audience for this text? – From watching the “Skinny Love” video I think it is pretty clear who the target audience from the text is. From the age of the singer, emotion of the video I think it is targeted at teenage girls. 

Representations of social groups

The social groups represented in this text are young females. People always stereotype teenage girls as 'emotional' and in your teen years you start to grow up and develop the type of person you become as an adult, which is what I think this song is about. Birdy (the singer) doesn't really show a significant emotion in the video, like the rest of the conventions of the video she is very neutral. This represents her as a sensitive teenage girl which is stereotypical for the age of her. 

Summary – Doing this textual analysis has helped me to decide what I want in my music video and what I do not want. It has also helped to reassure me in the conventions of a indie pop video so I know what is important for me to recreate within mine.

In the “Skinny Love” video I thought that the connection between the song and the text was very effective. When you first watch the video it is hard to tell what the meaning of the video is, it just looks as though Birdy is performing a song a the piano. Once I watched the video a few more times, and knew what the term 'Skinny Love' meant I began to understand the connection and I think it was a clever and effective way of doing it. It shows her letting out her feelings of her relationship.

I also found that the neutral colours that were used throughout the video worked very well. The colours gave the video the same emotion as the song. 

Although there were many things I liked about the text, there were also some things that I disliked.I found that the video was too dark and although it was good for the mood of the song they could have used lighter natural colours. 

In the text that I create I will avoid using alot of low lighting because the audience may find the video too hard to follow or struggle to see the shots. I will work out the target audience for the song, and then keep the same target audience for the video.

My own music video is very similar to this one with the settings of the wood and the shabby feel in the video. In addition, the conventions of an indoe pop music video are seen, with the isolated location, the story line, the artist singing, the camera shots and movements such as pans across the setting as all evident in this music video. This confirming that to make a good acoustic music video it is best to stick to the conventions to make it look convincing and be successful is put out into the media light as a real media text.

Demographics & Psychographics

Socio-EconomicPeople in the UK are targeted based on their social class.
The categories are A, B, C1, C2, D, and E.
The things they are based on are things like, Occupations, Education, Economic status and Background.
Most newspapers in the UK still use this system to categorise people.

A – Upper Middle Class
B - Middle Class
C1 – Lower Middle Class
C2 – Skilled Working Class
D – Working Class
E – Those at the lowest level of subsistence.

Social Groups
There are many social groups, and most people are categorised in one.
- Rebel
- Trendies
- Cowboys
- Groupies
- Utopian
- Traditionalist
- Puritan
- Drop-Out
- Innovator
- Egoist
- Drifter
- Cynic

That is only to state a few, there are lots of different categories.

Psychographics

Psychographics is looking at the way people see themselves and the kind of lifestyle they would like to have. It involves looking at where you think you are now and where and what you want to be in the future.
- Succeeder
- Mainstreamer
- Individuals
- Carriers

By researching certain types of groups it will help us to define our target audience and ensure we have the codes of conventions in our music video for our target audience.

Reply From Gabrielle's Manager

On the 18th of September we were given the confirmation for the go head oh the song Gabrielle Aplin - Home by her manager James Barnes.

Regulating Bodies

OFCOM

OFCOM stands for the “Office of Communications”. It is an organisation that regulates TV and radio sectors, ensuring people who watch TV and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material. OFCOM also protects people from being treated unfairly in television and radio shows.

Under 18s – sexual content, drugs and language

OFCOM feel it is very important to protect under 18’s from harmful and offensive material. Younger viewers can be easily influenced by what they watch on TV so have created laws that programme makers must abide by.

• They believe that programme makers should always consider the impact that the representation of the use of illegal drugs, the abuse of drugs, smoking, solvent abuse and the misuse of alcohol, may have on younger viewers.
• OFCOM would not expect programme makers to allow frequent occurrences of material that condones, encourages or glamorises the use or abuse of these substances

OFCOM also regulate the amount of violence that can be shown within a programme. They are concerned in areas with the use of accessible domestic implements such as knives, or other offensive weapons.

Offensive language is also an area of concern for OFCOM. They understand that it is a feature of British life and in certain contexts it has an appropriate place in broadcasting. However, there is a concern with the harm it may have to young children who may be watching. There is a concern that children may imitate this offensive language even when their parents or carers have told them it is wrong.

A variety of music videos are watched by children. However, OFCOM are concerned where song lyrics may cause offence, and ask broadcasters too possibly use track remixes or edits. Some videos will only be shown after watershed if OFCOM believe the video will cause serious harm and offence to young watchers.

Under 18’s – employed in film/video

OFCOM takes extreme caution and has rules that all broadcasters must comply with if any under eighteen appears in or participates in a programme. Broadcasters must always take into consideration the child’s welfare. If a participant is under sixteen, OFCOM asks broadcasters to ensure that there is consent from a parent, guardian or other person over eighteen. When given consent by parents or guardians, OFCOM believe it is the broadcaster’s duty to make sure the parent understands the full implications of their child’s participation. Programme makers are told to highlight both the positive and negative likely outcomes from participating in programme.

Flashing Images

Flashing images can cause seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. This is why OFCOM have specific guidelines for broadcasters who use flashing images in their programme. OFCOM say that all broadcasters should give a clear warning before the programme starts that flashing images may occur.

My Music Video

After reading through OFCOM’s guidelines, I have realised what I can and cannot put into my video. I was not planning on showing drug use, violence or sexual content in my video so these guidelines don’t apply and have not changed my plans. As the song I plan to use has no strong or offensive language, these guidelines also do not apply. I will be using under 18’s in my video, so I will have to ensure that no harm can be done when filming. I will also not be using under 16’s so will not have to worry with asking for their parent’s written consent. I will also need to be careful to comply with guidelines regarding to flashing images. In my video I want to have a series of patterns of change of colour, so I will have to ensure that the speed of the changes complies with OFCOM’s rules.

By doing this task it has benefitted me as now I know what content I can and cannot use in my music video if I want it to be suitable for the viewing of under 18's, which I do.

History and Developments of Music Videos

What is a music video?
Music videos are created and produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Most modern music videos are made as a marketing device to help to promote the sale of music recordings. Music videos became most popular in the 1980’s when MTV was created and based its company on showing music videos. Before the 80’s, music videos were referred to as “illustrated song” or a “promotional film”. Music videos can be made in a variety of different styles using a mixture of techniques such as animation, live action filming, non-narrative and abstract.

MTV

MTV is an American network based in New York City that was launched in 1981. The original purpose of MTV was to be “Music Television” showing music videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, guided by on-air personalities known as VJ’s (Video Jockeys). MTV had a huge impact on the music industry and popular culture, the idea of a dedicated video-based outlet for music was introduced and both artists and fans found a central location for music events, news and promotion. MTV have faced criticisms for the moral influence they have on young people, including issues related to censorship and social activism.

For the last two decades of the 20th century, the music industry rotated along the axis of MTV. The company represented a direct line into the hearts and minds of music consumers around the world, and their main form of expression was music video.

When MTV launched in August 1981 and blasted “Video Killed the Radio Star” through American households, it represented the ambitions of a company who wanted to significantly influence popular culture. It succeeded in a big way, earning millions of pounds. It remains a critical part of the music industry by leveraging music videos to help flesh out the image of acts as diverse as Michael Jackson and Green Day, Guns n’ Roses and 2Pac. 

This is a massive difference from today, where the company is more focused on reality television than music videos, and is now in a battle with Vevo to serve the music video watching populace on the web.

It was the digital revolution in the late 90s that really put the pressure on the entire music industry as it was. Music videos, which primarily served as an advertisement for record sales, feared losing their pillars of support as the big labels worried about declining CD sales as a result of availability of music online, for free. 

Now, not only is MTV used for music, it also shows programmes such as Cribs. This programme is based on showing celebrities houses, and lifestyles, all of this is a way of promoting the artist.

Developments

Over the past year, it is fair to say that technology has increased greatly, this has had a massive effect on the music industry. I believe that the advance in technology has effected the music industry in a very positive way. It has allowed artist to increase the standard of not only the music itself but also the music video.

Not only has it allowed the standard to increase it also has made new places for artist to publish their music. For example, Youtube,
Youtube has become one of the biggest online sites for where people view music from.
Many artist are found on Youtube, for example, Justin Beiber has become a world wide star and it was all down to youtube. 

Conventions Of A Music Video

Conventions of a music video

I have looked at 3 different music videos that are all the same genre of music that I want to create my video for. I have used these videos to help me develop and understand what conventions and similarities each video has, so that I can design my video to fit with these conventions.
The three songs I decided to compare were Birdy 'Skinny Love', Birdy 'People Help The People' and Christina Perri 'Jar Of Hearts'. By looking at these three snapshots it has made me realise at-least two things I need to include in my video. 

Close ups- they are often used to emphasise the lyrics of the song that are being spoken.

A dark feel to the video- most 'indie' music videos seem to be quite poorly lighted or in black and white, maybe this is to emphasise the message they are trying to put across in the song and video. 

Birdy - Skinny Love

Birdy - People Help The People

Christina Perri - Jar Of Hearts















The pace of the editing in all three songs seems to be quite fast paced and there seems to be no more than three seconds between each cut.

Contrasted with pop videos- indie videos seem to use neutral colours, black and whites whereas pop videos tend to use bright colours.

Contrasted with 'Skinny Genes' by Eliza Doolittle 'Skinny Love' by Birdy seems to be a lot darker neutral compared to the pop video which uses clear, bright images and bright, bold colours

In my video I will make sure I use a form of dim lighting and neutral colours and similar camera shots to fit the codes and conventions of Indie music video.

Permissions

Permissions

For our coursework we wanted to create a music video to the song ‘Home’ by Gabrielle Aplin. As this song is copyrighted I needed to get permission from the record label to use it in our coursework. To gain permission we decided to send an email stating what the song would be used for and promising that only myself, my teacher and the exam board would be able view the music video on a password protected online site. . Here is the email I sent:

"Hello,
Our names are Katy and Polly and we are studying Media as one of our A Levels at Tavistock College and we have been set the task to create and produce a music video for our final piece of practical work. We have been thinking long and hard about what song we would like to use for this piece of work and we have decided we would like to use Gabrielle Aplin's song Home as we are both big fans. 
We would like to ask your permission to use this song for our video which will only be viewed by our teacher and the exam board of OCR. 
We would appreciate it if you could get back to us.
Thank you,
Katy Cowie & Polly Sargent"

Initial Song Ideas

Initial song ideas

After deciding upon creating a music video for my project I started looking for potential songs I could use.

Here are some of the songs I may use for my music video;

To Build A Home - Cinemactic Orchestra.

This song was my first port of call because it is one of my favourite songs and the song in itself is very adabtable because there aren't any lyrics in it. Therefore, it would be easy to create a good narrative for the video.

However, I decided against this song because I thought it may a little too challenging as because of the little amount of lyrics in the song it may become boring and repetitive- and because it is an orchestration it may not appeal to as many people as a more popular contemporary song would.

Good Morning Sunshine - Alex Day

The first song I looked at would be described as 'chill out' music and I wanted to look at all genres of music before actually deciding on a final song. I thought of this song because the person who wrote and performed the song is an independent musician therefore I thought it would be easier to get the rights of the song. Another reason I thought this song could be potential for my music video because the song is very 'bright' and upbeat.

The reason I decided not to do this song is because I  enjoyed the 'official video' too much and I found it hard picturing different ways I could adapt the song. Also because the song has a naraative in the lyrics that also went with the video and I didn;t want to feel as if I was copying the offical video.

                                              

This Kiss - Alex Day (feat. Carrie Hope Fletcher)

This song is again by the same artist as 'Good Morning Sunshine' and again my reasoning for him being an independent artist is why I chose this song. Along with the other reason I also loved the cover of the song 'This Kiss' and I think with this song I could adapt it easily and give a good narrative/performance to the video.

Gabrielle Aplin - Home

This is the song I am going to use for my music video. I decided to use this song because Gabrielle Aplin is again an independent musician and I thought it would be easier to get permission. And the genre of her music suited the style of music video we wanted to create.