RESEARCH: Questionnaire

I have constructed a questionnaire to gain some insight into the typical target audience for music videos - teens and young adults. I wanted to gage thier opinions on three different music videos, from three very different bands/artists that fall under the genre of pop (Hurts and Gaga) and indie (Arctic Monkeys). Once I have gathered a substantial amount of data, I hope to use the information to further plan my video planning so that I can be sure I am pitching in the right direction - one which will appeal to my target audience. Some of my questions are open ended, I did this to ensure I not only received statistical answers but responses that would allow me to investigate different aspects of the music video that appeal to my target audience.

Comparison: Hurts Stay
Arctic Monkeys Fluorescent Adolescent
Lady Gaga Beautiful, Dirty, Rich

Disregard any prior knowledge of the songs and focus on the video itself rather than the artist/band.

1. On first viewing, which of the three videos most appeals to you and why?
a. Hurts b. Arctic Monkeys c. Lady Gaga
2. How important do you think it is that a music video’s images correspond to the lyrics of the song?
a. Very important b. Moderately important c. Not important
3. Which video do you feel is most successful in relating the lyrics to the imagery?
a. Hurts b. Arctic Monkeys c. Lady Gaga
4. Do you like there to be a level of continuity between a Band/Artist’s various music videos? (For example OK Go!)
a. Yes b. No
If yes, then why?

These questions refer to Hurts Stay

5. What about this video appeals to you most?
6. How effective do you feel the choice of location was in creating the mood of the video?
a. Very effective b. Quite Effective c. Ineffective
7. Do you think this video would have been as successful had it been shot indoors?
a. Yes b. No
8. Do you think the video would have been as effective had the band not been featured?
a. Yes b. No
If yes, why?

These questions refer to Arctic Monkey’s Fluorescent Adolescent

9. What about this video appeals to you most?
10. How important do you think the use of costume was in creating the mood for the video?
a. Very important b. Quite important c. Unimportant
11. The video has an amateur feel – do you feel it would have been as successful had it been shot in a professional manner? (With more emphasis put on lighting and steady camera shots)
a. Yes b. No
12. Do you think the video would have been more effective had the band been featured?
a. Yes b. No
If yes, why?

These questions refer to Gaga Beautiful, Dirty, Rich

13. What about this video appeals to you most?
14. How important do you think the use of props was in setting the scene for this video?
a. Very important b. Quite important c. Unimportant
15. To what extent do you feel the lighting used in this video adds to the overall video quality?
16. Do you think the video would have been as effective had the artist not been featured?
a. Yes b. No
If yes, why?

Thank You for Partaking

RESEARCH: Pop- Culture References in Music Videos

CASE STUDY: Lady Gaga's Telephone

Hurts' Wonderful Life

Hurts' Stay

Christina Aguilera's Candyman

Audiences are no longer content with watching their idol dancing around and miming the lyrics to their song in the same fashion as a fan. Though the four music videos I intend to analyse run from the long established Aguilera, through the infamous Lady Gaga to the relatively new Hurts; the principle remains the same - integrating artists/bands into popular culture via pop-culture works. However the method in which the Music Industry is applying this theory is inherently reliant on the band's image. For example, Hurts who have been marketed with a cool minimalism which has been maintained fluently via their music videos, image and how they conduct themselves. Therefore the label has tapped into the typical fan base for such a band to create music videos that reference cult imagery that would be recognised by their audience. In the same way Lady Gaga's telephone is a 'sort of "all-you-can-eat" buffet for those who dine almost exclusively on popular culture.'1 The video glimpses an eclectic mix of snippets from popular legends and cult films to adverts and well-known comics. This is a crucial example of audience manipulation where the viewer can get more involved in the video through the use of recognisable iconography which may potentially be associated with that particular artist/video in the future. Christina Aguilera's Candyman plays on this also. It follows the stylised fashion that Aguilera's music videos always portrays however it is set in post WW2 America, encapsulating 1940s/50s imagery of returned soldiers but also drawing from popular war propaganda and was 'inspired by The Andrew Sisters’ “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”2

The Hurts' Wonderful Life video shows a scene of Theo Hutchcraft floating in a swimming pool that looks typically 1950/60s LA and is indeed reminiscent of Sunset Boulevard (1950) a cult film. Though the film is sixty years old, a shot like this typically adheres to a student audience who are likely to be aware of such references. Therefore this is a classic example of a film reference being used as a method of association, as Hurts project a very 'old-world' image and take heed of 50s iconography moreover expresses their minimalistic old fashioned image.

Hurts' video Stay references Grant Wood's famous painting 'American Gothic'. The reference appears relatively upmarket an perhaps splits viewers in terms of those who will recognise such references however it is a response by the label as to who is the band's likely audience. In this case it very much adheres to students who are likely to be knowledgeable on popular culture, the arts and film references.

The colours, the bold font, everything about this title screams Tarantino. It's a clever link to make as Tarantino is one of the most influential directors in modern film making and the outlandish violence, and heaving swearing in his movies make his audience predominantly the younger generation (those most likely or expected to respond to the humour and content of his movies). Therefore to begin a Gaga music video with a title sequence that is completely unarguably reminiscent of Tarantino's work is a strong way to ensure the younger audience, who is likely to be Lady Gaga's desired following , respond positively.

Two girls driving off into the unknown, it's incredibly evocative of Thelma and Louise (1991) and a reference to a well know American adventure film like this is very important. It will not only be familiar to those who have seen the movie, but the end of Thelma and Louise is one of the most well known endings and therefore leaves the audience questioning the fate of the two protagonists in Telephone. The music label is exploiting the audiences knowledge of pop-culture and merging it into one to create a music video that fulfils all the criteria. Thus this Gaga video has already become a well known piece of pop-culture simply by emulating existing trends.

The large comic strip writing tops off the stylised imagery in Telephone. Comic strips, though lacking in popularity, are one of the oldest forms of visual entertainment and the 'SMACK' and 'WROOM' in Gaga's video emphasise the pop-culture atmosphere that is created in this video.

As Candyman is set in the 1950s it caters to the typical iconography associated with that time, for example the classic American diner, which ties in the video with well known films such as Grease (set: 1959). It therefore provides a familiar standpoint for a fan base that is likely to be predominately young teenage girls, as Grease is generally associated with the same demographic.

Aguilera's Candyman draws from popular WW2 Propaganda (above: a 1940s poster to encourage Women to join the war effort.) It has become a popular piece of iconography from the time and symbolises the 'go-getter' attitude that many Women had during WW2, therefore it is relatively in-keeping with Christina Aguilera's usual message of 'girl power' that comes across in her music videos. This is a clever piece of marketing as it advertises Aguilera as a strong independent woman whilst drawing from popular imagery of the time to maintain the feel of the music video.

To conclude, the music video market is growing rapidly, thus so are the demands of the audience. Though original ideas are crucial to making any good music video and indeed promoting any band/artist successfully; audiences also want to be able to familiarise with the music video. This may be the reason why so many strive to not only promote an artist as an individual but integrate them into already successful popular culture by referencing cult films, iconography and images relevant to the feel of the specific music video. There is something inherently satisfying about spotting a shot in a music video and knowing the thinking behind it, therefore this strategy works to grab consumers' attention with the familiar but but a different spin on it. It keeps the audience focused on the music video and can also help to promote the artist/band in a certain way. This may be a tactic I employ when filming and editing my music video as it will make it successful in terms of audience participation but also will be good to show a certain period in history or convey a certain look to hold the viewer's attention.

1.MTV article (Lady Gaga’s review)

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1633858/20100312/lady_gaga.jhtml

2. KOVIDEO (Candyman review)

http://www.kovideo.net/candyman-video-christina-aguilera-242063.html

RESEARCH: Minimalism vs. Elaboration

CASE STUDY: Hurts Wonderful Life, Lady Gaga Beautiful, Dirty, Rich

There are two major routes towards making music videos that labels are currently following. You have relatively unknown bands like Hurts who are making stark minimalist videos that reflect the 'what you see is what you get' attitude of the band. It's a far cry from the dripping decadence of a Lady Gaga music video that is less music video and more feature film.

When Lady Gaga releases a new single, no one hopes for an accurate depiction of everyday life. Though her work isn't entirely surrealist and it usually has a fluent narrative throughout the video, it represents a lifestyle that is unknown and exotic to your average-Joe fan. Each video becomes an almost fulfilling prophecy; each one out does the previous as each has a bigger budget, thus her fame grows and each video gets more hype and popularity. At the other end of the spectrum is Hurts who despite being a relatively new band have built an image on cool minimalism that is displayed not only via their music videos but through their clothes and how they carry themselves.

Hurts' Wonderful Life relies on lingering shots of seemingly still images. The video reeks of 1950/60s LA, with the whole thing being shot around a pool, with all the cast wearing black or white. Though the pool location is exceptionally tried and tested - there are no bikini-clad women, instead the choreographed element to the video seems to centre on a synchronised swim team. Continuing Hurts' tradition of a long drawn out introduction the song doesn't get going until 15 seconds in. Though the in between shots are that of still figures, the eye is not drawn away from the perfect shapes silhouetted by the dancers or the contrast between the blue of the pool and the grey sky.

When the song gets going, the shots are edited in time and it switches between a narrative (presumably a man who has lost someone) and the duo performing. Though the main colour palette for the piece is grey, the way in which it is shot appears expensive, and the stark minimalism appears plush.

In stark contrast, Beautiful, Dirty, Rich begins in the typical Gaga manner; an extreme closeup of shocking red lips that is instantly identifiable as the artist herself. From then we see a slow moving group walking towards the camera, cut in time to the music. The camera position in correspondence to the figures is hugely important, as the group (headed by Lady Gaga) walk towards the camera in a way that signifies authority and power, instantly drawing the eye to the artist who is miming the lyrics. To tie in the title, there is money being thrown about and it is shot in a lavish mansion; everything to submerge the audience in a lifestyle that is completely unknown. There is something intriguing about getting a glimpse into the Hollywood lifestyle, and this video plays it to the maximum, with money being burnt, mansions being trashed, to suggest frivolity and carelessness.

The video continues along the general theme of being 'filthy rich' as Gaga and co. sit round a table counting/burning money. Not one shot lacks colour or eccentricity, as is expected from a Lady Gaga video - there is nothing mundane about her costumes, make up or presentation. A distinct feature of a Gaga video is ECUs of her face, here used to emphasis the lavish atmosphere, e.g Gaga eating money. One feature of this video that is especially interesting is the lighting, although it is bright in the centre of the screen, the edges are darkened to draw the eye only to the object/person in question. This lighting hints at exclusivity as though the audience have been ushered in for a glimpse of the high life. Everything about this video screams decadence and superficiality and it is this elaborate story telling that makes Gaga's music videos some of the most expensive and sought after. It is this 'more is more' approach to music videos that make them an incredibly interesting medium - they're usually less than five minutes long and Lady Gaga's label crams the five minutes full of every notion of the prolific lifestyle to provide a means of escapism for an audience most likely made up of average teenagers.

The two videos launch the viewer into an unknown world, both provide a glimpse of the unfamiliar, from Gaga's decadent surroundings to the old world glamour of the Hurts. Though Hurts goes for a 'less is more' approach in their filming, the video doesn't appear any less professional than one that has clearly required a volume of props, hair, make up, costume etc. Therefore, what I can draw from these two videos is that to get a clean, professional finish, I will need to put serious thought into my lighting and location. The location needs to reflect the theme of the song, much as it does in these two videos. The lighting will be exceptionally important, and I will experiment with different techniques such as vignette, so that the edges fade off for the same exclusivity that Beautiful, Dirty, Rich emulates. I will either chose to go down the lavish route, where the eye is drawn to the brilliant, eye catching costumes and strong imagery, or via the minimalist route where shots are drawn out to accentuate the narrative of the piece.

RESEARCH: Performance, Narrative and Concept Music Videos

Performance

Arctic Monkeys' Teddy Picker is a purely performance based video. It focuses on the band during studio time, whilst recording the song. The idea of shooting in the studio is not new in any sense (Band Aid 1984), however what is inventive about Arctic Monkey's performance is the extended introduction where the listener is seemingly immersed in their rehearsal, with lines from the song being sung by front man Alex Turner and motifs from the song being rehearsed. There are definite positives in shooting a purely performance based video, for example, the sound quality and the professional environment they are recording in coupled with the amateur style they are shooting in, make the piece appear unpretentious and fits in seamlessly with the band's 'rough and ready' approach. As the market for recording music is declining, there has been a boom in live music popularity and the industry is valued at '£743m in the UK, up 8% on 2006'1 therefore a video like this is very clever as it gives a taster of the band's live music performance at the same time as promoting their tour. The video is also very personal, and allows a glimpse at the character of the group. It upholds the band's indie reputation, as despite being a well known and incredibly popular group, they remain signed to independent label - Domino Records.

Narrative

Guns N' Roses' November Rain has been described as 'the grandaddy of all narrative music videos'2 and follows the wedding Axl Rose and Stephanie Seymour. The reasons behind this video's fame results from the continuous story that is followable throughout the 9 minute piece, however to keep the crowd guessing, the video is left on a cliffhanger. How did Seymour die? Was she trampled by wedding guests? Did Axl kill her? Or was it suicide? Quintessentially, this held the same effects of a short film and the iconic faces of Guns N' Roses just furthered the videos cult appeal. The narrative stance is in effect an opportunity for storytelling without the burden of speech, thus allowing the audience to draw thier own conclusions from the images. The video had a huge budget of about $1.5 million, with the dress worn by Stephanie Seymour worth $8,000. It is one of the most expensive music videos ever made.3 This video has become an icon of 1990s music videos and is heralded as one of the best ever, ultimately the band produced a video that not only promoted thier music but provided a short film that further displayed the bands willingness to entertain via thier videos.

Concept

Genesis' Land of Confusion is an elaborate feat of puppetry, that characterises many famous and controversial faces from the 1980s. The video was widely played at the time of its release an parodies, much like Team America did in 2004, political figures, who at the time were unable to resolve the military tension resulting from the continuing Cold War. The video particularly centres on Ronald Reagon who has dozed off into a nightmare, where puppet heads of Cold War figures are seen being uprooted from a swamp. The video shows Mussolini, Khomeini, Gorbachev and his aides as Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack characters and Reagon donning a superman suit whilst ironically, the lyrics suggest him to be completely uncapable of saving the nation from the grips of Cold War. The video received critical acclaim and was immensly influential in exposing the politcal shortcomings of the time. Quintessentially, this video is a detailed commentry derived from the mass of political and military tension at the time and the music is used to further emphasise the issue. Concept videos when exercised correctly are incredibly good to watch, as so often they become a narrative of current affairs, which may be why Genesis' video even today is still heralded as one of the best concepts as it exposes the reaction to the events of the 1980s through the seemingly light hearted medium of music.

1. The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/nov/17/musicnews.music

2. http://ihatewheat.wordpress.com/2007/10/17/list-best-narrative-videos/

3. Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_Rain

RESEARCH: History of the Music Video

'The videos helped people articulate their own tentative feelings.'

Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. Music Videos first came into prominence in the 1980s, when MTV based their format around the medium, however their origins date back much further. 'In the early days of MTV’s domination, complained that music videos imprinted prefabricated images onto the shifting illusions of a song. When a music video strikes a nerve, it gives pop listeners a rare chance to interpret a song visually. And these ready-made mental pictures that came across on the TV screen could powerfully influence our own imaginings. Viewers learned how to dance, dress, flirt and dream.' 1

During the 1920s many musical short films were produced, these were known as 'talkies' and many featured bands, vocalist and dancers. In 1930 the first true musical video series was created by Spooner Melodies. Typically shorts were six minutes in duration and juxtaposed a performance by an artist with Art Deco-style animations and backgrounds. In more recent days music videos have been used as a source of uniting audiences and creating collectives, for example Metallica’s 'Enter Sandman' playlisted next to De La Soul’s 'A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturdays', turning on R&B romantics to the joys of Britpop. 'These examples of cross-cultural pollination were never-before-thought-of instances of visual democracy, true Pop. The popularity of music video derived from the new thrill of putting imagery to music, the surprise of making graphics out of the beat.' 2

Top: Madonna Material Girl Above: Marilyn Monroe Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

Another precursor to the music video was 'musical films' which tended to imitate classic Hollywood musicals from the 1930s and 1950s. A well known example is Madonna's 1985 video 'Material Girl' (directed by Mary Lambert) which was inspired by Jack Cole's staging of Marilyn Monroe's 'Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend' from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Similarly many Michael Jackson videos show unmistakable reference to Hollywood musicals for example the Martin Scorsese directed 'Bad' which was heavily influenced by the stylised dance 'fights' in West Side Story.

A Hard Day's Night - 1964

The Beatles' influence was undeniably strong during the 60s and in '64 they starred in their first feature film 'A Hard Day's Night' directed by Richard Lester. It was structed in a loose musical fantasia, shot in black and white and presented as a 'mockumentary'. ' ... he influenced many other films. Today when we watch TV and see quick cutting, hand-held cameras, interviews conducted on the run with moving targets, quickly intercut snatches of dialogue, music under documentary action and all the other trademarks of the modern style, we are looking at the children of A Hard Day's Night.' - Roger Ebert (film critic) In 1965 the Beatles produced thier second feature, 'Help!' which was filmed in colour and of a much more elaborate nature.

Music videos have always placed thier viewers on the cusp of fresh sub-cutlures to reveal unknown worlds and lives, which intensifies the escapist attitude of many music video audiences. 'Music video watchers were thrust ahead of the cultural curve but were provided fresh insight into contemporary social issues—teased into using their political imaginations.' 3

All references http://www.nypress.com/article-16889-official-history-of-music-video.html