Production - Choosing my song

Observing all of my research into the genre of rock music so far, I have now chosen my song. Rock itself is a very wide and extensive genre. Therefore, when I was researching into various rock artists, I made sure to include artists from the various different sub-genres. For example, I have researched into the artist 'Black Veil Brides' - who are a rock 'n' roll band; 'Kaiser Chiefs' - who come under the genre of indie rock; 'Queen' - who are a classic rock band, and most significantly, I have researched into the pop-punk/pop-rock band 'Panic! At The Disco' - and this is the artist I am using for my music video.

"Death Of A Bachelor" by 'Panic! At The Disco' 

The song I have chosen to cover by the band is the song "Golden Days" from their latest album 'Death Of A Bachelor'. The reason I chose this song is because I feel it will suit well with a video that adopts the expected codes and conventions of a pop-rock video. Panic! are a band who are known for using expected conventions from other genres within their music and their videos. Often, their videos do not follow a specific storyline and the eccentric style of their videos means they appeal to a wider audience.
The reason I have chosen "Golden Days" as my song is because I believe that I will be able to produce a video with a loose storyline that still appeals to my target audience, whilst adopting the expected conventions of both pop and rock videos.

It's a song with a kind of 'summer vibe', so I am going to film along Southend Seafront - along the various attractions. The main two subjects of my video are going to be 2 teenage girls, and my video will try and highlight their friendship through their adventures. The lyrics of the song discusses the past and the good days that we remember and look back on. Therefore, I myself am going to be the artist for the song. I will film myself lip-synching in my room, using a lot of medium and close-up shots to focus on my facial expressions as well as my clothing and make-up. I want to wear clothes typical of the punk-rock sub-genre - jeans, a black top, chain jewellery and dark make-up. The girls on the seafront will be dressed in brighter colours to help contradict my character (conforming to the typical convention of rock videos to contradict light and dark). The idea is that my character will be reflecting on life when they were younger and the happiest moments of their life.

Research - My Analysis of "End of the World" by 'Juliet Simms' music video

Research - My Analysis of "Helena" by 'My Chemical Romance'

Goodwin’s theory	Helena
1. Genre Characteristics - the use of dark colours/direct mode of address and symbols such as the candles that connote the idea of purity at the end of a life. The dark colours are stereotypical expectations of rock videos. - various shots of the artist’s singing and playing their instruments, including; close ups, extreme close ups, medium and long shots.
2. Relationship between lyrics and visuals - “Just like the hearse you die to get in again” = we see a woman lying in a coffin through a crab shot. We also see one of the band members, Frank Iero, in the shot – showing how the band involve themselves in the narrative-concept of the video. - “Blade you’ll stain” = the artist pretends to slit his neck. The emotion is evident in his face and creates a more empowering, emotional atmosphere to the video, allowing the audience to connect with the artist and the real-life situation surrounding the video.
3. Relationship between music and visuals - there is a specific rhythm played on the kick drum that signals a change in pace and feel to the music. As this happens, the ballerina (also playing ‘Helena’) drops her flowers to the floor – matching the beat in the music.
4. Visual Styles (Close-ups and motifs) - several shots show the setting of the funeral, which is a clever editing technique as the large crowd aren’t actually there. - there is a repetitive use of medium and extreme close-ups on the lead singer, Gerard, throughout the video to provide clear focus on his facial expressions. It allows an audience to understand the true devestation the artist feels at losing his grandma, and it makes the narrative of a funeral. - a colour scheme of black and red are a clear motif in this video; symbolising death, loss, love and heartbreak.
5. Voyeurism - evidently, the artist is attractive, but the main focus of voyeurism in this video is to use close ups and direct mode of address, along with dark colours, costumes and heavy eye makeup to create an air of melancholy and make an audience empathise strongly with the artist’s situation.
6. Intertextuality - “Helena” is the name of the single and the theme of the video is a funeral. It also links to the meaning of the song. The lead singer, Gerard Way and his brother (the bassist), Mikey, lost their grandma whose name was Elena – highlighting how the song was made in memory of her.

Progress for this Lesson - 27/09/16

Whist working on my coursework at home over the weekend, I managed to begin my analysis of the music video for "End of the World" by 'Juliet Simms'. Through this analysis, I am making sure to include key terminology by; identifying the shot type, the affect this has as well as using theory terms about the codes and conventions of various music videos and the opinions of people such as Andrew Goodwin.

I have 38 different shots to analyse; however, I may analyse some together as a whole if they present similar ideas. This way, I avoid repeating myself too often. Also, I will always make sure to highlight my key words, so that it is clear I am using the correct terminology in my analysis.

Research - My Analysis of "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by 'Panic! At The Disco' music video

Progress for this lesson - 21/09/16

At the start of this lesson, I decided to carry on working on a Prezi presentation I am producing to analyse screenshots I have taken from the music video for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by 'Panic! At The Disco'. Placing my screenshots next to blocks of writing where I use GLARN, as well as my research into the codes and conventions (and typical conventions of music videos) to analyse these shots, and decide if they conform to or contradict them. I payed particular attention to Andrew Goodwin's theory and the 7 expectations he lists; as well as the codes and conventions of rock music videos.

Through the first half of the lesson and progressed much further - I still have a few screenshots left to analyse.

These are all my screenshots from the video for "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
by 'Panic! At The Disco'.

Lastly, to end this lesson I watched a few more videos on YouTube to decide what one I would analyse. I have decided I am going to analyse Juliet Simms video for her song "End of The World" - I have 38 screenshots from this, and so far it is the music video I am most looking forward to analysing. 

Research - My Analysis of "Coffin" by 'Black Veil Brides' music video

Research - My Analysis of "This Is Gospel" by 'Panic! At The Disco' music video

Planning - Music Video Mood Board

MUSIC VID MONTAGE from Sophie Rudd on Vimeo.

Research - A Timeline of Music Videos

Research - History of Music Videos

• Modern music videos originally made as a marketing device to promote the sale of music - used to be called 'promos'.
• The earliest videos date back to the 1950's
  - The Beatles first major motion picture 'A Hard Day's Night' (1964) set the basic vocabulary for today's music videos.
• 1970's;
  - shows like 'Top of the Pops' promoted new bands and created competition between artists as producers limited the number of videos shown - so a good video meant more chance of success and an increase in sales. 
• 1980's;
  - 1981 = the launch of MTV.
  - in the 1980's David Bowie got his first no.1
  - artists began to use more sophisticated effects and started to add storylines and concepts to their videos. 
• Michael Jackson was the first artist to create a 'story video' with a beginning, middle and end.
• 'Top of the Pops' was often censored, but this soon became a marketing technique for artists as they began to create videos that would either be banned or edited. 
• Music videos became essential to the marketing process and artists soon began to formulate a representation of themselves to gain promo and success
  - i.e; Madonna - who had a seductive appeal in her videos.
• Now, music videos are very common, so every song that enters the charts has a video to match - and this is sometimes enough to assure the song reaches the top 10.

Purpose of a Video;

1. Sell/invoke a reaction so that an audience will remember it.
2. Give a better understanding of the song.
3. Entertain audience and show off the artist.
4. Sell CD's, DVD's and downloads.
5. A form of marketing to increase and promote the artist's profile. 

- artists set the mood by matching a song to certain experiences.

- 'Gangnam Style' = the first video to receive 1 billion hits/social media made it popular on such a massive scale. 

- Music videos can be responsible for long-term success of an artist if it is memorable. So much so that they may be advertised within news reports (particularly on social media) and can lead to more exposure for the artist;
  - i.e; 'Queen' - "Bohemian Rhapsody" = undoubtedly one of the most influential videos. One of the first to use more sophisticated technology and one of the longest. It is still looked to as inspiration today.

  - i.e; 'Panic! At The Disco' - "I Write Sins Not Tragedies = 'Panic! At The Disco' are one of the most influential pop-punk bands of the 21st century. Signed to the record label 'Fueled by Ramen' by "Fall Out Boys"'s lead singer Pete Wentz, the frontman Brendon Urie has changed the face of the music scene. Inspired by Queen himself, Brendon always covers "Bohemian Rhapsody" with his fellow 'live' band mates at every gig. 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' was the first single by the band to showcase their debut album 'A Fever You Can't Sweat Out'. The song received immediate success, but this was escalated massively when they released the rather eccentric video to match.

- audiences can now actively look for videos they want to watch;

  - controversial videos can help to create a 'buzz', and this can lead to more views.
  - i.e; 'Kaiser Chiefs' - "Coming Home" = the Kaiser Chiefs last album titled 'Education, Education, Education and War' is probably one of the most controversial indie rock albums of all time. As suggested by the title, the album is very political. The lyrics written by the band express views about issues such as war and government treatment of soldiers. 'Coming Home' is one such song, and the various things seen within the video act as symbolism for such ideas.

 - the main symbol embedded within the video is that of everyday activities people would do in a family home. It highlights how many soldiers do not get to come home to this, or if they do come home, they are so changed by what they've seen that they will never experience these things again.

  - i.e; 'Jessie J' - "Do It Like A Dude" = when Jessie J exploded onto the music scene her video to accompany her first single shocked audiences on a massive scale. She was a singer who started out on YouTube covering songs and posting originals. The image she portrayed within the video for 'Do It Like A Dude' contradicted conventions of pop music and actually highlighted that of rock videos;

   - e.g; dark lighting, large crowds, contradiction of light and dark.

• SYNERGY = can relate to videos that contain clips from a film - promotes the film and the artist and may lead to the trailer for the film being seen on a larger scale;
  - i.e; 'Twenty One Pilots' - "Heathens"
  - i.e; 'Take That' - "Get Ready For It"
• Both these videos involve the artists portraying themselves within the films.
• This can solidify ideas about the artist's iconography and their desired audience.
  - Product placement can generate income.

- independent artists don't have a massive budget, so don't usually use synergy or product placement - MTV embrace big labels. 

'Black Veil Brides' - "Coffin" (Image 1)

Rock music video conventions;
- males = the subject/women = object.
- dark colours.
- on-stage performances.
- back-stage clips.
- male bonding.
- guitars.
- costumes are dark-coloured.

'Black Veil Brides' - "Coffin" (Image 2)

- contradiction of light and dark. 

ANDREW GOODWIN - (1992: 'DANCING IN THE DISTRACTION FACTORY');
- all videos have certain genre characteristics.
- there is a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics/music and the lyrics.
- the lyrics can link to the visuals through object/images that represent them
  - i.e; 'Panic! At The Disco' - "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" = contains the lyrics "as I'm pacing the pews in a church corridor"/"what a beautiful wedding", which is represented by the setting of a church and a priest hosting a wedding.
- demands of the label will often be present within the video.
- artist iconography is recognisable;
- notion of looking.
- intertexuality.
- believes visuals are styled to suit the genre.

• ARTIST ICONOGRAPHY is vital because this can give an artist an recognisable image;
  - take the rock 'n' roll band 'Black Veil Brides' for example: the band formed in 2006 and had a striking image that all the band members carried throughout their high school years. As the band progressed, their image changed, but their icon/logo hasn't.
  - when bands keep one thing the same it provides them with a constant for fans. 

'Andy Sixx'

'Andy Biersack'

'Andy Black'

'Black Veil Brides' - logo

The bands logo is seen frequently in every video, so fans are always exposed to the bands main iconography and identity.
Despite the fact their image changes, the band always remains the same by providing fans with a symbol they will always recognise and associate with Black Veil Brides. 


- in terms of intertexuality and how lyrics are connected to the visuals, the video for Black Veil Brides song 'Coffin' is a good example. As previously mentioned, the bands image has changed frequently as they've progressed; and this has been something Andy has had to deal with especially in terms of critique within the media. The song covers his transition between being 'Andy Sixx' and becoming 'Andy Biersack'. It symbolises how that representation of himself is in the past, but his music remains the same and this is merely a chance for him to express himself in a different way.

'Andy Sixx' being 'buried' - as symbolised within the video for 'Coffin'

- music videos demand audience to be voyeuristic - especially to males who are the subject of videos.

- but Goodwin believes that it is females who are objectified;
  - i.e; Rihanna's videos often involve her appearing as an object of voyeurism to please a male viewer.

Changing my Media Coursework

This is just a short post to say that I will be changing my media coursework from a documentary about how body image is presented in the media, to a music video with the genre of rock.
The reason I have decided to change my coursework idea completely is ultimately because I do not feel happy with the work I have completed so far on this blog and do not feel it highlights enough just how creative I can be. Moreover, I have unfortunately not been able to film any footage for my documentary as the people I need had other work commitments, meaning they could not spare the time to help me, which I completely understood. However, this left me with no footage and not a lot of time to collate the detailed footage I needed to complete my documentary. Lastly, I just don't feel I really believed in the work I was producing through this documentary. Despite the fact I am highly passionate about how the media present body image, and the affect this has on young girls in our society - the way in which I was producing this did not meet my own personal standards or desires for such a documentary. If I carried on with this process, it would've been a weak documentary and would not have showcased my full potential.


Therefore, I have decided to change to producing a rock music video. This is because music is the art form that I am most passionate about, and it is something that means more to me than I could ever explain. Listening to music is my favourite hobby and I watch music videos on YouTube on a daily basis. I absolutely love watching music videos and how they represent the song. Whilst watching the video, I will observe to see just how the video connects to the lyrics of that specific song and, if it does this in the right way, I often find myself getting extremely emotional observing the work of that artist. For example, when I first watched the music video for 'This Is Gospel' by 'Panic! At The Disco', I felt extremely emotional observing just how the artist chose to portray his experiences of heartbreak through the idea that - when experiencing this - you are almost being prepared for death; you are being dressed up to move on and start a new life in a new way, even though this experience can be very hard. During the lyrics "if you love me, let me go", we see the lead singer of the band lying on a table surrounded by doctors - as he sings this lyric, he attempts to pull himself off the table, but is grabbed by the doctors and held down - no matter how hard he struggles. As a viewer, I felt the pain of watching the video, and immediately observed just how the lyrics related to such an experience and felt like I was sharing this sense of agony with the artist.
So I hope it is evident through this small piece of analysis just how much I love listening to and observing the affects and power of music. I feel I'll be much more creative with such a project, and as my favourite genre of music is rock, I feel much more confident creating a video for a song by one of my favourite artists and trying to portray my interpretation of what their songs mean.