Chase and Status album cover analysis

This is the Chase and Status "No More Idols" album cover.  The title of the album contrast the black and white background image of a dog.  The colour used is yellow.  It is commonly known that yellow is the most visible colour from the furthest distance.  This therefore may be an influence for using this colour.  It is bright and outstanding on the background image.   Despite the background image being dominant on the cover, the bold yellow front still stands out and fits the conventions of the album cover as the artists name is extremely visual like other album covers.

This is the artists second album.  Artists tend to be more serious when it comes to their second album, especially if their first has been successful.  Therefore I think this image was chosen for a deeper reason.  The use of an aggressive dog could portray a message "don't mess with us".  This could lead the audience to believe that they're serious about their music and are here to stay in the industry for a long time to come. 
Because of the image of the dog, the representation of the album and artist comes across as quite aggressive.  This is partially true as the genre of the music is house/dubstep.  This music is generally quite heavy.  It is also quite stereotypical of a rebellious teenagers and seen as quite "chavy."
Therefore, this type of dog relates nicely to the genre as it is also linked to a rebellious nature "chavs" due to the aggression in its face.

Chase and Status Album Cover Analysis

This is Chase and Status’ debut album: More Than Alot- released 2008
It is a good example of a simple yet effective CD cover. The graphics in the background are done in a graffiti style which supports the UK Garage and street origins of Drum and Bass music. In the pink graffiti are images of the two producers and some graphic drips. Over this image is the mask of the words ‘More Than Alot’ and the Chase and Status logo in the centre. The pink and black are extremely contrasting colours and the colour outside the lettering is plain white. This is good because normally CD covers have the album artwork across the whole cover and the words in plain letters but in this case the Producers names and the Album title is the artwork and this is emphasized by the plain background. There is no other detail on the front of the cover other than the title and logo so the album is immediately recognizable.

Chase and Status - Time

Chase and Status - Time was released in September 2011 and uploaded on the 29th.  It is licensed to, produced by and directed by Mercury Records Limited.
This songs lyrics relate to a story of heart break.  Delilah, the featuring artist, is singing about the actor, how she wants him to have the time for her and not mess her around.  Its as if there is a narrative of honesty, and a narrative of rebellion within the one song and video. 

The music video displays these lyrics in a visual form.  It shows a loving family being torn apart by a disloyal, tempered husband.  It shows the emotional effects on the children within the family and this is often shown at point where the instrumental slows down.  The husband gets arrested after losing his temper and assaulting his wife.  When in prison, the family visits him where he appears to show remorse, and regret for what he has done.  This being a twist to link the happy beginning of the video with a forgiving end.  This presents an emotional atmosphere with the link between the lyrics and visuals. 

There is little performance in this video, but when there is, Delilah is show singing through a wet pane of glass.  The water on the glass smartly links us to the emotional lyrics as the water running down the glass links nicely to the tears of the family.

Chase and Status -Let You Go

Chase and Status - Lost & Not Found

This song/video was published on June 4th 2013 by Mercury Records Ltd. 
The location of this video appears to be in a Motel in an area of America.  The storyline follows a criminal running from the law who is hiding out in the motel.  We're lead to believe that the police arrive due to a heated argument between two motorists that have had an accident.
At first it seems there is no relation between the video and the lyrics.  However, a repeated lyric within the song goes, "im never gonna let you go, im never gonna let you down.  The heart has taken control, theres no one around".  Looking more closely, this lyric relates to the young girl.  Once the male criminal has been arrested, the young girl who we can assume may be his daughter, if not, then she may have some relation to him, she is lead outside by a female officer.  At this moment, she grabs the gun and holds up the police, freeing the male.  This may suggest that SHE will never let him go, never let him down and that her heart has taken over control of her mind.

However, the video then rejects this as we realise that the young girl is actually the girl from the missing person poster at the beginning of the video.  Therefore leading us to believe that the male has in fact been holder her hostage. 

Once again the lighting within the video is mostly natural but it camera appears to have been filtered to give a cleaner tint.  The shots taken inside are darker with low key lighting.  This shows us that something of a darker nature may be taking place inside, relating to the storyline of the girl being held captive. 

This video uses one take.  The camera is hand held however it is position on a gyroscope to keep it steady.  It uses a tracking shot to show a journey throughout the hectic scene in which we find ourselves.  The video uses panning shots to swing around corners keeping us on our toes and making us unaware of what is going on.  This technique nicely link us "the audience" into the storyline.  It presents us with a feeling that we are also looking for the criminal and missing girl, as well as the police, as the camera travels and searches around the scene.

There is a sense of sexism or voyeurism within this video.  At the beginning we see that the male character is shouting at the female character about the car accident.  The female character appears stunned and confused.  We then lead upstairs around the rooms of the motel.  Once again we're leading into a room follow a female maid.  Suggesting this lower sort for job is done by a female "housewife".  This is also suggested at the very start as the is another female maid serving guests at the tables.  Shortly after, the male criminal enters the room and is arrested.  We then learn that he was holding the female, missing person, captive.  This again shows a dominance of the male character over the female character in this scene.  Finally, were lead outside.  Male offices appear strong, arresting and tackling the criminal.  Whilst the female officer plays the emotional role, looking to comfort the missing girl.  This shortly enhance as we see it is then the female officer who is taken hostage, whilst the male officers still appear strong and in control of the situation with guns drawn.  However, this subverts when it is the missing girl who took the female officer hostage and freed the male criminal.

Chase and Status - Alive

Chase and Status comes into our genre of soft house.  Therefore I thought it would be appropriate to research their music video as ours is likely to be similar. 
This video was published on the 4th of December 2013 on the Chase and Status Vevo channel.  The writer and director is Josh Cole, Production company - Lew Espoirs,  and Produced by Lundi Shackleton. 
This is the free running video and is based purely in the urban, outdoor environment.  Lyrics of the song "feel so alive..." suggest an adrenaline pumped lifestyle and so free running fits this image perfectly.  Often throughout the video, at the point of the lyrics being "I feel so alive" or "there's nowhere to run" it would often show the characters doing flips, jumping or running, respectively.  Costume relates to the normal attire worn by free runners and so looks realistic in the video.  The writer/director presents the characters as having an exciting lifestyle filled with risk and adrenaline.  This converts directly to the image given of by the lyrics and instrumental of the music.  There persona is shown through the actions within the video.  They're constantly moving, running, jumping and flipping.  At the point of the music taking a slower rhythm, so do the actors and the camera shots/editing.
Lighting isn't really a major factor in this video as the majority is filmed outside under natural light.  However, there are a few really good silhouette shots used in the video, for example, as the instrumental is dying down and becoming more emotional.  This shows a direct link between the visuals and the lyrics/beat. 

The beginning lyrics in the video suggest that the character singing the song, feels rather small and the instrumental is soft and gentle.  The visuals use a few establishing shots and extreme long shots here.  This shows the scale of the huge urban setting in which they're performing and shows how small they are in comparison.  Therefore, relating to and enhancing the effectiveness of the lyrics.
One technique is that the camera shots used often relate to the lyrics as well.  For example, even in the first moments of the video, the lyrics are "with the ground beneath my feet" and the camera shot is at ground level along with the character on set. 
There is an extensive use of low angle camera shots after the beginning.  These are used when the beat of the music picks up.  The lyrics then change to "feel so alive" etc, and singing about being alive and feeling good.  Therefore the low angle shots display this by making the characters look large and more dominant on screen.
Tracking shots are used to show the movement and speed of the characters through the city.  It show rebellion and power over their surroundings.  I have also noticed that the director has rarely used still shots.  The camera is contently moving in some way, usually a very slow panning shot.  This also relates to the lyrics and atmosphere of being alive and the adrenaline of the character as keeping the camera still would defy the lyrics and beat.
Many slow motion shots are used to show the skill involved with free running.  These shots are often used when a word or note is being held.  There are no close up shots in this video and no lip sinking.  All shots are moving mid shots, long shots, extreme long shots and establishing shots.

The editing in this music video doesn't appear to follow a beat or lyrics.  It cuts whenever an action within a clip is over.  However, that cut is then likely to be on the change of the instrumental or the beat.  Each cut also seems to be a straight cut with few fades or dissolves.  They do not have a constant pace of editing, instead it is random timing and even cuts half way through an action to change to another angle. 

The target audience for the video, as well as the song, is the young adrenaline pumped teenagers of today.  Typically stereo types of teenagers in recent years are party goers and thriller seekers.  Young people would look at this video and want to experience it, therefore being attracted to it and hopefully increasing the popularity of the song.

Genre Discusion

We decided to set up a group conversation for our media video on Facebook.  The first thing we needed to decided on was the genre.  As we all like the same music, this decision was made fairly quickly with the positives of the genre being outlined. 

Kieran Brad Scott's Busted vid Pre lim task

Rudimental - Feel The Love

Rudimental - Feel The Love

This music video tells a story not related to the video.  It completely ignores the lyrics of the song and instead tells the story of the characters within the visuals.  The video does not show any lyrical lip sinking or miming.  This shows it has no relation to the lyrics, even through the visuals on screen.  It is an idea to tell a story through my video, although I believe the promotion of the song and meaning becomes deeper when it has a visual relation to the lyrics.

Categories of Music Videos

There are 3 main types of music videos which include:
- Performance based videos
- Narrative based videos
- Concept based videos

Performance based videos involve live visuals of the artist performing on set.  These can be lower budget films and may be more likely to be used by more independent bands.  One video which uses this technique is "American Idiot" by GreenDay.




This video is made up almost completely of shots showing the band performing the song, or Billie Joe lip syncing to the song along with playing the guitar. However, they have made the video interesting and not just used a standard performance by making each band member perform the song at a different speed, such as Billie Joe performing the song sped up whilst Tre Cool is playing the drums at normal speed, etc. This alternates between band members throughout the video and gives the video an individual, creative edge. There is also a theme of the colour green throughout the video, supposedly to go along with the bands name "Green Day". As this is a theme throughout the video it gets stuck in the viewers mind and reminds them of the bands name. There is also an American flag behind the band members as they are performing the song, this is used in an ironic way as the song is about not wanting to be an American idiot. The flag is also green which goes along with the theme of green in the video but also contrasts with the usual red white and blue, making it seem like it is decaying which could also go along with the lyrics which promote a bad view of what America has become. Being a highly political song, Green Day have chosen to use rapid fast paced shots to show their individuality and this promotes anarchy, this is also shown when they smash their instruments at the end of the video which shows their sense of rebellion, which contrasts with the view of what America is today.

Narrative Based Videos involve a story being told through the visuals.  This can relate directly to the lyrics of the song and tell the story of the artist, or it can complete ignore the lyrics and convert the meaning of the song.
An example of a narrative music video is "Waiting All Night" by Rudimental. 

 

This tells the story of a BMX rider who loses his leg.  The opening scene briefly shows us his life before his accident.  It goes through his recovery showing the effect on his family and friends.  It provides a message that you should never give up on what you love doing as we see him defy the odds, pick up his bike, and ride again.  The timing of him taking back to his bike for the first time fits nicely with a drop of the music as he "drops" into the BMX bowl.  His mates then join in and the scene shows a similar staging to the opening scene, showing a direct link and portray that his life is back to how it used to be.

Concept Based Videos tend to have no storyline, they're usually a random concept and sometimes tend to not tie in with the band or theme of the song at all. An example of a video that is concept based is OK GO's "Here It Goes Again".

This video shows the band performing a dance routine on 6 treadmills, a very original and abstract idea that has never been done before for a music video. It would have had to be shot in one take for continuity, which would have put pressure on the band members to not make any mistakes. The routine is flawless in the video, apart from at about 1 minute in where the man on the front left treadmill starts to fall off, but it is barely noticeable as he recovers well. Another point in the video that could have been as mistake is the very beginning where the man is trying to turn on the CD player and it wont work, however this could have been a deliberate mistake to add humour to the video. The routine is in time with the music and the band tend to do tricks in their routine at key points during the song, making the routine more catchy and eye grabbing, making viewers want to keep watching. This concept was a very simple, yet effective video and soon became a viral hit, giving the band much promotion and success

 

 

What I would do

 

I believe a narrative based music video offers the best space for innovation.  It would allow me to use some unique environments and camera shots that would link with my chosen storyline.  I believe telling the story of the lyrics through visuals provides the most effective way to promote the video as it links emotionally to the audience.  

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin's theory of music videos include 6 points which he believes a music video should follow in order to be a successful promotion for the song.

- Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
This implies that the music video must follow the theme of the artist, lyrics and genre in order to be successful.  For example, House music, or a dance track would have visuals showing clubs, raving, fast paced action.  A rap video would typically show a lot of bling, expensive cars, big mansions, fast jets etc.  There is also often an excessive use of female characters around the artist.  These are common stereotypes of the specific genre that we associate to.

- There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.  The lyrics are represented with images.
This implies that what is being said within the lyrics at a moment in time, should occasionally be shown on screen.  For example, JessieJ singing Price Tag, she is singing the lyrics "its not about the money" whilst stood in front of a money tree.

- There is a relationship between music and visuals.  The tone and atmosphere of the visuals reflect that of the music.
This could include simple things such as editing cuts to the beat of the music.  The editor may chose to contradict the music such a Kanye West, Runaway, rapping to the visuals of ballet dancers.  This is similar to point 1, in that having a dance track would be likely that you would see DJ's, raves, parties and drinking within the music video.  This would set the atmosphere and purpose of the music and represent it in a visual form.


- The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work.
This creates an image of the artist so that whenever we as consumer see the same thing or something similar, we associate it with that artist even though it may not be relevant.  This is a form of promotion/advertisement.  A prime example of this may be the recent development of Miley Cyrus.  Across Miley's work and music videos, the artist is often shown sticking her tongue out.  This immediately associates her with this act in the future.


- There is frequent reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.  For example, on scene, a man in the background may be looking at the dominant female, this would imply that we should be doing the same thing.  Also, if the characters on set are not looking at the camera's, this would imply that we should not be looking at them as they are not engaging us.

- There is often intertextual references eg, to films, tv programmes or other music videos.  For example, within a music video, the director may chose to reproduce a famous scene from a film. 

Existing products

One of my favourite videos is All Of The Lights, by Kanye west.

 

It has a nice mixture of film, animation and computer graphics.  I think this would be a good feature for my final video

Introduction

By the end of this project I will aim to achieve a well rounded music video, complete with a full log of progress and research on similar media products.
This should also include a promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following:
- a website homepage for the band/artist
- a digipak for the album's release
- a magazine advertisement for the digipack
To achieve the highest level, all research should be relevant, blogs must be regular and up to date and include all aspects of my media product.  My final music video should be to my highest standard and link well with my group blog.