Codes and Conventions Of Boyband Music Videos

No matter how different the Boybands may be, most of the videos all follow the same codes and conventions which typically seem to appear in Boyband music videos. Below are some of the typical codes and conventions you would expect to see: 

• " The Christ like gesture" - This can be seen as a way of boybands, showing extreme emotions towards the video, audience and song lyrics. - An example of this can be seen in Westlife's video for "Flying Without Wings " 

• Another common feature is a girl/women is normally used in the video, preferably the girl would be who the band are singing about - This can be seen in our video by N'sync in the video for "Gone" and most of their other videos such as "Bye Bye Bye" . 

Most video only focus on one female, however Boyzone famously used a male love interest in their video for "Better" when focusing on Stephan Gately, this could signify his Homosexuality at the time, all the other members were focused around women in the video. 

• To develop a dramatic effect, water can often be dropped on the band member during their videos, also for the sex appeal a target audience of women, the naked top half of the males body being dripped with water will attract their target audience. - This can be seen in Take Thats video "Prey"

More recently the semi naked feature for the male band members can be seen in parts of JLS video for "She makes me wanna". Where we see one member stood on a cliff, semi naked, with what appears to be an oily top half of his body, this can be seen at 0:26. 

• Another common feature is the location, this most often is an abandoned place or a deserted landscape, an example of this could be a cliff top - This can be seen in Westlife's video for "What about now" and Take That's "Patience" . 

• Slow motion can also be used in videos, in order to get across the "male gaze" as the slow motion is mostly focused on the women used in the video - This can be seen Westlife "Up town girl" when the girl take her bobble out of her hair, the slow motion is used to signify everyone is staring at her, focusing all their attention on her beauty. 

EF - Director Study Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts, was the director of the original video for our coursework video 'Gone' by N'sync. Ritts directed the music video in 2001, shortly a year before his death in 2002. 
Herb was born in 1952 in Los Angles, he is an American born director, however to begin with Ritts undertook a career in photography shortly after college, in the 1970's he began by teaching himself, taking picture of friend to begin with.
Over the years Ritts went on to photograph celebrities such as Brooke Shields and Olivier Newton John, for magazine and album covers such as Elle and the album cover for Olivier's 'Physical' in 1981.
He then went on to replicate the pose used by Brooke for the Elle cover, with Madonna for her release of True Blue in 1986. During his photography Ritts often challenged the conventional notions of gender and race an example of this is " The Mask" 1989. 

One of his subjects was a friend's boyfriend, a then-unknown Richard Gere. His shots of the future star led Ritts into the world of celebrity photography with full force. He photographed everyone from Jack Nicholson to Michelle Pfeiffer to Mick Jagger, gaining unprecedented access to many of his subjects, including a paralysedChristopher Reeve and a post-brain surgery Elizabeth Taylor. - IMDB - Source  

The first video Ritts first directed was Madonna's Cherish in 1989, which like most of his videos was shot in black and white, which appears to be a common theme throughout Ritt's videos.


 After its release, "Cherish" received positive feedback from reviewers, who were surprised by the change of content and the lighter image of Madonna's music, on the Billboard Hot 100, "Cherish" became Madonna's sixteenth consecutive top-five single, a record in the Hot 100 history.  - Wiki - Source 


He then went on to win two MTV Video Awards for the work he conducted on the videos for Janet Jackson "Love Will Never Do" in 1990  and Chris Isaak "Wicked Game" in 1991. 


Herb has also directed music video's for Mariah Carey " My All" in 1998, Micheal Jackson " In the closet" in 1992, Britney Spears " Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know" in 2001, his final music video in which he directed before his death was Shakira's " Underneath Your Clothes" in 2002. 


An example of one of Herb's videos which isn't in black and white, going against his normal conventions is 'Underneath Your Clothes' by Shakira. 

All - Timed Lyrics Sheet

Music Vid Ideas Change

After presenting our sample scene to the class, we learnt we had to make some changes to our original idea. To begin with we were going to have one main lead from the band, as our lead role for the narrative idea of the couples break up, however after showing the sample footage of our idea, from audience feedback we have realised it would be easier to have a separate couple and male lead for the narrative and have the band as the performance aspects, maybe in location such as the moors, the park and maybe a different house to where we are filming the couple. 

We are also going to try and film more sample footage through the week, this time we are sticking with the beginning but trying to fit in our montage of picture of the couple hopefully before the music begins, in order to see if our montage will fit in this place or whether we will need to place it somewhere else.

Our idea from the montage of picture at the beginning has come from the opening of the US Sitcom 'How I Met Your Mother', where they use a variety of picture it some form of slideshow, which is the effect we are hoping to have. 
We are hoping to end the montage with the last picture being the main girl taking a picture, which we hope to then lead into a flashback of when that picture was taken, or if this doesn't work we are going to develop the bed scene we used in our first sample footage. 

Week 12 - Podcast 6 - Audience

Week 11 - Podcast 5 - New Media and Industry

Sample Footage

On monday we filmed a sample scene in order to help the class and our media teacher develop more of an understanding towards our music video idea. In order to film the sample scene we used Harry Knight and Sophie Dixon, as our couple and Harry was the main lead of the band. We filmed the scenes for the first 3 verses of our song Gone, mainly for us to see if our idea would work and for the audience feedback.

After we gained the feedback we understood that we need to make a few changes, such as having a seperate couple boy and girl to show the narrative and just have the boyband in the performance side, instead of having the male lead member playing the narrative aswel. We also learnt that for the performance side we should have a different location for example some where like the moors which was used as part of the Backstreet Boys video from last years A2 group. 



Untitled from Melodie Abraham on Vimeo.

MA - Re-Pitch

On Friday we had to re-pitch our coursework idea and show any changes we have made and how we have developed our idea. My group chose to do a power point to go along with our pitch.We have changed slightly from when Ellie pitched her idea. The idea goes as follows.

We are using the song 'Gone' by band 'NSYNC. Our cast will be 4/5 boys around the age of 17. We are still unsure of the number as we still have yet to finalise our boy band. We will also be using a girl around the same age for the role of 'Girlfriend'. We are planning to use one member of the band as the lead and the girl will play his girlfriend.

Our idea is that the boy is remembering his time with the girl. They were in love and he is singing about the happy times they had together. Our idea is to have the present day and also have flashbacks of when the couple were together as if the boy is remembering them in his head. We are wanting to start the video with a shot of loads of pictures of the couple together. We have chosen a few scenes to try and keep the video interesting. The locations we are going to use are;

a house- this would be the main location. We are going to film most of the scenes of the lead boy lip-syncing and a few of the flashbacks. Also the group performances.

the park- we will use this for a flashback of the couple walking through the park holding hands.

a restaurant (possibly)- this is another flashback idea This is not set in stone as we are not sure if we will be able to have access to one when we are wanting to film.

For the ending we want to shock the audience a little bit by showing that the girl has actually died. We needed to find a way of suggesting this without showing her dead body. We have decided that there are a few ways we could show the audience that she is dead. One could be having the lead boy laying flowers on a grave stone. Another could be him carrying an urn an scattering the ashes somewhere. Another could be him opening an invitation to a funeral/wake. We need to decide which one of these will look better.

When we pitched this to the class we think they liked our idea and gave us some positive feedback, saying it was good and they liked the ending. They also gave us some more flashback ideas such as using a flashback of the girlfriend cooking him a romantic meal and then cutting to a shot of him eating alone. Another idea was to have him sat watching telly and then the light bulb to go out- this could be seen as a metaphor that she was the 'light of his life'.

The next step is for us to film some sample footage nd get some audience feedback on that.

All - N'sync Gone MP3

This is the MP3 we are going to use for our music video :

All – Codes and Conventions of Magazine Adverts

The main Common Code and Conventions are:

• Artists Name (in large font)
• Album Name (usually the same size font as the artist name)
• Album Cover
• Bold writing
• Web Address of artist, record labels and ticket retailer
• Colours compliment each other
• Twitter, Facebook and Youtube pages
• Tour dates (if any)
• Record Labels
• Says the format it is available in - CD and download
• Font Variation, framing and colour
• Theme of the artist - fits with the lyrics and albums
• Information about the album (usually says "Including" followed by the singles released from the album)
• QR Codes
• Introductory sentence to grab the audience's attention 'the wait is finally over...'
• Thumbnails
• Photo of the CD/Product/Merchandise
• Format (CD, CD + DVD, CD + Vinyl or Digital)
• Either release date, out now or pre-order

Other conventions we found as a group

• Album artwork is included in the advert (all)
• Says 'new album' on the ad (3/6)
• Tour dates (2/6)
• Release date (all)
• Social media links - twitter/ facebook (no longer myspace for newer releases)
• Tickets website (2/6)
• Artist website (all)
• Artist name positioned top, central on the page (5/6)
• Tour sponsor advert and website (1/6)
• Phone number for ticket (1/6)
• Name of hit single included in the album (2/6)
• Image of the band (3/6)
• Thumbnails of the album (1/6)

MA – Anton Corbijn

Anton Corbijn (Official Site) ( born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade. Some of his works include music videos for Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" (1990) and Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" (1993), as well as the Ian Curtis biopic Control, George Clooney's The American and the A Most Wanted Man based on John le Carré's 2008 novel of the same name (announced 2011).


[wiki]

One of his photographs

Corbijn has photographed Joy Division, Depeche Mode, U2, David Bowie, Peter Hammill, Miles Davis, Björk, Captain Beefheart, Kim Wilde, Robert de Niro, Stephen Hawking, Elvis Costello, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Morrissey, Clint Eastwood, Roxette and Herbert Grönemeyer, amongst others. He is famous for his work in black and white. 

		MUSIC VIDEOS
2008		Coldplay – Viva la Vida
2007		Herbert Grönemeyer – Leb in Meiner Welt
2005		Depeche Mode – Suffer Well
		Coldplay – Talk
		The Killers – All These Things That I've Done
2003		Travis – Re-Offender
		Herbert Grönemeyer – Zum Meer
2002		U2 – Electrical Storm
		Herbert Grönemeyer – Mensch
2000		Joseph Arthur – In the Sun
		Joseph Arthur – Chemical
1999		Mercury Rev – Goddess on a Highway
		Mercury Rev – Opus 40
		Roxette – Stars
		Roxette – Salvation
1998		Herbert Grönemeyer – Bleibt Alles Anders
		Herbert Grönemeyer – Fanatisch
1997		Depeche Mode – It’s No Good
		U2 – Please
		Depeche Mode – Useless
1996		Metallica – Hero of the Day
		Metallica – Mama Said
		Depeche Mode – Barrel of a Gun
1995		Bryan Adams – Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman? (Much Music Award Winner & MTV Award Nominee)
		Red Hot Chili Peppers – My Friend
1994		Rollins Band – Liar (MTV Award Nominee)
		Johnny Cash – Delia’s Gone
		Naomi Campbell – Love & Tears
		Grant Lee Buffalo – Mockingbirds
1993		Nirvana – Heart Shaped Box (MTV Award Winner)
		Depeche Mode – In Your Room
		Depeche Mode – Condemnation
		Depeche Mode – Walking in my Shoes
		Depeche Mode – I Feel You (MTV Award Nominee)
1992		Danzig – Dirty Black Summer
		Bryan Adams – Do I Have To Say The Word?
		U2 – One
		Nick Cave – Straight To You
1991		Rainbirds – Two Faces
		Banderas – May This Be Your Last Sorrow
		Garland Jeffreys – Hail Hail Rock’n Roll
		Ian McCulloch – Lover Lover Lover
		Herbert Grönemeyer – Marie
1990		Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence
		Depeche Mode – Policy of Truth
		Danzig – Killer Wolf
		Depeche Mode – Halo
		Depeche Mode – World In My Eyes
		Front 242 – Tragedy For You
1989		Rainbirds – Sea of Time
		Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus
		Rainbirds – White City of Light
		Ian McCulloch – Faith and Healing
1988		Joy Division – Atmosphere
		Rainbirds – Blueprint
		Joni Mitchell & Peter Gabriel – My Secret Place
		Front 242 – Headhunter
1987		Echo and The Bunnymen – The Game
		Depeche Mode – Strangelove
		Echo and The Bunnymen – Lips Like Sugar
		Depeche Mode – Never Let Me Down Again
		Depeche Mode – Behind the Wheel
		Echo and The Bunnymen – Bedbugs & Ballyhoo
1986		Golden Earring – Quiet Eyes
		Depeche Mode – A Question of Time
1985		Echo and The Bunnymen – Bring on the Dancing Horses
1984		David Sylvian – The Ink in the Well
		Echo and The Bunnymen – Seven Seas
		David Sylvian – Red Guitar
		Propaganda – Dr. Mabuse
1983		Palais Schaumburg – Hockey
		Art of Noise – Beatbox

Corbijn has also done some Long Form videos;
2007- Herbert Grönemeyer-12 Tour, Live DVD
2002- Depeche Mode – One Night in Paris (POP.com Best DVD award)
1993- Depeche Mode- Devotional (Grammy Award Nominee)
1991- Depeche Mode- Strange Too
1988- Depeche Mode- Strange
Corbijn began his music video directing career when Palais Schaumburg asked him to direct a video. After seeing the resulting video for Hockey, the band Propaganda had Corbijn direct Dr. Mabuse. After that he directed videos for David Sylvian, Simple Minds, Echo & the Bunnymen, Golden Earring, Front 242,Depeche Mode, Roxette and U2.According to his last video was in 2008.

His first video in color was made for Depeche Mode in early 1990 for their single "Enjoy The Silence".

Corbijn is famous for his work in black and white.

All - Week - 10 Podcast 4 - Narrative/Sample Scene

MA - Intro to Digipak

Today we looked at digipaks. We started of by thinking what could be in a digipaks and we then went on to looking at examples of existing digipaks. We then went onto making a list of the main things that are included in a digipak. This will be useful for when we are designing our own digipak.

How a digipack differs from a CD.

• Made out of card
• 2 trays
• Sleeves
• 4 basic panels

The front cover of the digipaks can contain;

• Artist shot
• Name and Album name
• Sticker showing DVD bonus
• Sticker showing leading singles contained

Back Cover;

• Track listings and timings
• Bar code
• QR Code
• Website URL
• Logos eg production and record company

The advantages of a Digipak;

• Recyclable as its made from card
• Lower in weight so reduces distribution
• Thinner cases- can fit more on the shelve
• Some resemblance to a LP
• More collectible than a jewel case

Other features;

• Spine- small details such as catalogue number
• Inside design
• Removable lyrics sheet.

Michel Gondry - Director Case Study

Michel Gondry  is a academy award winning film and music video director, and also screen writer, he  grew up in France, with a family who were highly influenced and interested in Pop Music. He is best known for his inventive visual style and manipulation of Misc-en-scene. 


In the 80s he entered in an art school in Paris where he could develop his graphic skills and where he also met friends with whom he created a pop-rock band called Oui-Oui. When in the band they released 2 albums and several singles in the 80's. He was the drummer and also directed their video clips for the band, the clips were influenced mainly by the 60's and their childhood. 


One of Gondry's video was shown on MTV and when Bjork saw it she asked him to direct/make her first solo album "Human Behaviour". After this video debuted Gondry went on to direct more of Bjorks videos which were : 

• Declare Independence - 1997
• Bacherolette - 1997
• Dead Weight - 1997
• Joga - 1997
• Crystalline - 2011
• Hyper Ballad - 1996
• Army Of Me - 1995

Other examples of artists who have worked with Gondry are The White Stripes, The Chemical Brothers, The Vines, RadioHead, Kanye West & The Rolling Stones.

Gondry made his first film debut in 2001 called Human Nature  with Charlie Kaufmen, this was shown at the Cannes Film Festival in later 2001, however this was not a huge success. In 2004 Gondry again worked with Charlie Kaufmen and directed the film Eternal Sunshine For The Spotless Mind, this movie went on to become a popular independent film and he and his co-workers won an Oscar for the film. His most recent film direction role was for The Green  Hornet in early 2011. 

Music Videos Of Michel Gondry:

• "Crystalline" - Björk (2011)
• "How Are You Doing?" – The Living Sisters (2011)
• "Open Your Heart" – Mia Doi Todd (2010)
• "Too Many Dicks On The Dancefloor" & "Carol Brown" (unofficial videos) – Flight Of The Conchords (2009)
• "Soleil du Soir" – Dick Annegarn (2008)
• "Declare Independence" – Björk (2007) [2]
• "Dance Tonight" – Paul McCartney (2007)
• "Limitless Undying Love" – Sergio Hiram (2007)
• "Cellphone's Dead" – Beck (2006)
• "Anysound" – The Vines (2006)
• "King of the Game" – Cody ChesnuTT (2006)
• "Heard 'Em Say" (U.S. Version) – Kanye West (2005)
• "The Denial Twist" – The White Stripes (2005)
• "Light & Day" (movie version) – The Polyphonic Spree (2004)
• "Winning Days" – The Vines (2004)
• "Mad World" (Donnie Darko soundtrack version) – Gary Jules (2004)
• "Ride" – The Vines (2004)
• "Walkie Talkie Man" – Steriogram (2004)
• "I Wonder" – The Willowz (2004)
• "The Hardest Button to Button" – The White Stripes (2003)
• "Behind" – Lacquer (2003)
• "Come Into My World" – Kylie Minogue (2002)
• "A l'envers à l'endroit" – Noir Désir (2002)
• "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground" – The White Stripes (2002)
• "Fell in Love with a Girl" – The White Stripes (2002)
• "Star Guitar" – The Chemical Brothers (2001)
• "Knives Out" – Radiohead (2001)
• "Mad World" – Michael Andrews and Gary Jules (2001)
• "Let Forever Be" – The Chemical Brothers (1999)
• "Gimme Shelter" – The Rolling Stones (1998)
• "Another One Bites the Dust" – Wyclef Jean (1998)
• "Music Sounds Better With You" – Stardust (1998)
• "Bachelorette" – Björk (1997)
• "Deadweight" – Beck (1997)
• "Jóga" – Björk (1997)
• "Everlong" – Foo Fighters (1997)
• "A Change Would Do You Good" – Sheryl Crow (1997)
• "Around the World" – Daft Punk (1997)
• "Feel It" – Neneh Cherry (1997)
• "Sugar Water" – Cibo Matto (1996) 

Source Wikipedia 

Films By Michel Gondry:

• Human Nature (2001)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
• The Science of Sleep (2006)
• Be Kind Rewind (2008)
• The Green Hornet (2011)
• The We & the I (2012)

Source Wikipedia