Paramore - 'Brick By Boring Brick'

Paramore are a pop-punk/rock band similar to our chosen band All About Flux. This video from directors Meiert Avis and Chris LeDoux amplify's their songs themes about reality and fairytales. The video is set in a computer generated fantasy world, the entire video was shot using a set and green screens. This is very different from most music videos which are normally filmed in realistic locations, this is the first of Paramore's videos to be filmed in this way. This setting fits with the narrative of the song and often the lyrics are illustrated in the visuals, for example "She lives in a fairytale" and "Well go get your shovel, And we'll dig a deep hole". The narrative is more developed than in the bands other videos and amplifies the songs meaning, it depicts a girl exploring a fairytale world, which becomes dark and threatening, the characters she once liked turning on her. People have linked this song and video to  'Monarch Programming', a supposed brainwashing technique that forces people to regress into a fantasy where they are 'programmed'. Triggers that are often used are symbols from The Wizard of Oz and Alice In Wonderland, stories similar to the narrative of this video. 

The music is often edited to match the beat of the music and the start of lines. The camera work is very dynamic, with lots of zooms and pans, the camera is almost never still, to match the fast style of the song. This also makes the video look very cinematic which matches the 'perfect storybook' narrative and setting. There are lots of close ups on Hayley Williams, the lead singer, a convention the label would insist on to build her image. There are also many close ups on the smaller girl as she is the focal character. The video crosscuts between these two, the narrative and the performance, this is typical of narrative videos, giving equal time to both halves. 

Butterflies and wings are featured in this video, this is a motif from the cover of the album this song comes from. There are often notions of looking as mirrors are a part of the videos climax, with different people looking back through the mirror. There isn't any voyeurism in this video though as it is from an indie band with a female lead. The video is quite redundant in the way it is made, editing and camerawork, but the twisted fairytale narrative is very unusual as is the CGI setting and visual style.

Digipack Magazine Advert - Green Day

This is a full page advert for Green Day's New Single. The main focus of the advert is the photograph of lead singer Billie Joe Armstrong, the image is taken from a live concert and so is lit by bright directional lights. The picture has been cropped and composed so that it has a blank background and focusses only on Armstrong's face. This is a conventional style of photograph for rock music and it reinforces the singers image. The angle of the photograph is slightly low and shows how idolised he is by fans. The lighting from above and Armstrong's facial expression have religious connotations, making him look as if he is being shined down on. Using a concert photograph rather than a studio shot shows how important live performing is to the band and also makes them look less mainstream and staged. This image is used on the single cover, a technique often used, so the CD will be easily recognisable.

The font used for the titles is messy and distressed, which matches punk-rock attitudes. The font used in the rest of the advert is bold and all capitalised, again to suit the genre and so that it draws the eye and is easy to read. The colour palette of the page is made to match the cover of the album, and is often used in punk design. The target audience for this advert is teenagers and young adults, the graffiti style text and bold writing and colours would appeal to them.

The bottom third of the page is dedicated to sales information, including what is in the single, the album and a dvd. It includes pictures of these so they will be easy to find by customers. The relevant websites are included at the base but they are in a very small font, this is because the band's audience are digital natives and will easily be able to find these websites. An advert for Make Poverty History is also included, this is either paid advertisement by the charity or it is a cause the band/label supports.

Digipack Magazine Advert - The Verve

This is a full page advert for The Verve's single 'Love Is Noise'. The band was well established and this was their first release after their reunion, this meant they could afford a full page advert. The band is alternative, psychedelic rock, so they chose an abstract photograph where the ground and sky is made of clouds, to suit their style of music. The image has golden tones but is also quite shadowy in places, matching the song's style. Often music adverts include an image of the artist but because the Verve already have a following, they don't need to promote themselves or their image. The image used is a larger version of the one on the singles cover, a technique often used, this makes the CD recognisable on shelves

The main focus of the advert is the band's logo and then the title of the single at the centre of the page. The advert is about the band and the single rather than focussing on the cost or where to buy it, this show the music is the most important part. The extra information at the base of the page starts with "The Single", re-affirming the importance of the song, then moving on to what you can buy. This part advertises the rest of the album and the website, but these aspects are in very small font, the advertisers think that the album doesn't need much promotion and that neither does the website. This is quite valid as the return of the band would be publicised in the media and if people want to find a bands website it is very simple.

There is minimal text or graphics, no reviews, dates or other information, showing the band is concerned with the aesthetics of the page and simplicity rather than functionality. The font used is quite bold and the overall look the the page is quite rich, as the music's audience is people who are older but still enjoy rock music. The advert is powerful but also mature, appropriate for the audience.

The overall advert is quite entropic as it could be an advert for almost anything and isn't pushing consumerism, this could be due to the band having more power over the advert rather than the label taking control. The advert is still very effective I think as it creates an identity around the single and is attractive.

Redundancy and Entropy

Redundancy in music videos is when the features are very predictable and follows conventions. For example in almost all Pop videos there will be shots of the artist performing, this is used so often it is redundant and gives the viewer no new information and doesn't build on the message of the video. Redundant elements are often necessary though, for things to make sense.


When features are entropic they break from these conventions, they are unpredictable. The best videos normally have a mix of redundant and entropic elements, so that the video is understandable and interesting. 


Slow Club - 'Because We Are Dead'

This video takes the redundant Pop video format and twists it, personalising it with their own quirky elements. The video includes a dance routine and has many close ups of the singers performing. The narrative of the video is very simple, the pair are throwing a party for their group of friends, and often used in music videos. However this video style is a disjuncture as it has little relationship to the lyrics and the narrative of the song.

The shots of the band are close ups, their faces surrounded by green material, this focusses in on them singing, but isn't a technique used often. The 'dance routine' is subverted, done entirely whilst sitting, with expressionless faces and jump cuts so that new 'dancers' appear and their clothing changes. In much of the video the camera is still and the takes are very long, unusual for music videos, which are often faster paced and filmed in a more exciting, cinematic way. The set is just a room in a pub, rather than an expensive studio set. Also the party that is being held looks more like a children's birthday party than the drunken escapades usually shown in pop culture, being served are cupcakes and carrot sticks. To add to the effect many of the guests are eccentrically dressed, most wear labels saying Rebecca and the party ends with a paper aeroplane competition.


This video takes a lot of the redundant features of music videos and pop culture and then inverts them. Rather than following convention the band shows a different side of youth, going against media cliches. This suits their independent audience who are proud to be outside of the mainstream. 


The Subways - We Don't Need Money To Have A Good Time

Although The Subways are an alternative band their video is quite redundant and unimaginative, following many of the conventions of a rock video. A large proportion of the video is performance, with lots of close ups on the instruments and the lead singer, almost all videos have these shots and when used too much they become uninteresting. Another common feature of rock videos are scenes of partying and messing around, this is what the rest of this video is made up of. Although the general theme of the song is "having a good time" the video is very predictable and has no narrative, the visuals add little to the meaning of the song. Some of the activities performed are 

quite unusual, such as making a 'head sandwich', though there are also things that are less inventive; jumping into pools, bursting balloons etc.

This is a typical representation of young adults, messing around and having fun with few responsibilities. Also the fact that they have a low income and so little money to spend. The band did choose unconventional places in which to record the performance parts of the video, on the beach, cliffs, in fields and on rooftops, more often rock performance is filmed in a studio or at a concert.

The video is filmed mostly in a traditional way, with fast editing to the music, short takes and lost of camera movement, however there are some shots which are more original. At times during the performance we can see from a band members point of view, looking down at them playing their instrument as if we can see it through their eyes. There are also some shots that have been recorded on a cheap handheld camera, or edited to look like it, so that it feels as if you are their watching and recording it yourself. These are interesting techniques and gives the viewer another perspective, immersing them in the video.

General Analysis of Stornoway - 'Zorbing'

This music video is a mixture of performance and narrative, though the performance from the band is often integrated into the narrative settings as the band are 'characters' in the video. The people in the video reflect the audience for their music, around 17-25 years old. They also reflect the band's working class background, of which they are proud, and so the video is a positive representation of this social group. They work 9-5, manual labour jobs and are happy with what they have, they are all musically talented, including the girl, who is not in the band. So music is obviously very important in their lives and is featured a lot in the video as well as dance, they enjoy playing even though they are using old instruments and tin barrels.

This video is very stylised, in a similar way to many indie music videos. It was made on a low budget and embraces its home-made feel, as many indie bands now make their music and videos at home with consumer equipment. The camerawork was handheld and shaky at times and the locations were all real, everyday places. The colours in the video are quite washed out and realistic, without looking too 'gritty'. This reflects the themes of the band and song, that they are rooted people and not 'Hollywood' but are also very happy with what they have, this is an ideology present in much of Indie Folk music.

The video also follows some wider music video conventions. For example the majority of the video is of the lead singer and the band members, and they are often performing. The song has a slow tempo and the editing matches this, having long takes and mostly straight cuts.

Welcome!

This is where I will be record my research, planning and development of my Music Video and Digipack.
I am working in a team with Rachel Mather, Emma Guest and Rosie Turner, we will be making a video for a song by the unsigned band All About Flux.