Andrew Goodwin's Theory

After researching I have looked at Andrew Goodwin's theory from Andrew Goodwin, Dancing In The Distraction Factory 1992, in relation to music videos. There a key conventions that music promos follow to be successful and Goodwin's theory explains these codes and conventions clearly.

Andrew Goodwin's theory has six different conventions:

- There is a relationship between the music and visuals; either amplifies, illustrates or contradicts.
- There is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals; either amplifies, illustrates or contradicts.
- Specifically in performance videos there are many close ups of a band or artist, this may be due to the record label and promoting the band itself or may be used to develop motifs used in other work.
- Voyeurism often plays a major part in videos. The notion of looking at something which commonly is at the female body.
- Genre characteristics are presented in music videos, a pop music video may feature dance routines and a rock may feature the artist performing on stage. These tend to be very stereotypical.
- Intertextual reference to other media may occur, such as songs from film soundtracks will feature clips of that film within the video.


Andrew Goodwin's theory can be seen in most music videos. For example, in the Arctic Monkeys music promo for 'Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High' shows about 5 of the 6 conventions from Goodwin's theory. This illustrates how it is key to have these 6 conventions in a music promo to make it successful.

There are certain characteristics that are in music promos due to the genre of the music. For example many alternative rock || pop rock || pop punk music proms may have similar features which come from the genre. 
There tends to be at least some performance elements within the videos showing the whole band, with close ups of each member but it may focus on the lead singer. 
Narratives may be more movie like, for example in Against The Currents video for 'Running With The Wild Things' the band goes on a mission, this looks like it may have been inspired by films.
There are not many videos which are concept but if they are the idea may come from a certain lyric and relate to the song, like Panic! At The Disco's 'This Is Gospel' where the video idea may have come from the lyrics 'The fear of falling apart' and 'If you love me let me go'

Genre

Genre
noun

A style or category of art, music, or literature.
"the spy thriller is a very masculine genre"

In today's music industry there are a vast number of different genres and new genres of music being created. These different genres tend to all have different styles of music promos to suit the style/genre of music; a dark music promo would suit a song from a punk genre more than pop.

The most common genres are: Indie, Pop, Rock, Rap. Each of these genres have very different music promos, for example Eminem's music promo for 'Lose Yourself' is contrasty different to David Bowie's 'Let's Dance'.

Many genres have stereotypical feature/elements in their videos which make the genre more identifiable to an audience. Stereotypically most pop music promos will feature a dance routine in the video, an example of this would be Ariana Grande's music promo for 'Focus'

Contrasty this would not happen in a rock genre music video as pop dance routines would be very unusual with the genre. An example could be Green Day's 'American Idiot', this music video is performance based and the style of dance (seen above) would not fit with the punk genre.

Website Homepage Analysis || Hey Violet

Synergy can be seen across Hey Violet's website homepage and their EP cover. Their new logo is what is seen first by the viewer, introducing the band, the bands logo can also give the viewer some clue to the genre of music the band makes.

Their social media links are also at the very top of the page, meaning a viewer can instantly follow them and find out more information about the band in what way they choose.

The viewer immediately sees the bands latest music video for their single 'Brand New Moves'. This promotes their new single and their YouTube channel as the viewer may then click on other music videos the band has made. In turn the viewer may buy more of the bands music as they discover more of it through YouTube.

The bands instagram posts go onto their homepage, this creates an artistic look to their website making it more interesting for the viewer, it also gives the viewer easy access to their instagram page and can see what the band have been doing. This can then lead to the viewer following the band on their instagram. 

By promoting themselves this way, they can get more followers more easily because it is all easy access and easy to find.

Digipak Anaylsis || Hey Violet - Brand New Moves - EP

Hey Violet are yet to release a full studio album and Brand New Moves is their latest EP. 
The cover for this EP has changed and has more of a pop punk/rock feel which is the genre of music on this EP. 

Their EP cover has changed in its style compared to their previous cover for their old EP, this could be representing the change in their music style. The bands old cover is more pop punk and punk rock which is their genre of music. But as the band has diversified their music genre to alternative and electronic with the punk rock and pop rock, the band has evolved and this evolution is shown through the EP cover.

The typeface used for the EP title adds to the edgy feel of the EP cover and fits synergistically with the alternative genre.

The Brand New Moves EP cover is much brighter with a mix of blue and pink and their band logo in glittery gold shows they're maturing as a band.

By having the band in the EP cover it introduces the listener to the band making the listening experience more enjoyable. It is also easy to identify who the lead singer is because she is out in front, like how in concerts the lead singer is always front and centre.

The cover leaves large amounts space at the top for the band name, by making the logo bigger and brighter it instantly draws the viewers eyes to it and sticks in their mind, therefore promoting the band.

Music Promo Analysis - Brand New Moves by Hey Violet

Hey Violet is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, the members are Rena Lovelis (bass/lead vocals), Nia Lovelis (drums/vocals), Miranda Miller (keyboard/rhythm guitar/vocals) and Casey Moreta (lead guitar).

The band formed in 2008 as Cherrie Bomb but after the departure of then lead vocalist Julia Pierce in 2013 she was replaced by Casey Moreta. In 2015 they changed their name to Hey Violet and were signed to Hi or Hey Records.

Record Label
Hi or Hey Records is a label created by the Australian rock band 5 Seconds of Summer, they explained that they would not be realising music through the label in conjunction with Capitol Records and Universal Music, but would be signing a new roster of new bands and releasing them through the label.
Hey Violet was signed to Hi or Hey Records on March 24, 2015

Lyrics
I'm the lock and you're the key
So open me, come on open me
You can have me anyway you like, yeah
I'm right here so pour yourself all over me, all over me
Treat me wrongly baby, it feels so right, yeah

Don't it feel like it's been forever?
Don't it feel like it's been a while?
Don't it feel like it's been forever?
Been forever? Been forever?

Since the last time we danced I learned some brand new moves, uh!
Since the last time we kissed I learned a thing or two, uh!
Since the last time we danced I learned some brand new moves
(I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you)
Since the last time we kissed I learned a thing or two
(I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you)
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you

I'm the lock and you're the key
Won't you come and open me
You can find anything that you like, yeah
I've been waiting patiently
Pull yourself all over me
When you treat me wrong it's so right

Don't it feel like it's been forever?
Don't it feel like it's been a while?
Don't it feel like it's been forever?
Been forever? Been forever?

Since the last time we danced I learned some brand new moves, uh!
Since the last time we kissed I learned a thing or two, uh!
Since the last time we danced I learned some brand new moves
(I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you)
Since the last time we kissed I learned a thing or two
(I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you)
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you
Uh, brand new moves
I wanna try them on you, I wanna try them on you
Lyrics and Visuals
Throughout the music promo for 'Brand New Moves' there are no key links between the lyrics and the visuals. There is one vague link in the lyric 'Pull yourself all over me' and the visuals in some way reference each other.

Music and Visuals
The music promo has a pop art feel throughout which coincides with the very up beat 80s style track. Stopmotion has also been used in different ways during the video, which adds to the pop art feel along with the bright colours used.

Narrative/Concept/Performance
The Brand New Moves music promo is a mix between concept and performance, there is no definitive narrative to the video. With the video being concept and performance based it means there is a bigger link between the music and the visuals. Lead vocalist Rena Lovelis said "We mixed the tracks a bit '80s style with more synths and drums that sound really fat and big with a groove" this can be seen during the promo through the bright pop art colours and style used. By choosing to film the video in this way, it makes the performance element far more interesting as it provides the audience with more than just a band playing music, but mixes it up.
The 80s style appears to have more link with the visuals than the lyrics and people may stereotypically think of the 80s as bright and colourful, which may be where they took inspiration from.

Mise en Scene
Location
There isn't a set location for the video, except a blank screen in which lead vocalist Rena Lovelis dances in front of. The video has been heavily transformed in post production editing.

Costume and Makeup Props
The costumes and make are quite basic as each member seems to be wearing very casual clothing. In the first scene in the promo Lovelis puts on some big sunglasses which may be a reference to the 80's style track.

Again there is basic use of make up such as winged eyeliner. However in one clip black lipstick has been added on to Lovelis during editing, adding to the pop art style of video.

The only props used in the music promo are the band members instruments, as it is a very performance based video each member has been filmed playing their instrument before being edited in post production and made to look like stop motion or given a pop art style.

Lighting
Due to the video being heavily edited in such a way there is very little use of lighting. During one part of the video, Rena Lovelis is in front of a black screen, the lighting illuminates her,making her stand out in front of the black.

Focus Group

"The stop motion and and editing of the video is really capturing. The bright colours are really eye catching. I had to watch it again to check I didn't miss anything" - Alexia 16

Lyrics and Music Vs Visuals

Lyrics and Visuals
- a lyric poem or verse.
- the words of a popular song.

The lyrics of a song work injunction with the music, they help to establish the general mood and feeling of a song.
Key lines may play a part in the visuals but rarely will a music promo simply illustrate the lyrics wholesale. For example in the Arctic Monkeys song Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High the key word is 'High' and the theme of being high/drunk is played through the video.
The lyrics can be the start of a narrative video, as there may be a stray within the lyrics or a narrative can be adapted from certain lyrics.

Music promos may also contradict what the lyrics are saying, making a narrative which is either opposite or nothing like the story told in a song. They may also be contradicting if the narrative idea is taken from a certain lyric in the track.

Music
Music links to visuals of a music promo in a different way compared to lyrics, for example a storyline can not be made from the music solely, but can add emotion and set the feel of a narrative video. A slower song may influence a sadder music promo.
The tempo of a track can drive the editing, a fast paced song will have more quick cuts compared to a slow track.
Many promos emphasise particular sounds from the track by foregrounding instruments such as a guitar, keyboard or drum solo.
Genre can also influence the type of music promo created, a pop song will be far more up beat with bright colours and dance numbers, compared to a rock video; which may be more performance based than concept.

Music Promo Analysis || Arctic Monkeys - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High

The Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band that formed in 2002. The band consists of lead singer Alex Turner, drummer Matt Helders, lead guitar Jamie Cook and bass guitar Nick O'Malley.
They have released five studio albums and their debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006) is the fastest-selling debut album by a band in British chart history.

Record Label
The Arctic Monkeys are signed to Domino Recording Company, it is a British independent recording company based in London. The company has other divisions in Germany, France and America. Founded in 1993 by Laurence Bell and his partner Jacqui Rice, it signed many American artists but found its most success during the Britpop era during which they began to get a more steady stream of signed artists. They have had recent more high-profile releases from artists such as the Arctic Monkeys, which aided in it's growth.
Domino had the first UK #1 single in October 2005 with the Arctic Monkeys' 'I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor'


Lyrics
The mirror's image
Tells me it's home time
But I'm not finished
'Cause you're not by my side
And as I arrived I thought I saw you leaving
Carrying your shoes
Decided that once again I was just dreaming
Of bumping into you

Now it's three in the morning and I'm trying to change your mind
Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply,
"Why'd you only call me when you're high?
Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?"

Somewhere darker
Talking the same shite
I need a partner (hey)
Well, are you out tonight?
It's harder and harder to get you to listen
More I get through the gears
Incapable of making alright decisions
And having bad ideas

Now it's three in the morning and I'm trying to change your mind
Left you multiple missed calls and to my message you reply (message you reply),
"Why'd you only call me when you're high? (why'd you only call me when you're high?)
Hi, why'd you only call me when you're high?"

And I can't see you here wonder where I might?
Sort of feels like I'm running out of time
I haven't found what I was hoping to find
You said, "You gotta be up in the morning, gonna have an early night.
And you're starting to bore me, baby.
Why'd you only call me when you're high?"

Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?
Why'd you only ever phone me when you're high?

Lyrics and Visuals

There is a definitive link between the lyrics and the visuals seen during the music promo. There a certain key moments in the promo where the audience can specifically see the link between the lyrics of the song and the visuals produced, for example when Alex Turner is looking into the mirror in the bathroom, the audience see what he is meant to be seeing in his drunken state; his mirror image moving around. This visual links to the start of the lyrics 'The mirrors image tells me it's home time'. During the introduction there is another moment where a clock face changes into a smile, this called also be a reference to the same lyric.

However throughout the music promo there are clear references to the title and chorus of the song 'Why'd you only call me when your high' The camera shows the audience what Alex Turner is seeing and then what is really there, illustrating to the audience that he is drunk or maybe high. The introduction to the music promo also helps to promote the idea that the main character is drunk or high as he has been at a bar and drinking.

Another link between lyrics and visuals comes from the lyric 'Left you multiple missed calls' and in many shots Turner is shown with a phone, but once again the overriding lyric 'why'd you only call me when you're high' is portrayed again; post production editing has been used to show the phone slipping inside Turner's hand.

Music and Visuals

Clearly there is a more distinctive link between lyrics and visuals to music and visuals. The track has a deep bass throughout creating a darker feel, this idea has been relayed through miss-en-scene, the whole promo is set at night and is quite dark; matching the feel of the song.

Narrative/Concept/Performance
The Arctic Monkeys music promo for 'Why'd You Only call Me When You're High' has a strong narrative base and no concept or performance elements. The narrative has been extracted from the lyrics of the song, the basis being 'why'd you only call me when you're high'. The music promo has a minute long introduction helping the audience to understand the narrative of the story.
The music video focuses on a man who is clearly drunk after a night out with his friends, the audience are taken with him as he stumbles his way home. The man appears to be distressed about something as he keeps checking his phone and seeing things on his walk home. In the end the audience find out that he has been pining after a girl as he ends up at someones door by the end of the song, but has the wrong door due to his drunkenness as the camera shows the girl in the house opposite pick up her phone to look at the messages sent from the man.

Mise en Scene
Location
There are two main locations for this music promo, the bar and city streets, with other places such as a bathroom and a girls house. Together these locations help to carry the story narrative.


Costume and Makeup   Props
No makeup has been used in the music promo, making the costumes more significant. The man is dressed in all black with a leather jacket, this could suggest that he is more of a darker character who spends a lot of their time at a bar. The dark clothes also blend in more with the dark streets, implying that he may be a 'night owl'.
The main prop used during the video is a phone which the man keeps looking at, like he is anticipating a message or a call, moving the narrative forwards.


Lighting
The bar where the man is first seen is dimly lit, suggesting that the video is set late at night. In contrast to the dimly lit bar the bathroom is very bright and the white walls make it seem even brighter, this transition could be the man realising that it is time he goes home. The bathroom also has a small red glow coming from the door, like it could be beckoning the man back into the bar.
The streets that the man is seen to walk along are dimly lit by street lights as well, suggesting that the area may be slightly run down and that it is very late.


Camera Work and Editing
For most of the music promo the camera follows the man as he walks home, there are several over the shoulder shots and close ups. The closeup shots mainly show the man looking at his phone, and with post production editing the texts are shown to the audience, making the narrative more immersing.

Focus Group Thoughts
'The music video has amazing visual effects that help the storyline along and brings to light some hard hitting issues in it.' - Alexia 16

'The storyline is quite relatable making the video more enjoyable to watch and the visual effects like the mirror make it more interesting' - Jack 17

Website Homepage Analysis || Arctic Monkeys

The Arctic Monkeys website homepage is similar to their latest album digipak, it follows the same colour scheme of black and white and layout with the Arctic Monkeys logo at the very top. By having the logo at the top of the page the viewer automatically sees it. 

As the viewer scrolls down the page the top transparent part stays at the top, it has links such as, news, gigs and store along with other links. By keeping the links constantly at the top of the page along with the band logo it gives easy access to the audience around their website, by making a website easy to navigate it might keep someone interested and on it for longer.

Scrolling down the page the viewer can read about past shows, watch video and go to other linked pages. It has a side bar which displays videos and their twitter and facebook, so that people can follow them on social media and keep up to date with the band.
The synergy of the website to the digipak makes the Arctic Monkeys feel as though it is all one, and works together giving a comforting experience with the band.

Digipak Anaylsis || Arctic Monkeys - AM

The Arctic Monkeys digipak for their album AM is very synergistic. The front panel displays the iconic Arctic Monkeys logo on top of a plain black background. The big white logo stands out on the plain black drawing and the same typeface has been used which is recognisable Arctic Monkey fans. The viewers attention to it and there is nothing else on the front to distract the viewer, promoting the band. This techniques may also help people to spot the album when in a music shop as it is big and bold.

There is synergy across the digipak and CD as the well known AM logo is displayed on a black background just like the front cover but the album logo instead of the band logo. This is a very simplistic digipak but is also represents the Arctic Monkeys themselves as they emerged in the brit pop era and have a very distinctive genre of indie rock, garage rock and post punk, these genres can be linked to the clothes the band wore, such as black leather jackets, black jeans. And the album digipak emulated this by using the plain black and white contrast of the logo and background.

The back panel of the digipak follows the same colour scheme of black and white, displaying the Arctic Monkeys logo on the back. The repetition of the logo imprints the band in the viewers head, meaning they will remember the band and maybe go back to their music, if not buy it.

The track list is on the back in white writing, the typeface is very basic but easy to look at, keeping the viewer looking at the album. the copyright information is all along the bottom, so not to draw attention to it as the band want to promote themselves so make more space by moving the copyright info to the bottom and make it very small. The smaller writing makes it harder to read, this means that many people won't look at it or try to read it and will look at the band logo or track list.

There is a line that goes through the middle of the track list on the back cover, this links the back cover to the front as the line is a continuation of the sound waves logo for the AM album. This continuous line makes the digipak feel as though it is all one thing and more together.

Music Video Analysis || BTS - Dope

K-Pop is a genre of music which is becoming more and more popular and each music video made seems to follow the same set of codes and conventions. While I may not be able to analyse the link between the lyrics and visuals without a translator, there are still visible features that each promo has.

This video released in June 2015 is much like an other K-Pop video, it is very upbeat and fast paced, with large portions of very fast and difficult choreography that each member performs. This follows the code and convention of promos needing to meet demands of record labels as each member gets their own screen time and the band is shown together.

Other codes and conventions for this genre of music would be, extravagant sets, complicated choreography, imaginative costumes making the videos performance and narrative based.

Dope starts with a small intro before the song starts which introduces the first member of the group who is in a costume, ticking off one of the codes and conventions already. Each of the boys costumes are work related, this gives the video some narrative that audiences can follow. Two other members are then shown in there own sets and in different costumes, before the chorus starts and the entire group perform a dance. The dance is fast and looks difficult, this feature could be used to grab audiences attention as the performances are so well done it leaves people wanting to watch more.
As the video continues the rest of the band get their individual screen time with close ups and dancing, making the video more performances based.
The bridge of the song is slower, this is shown through the changes in lighting which focus on two of the members in blue and red and the dancing that has stopped/slowed.

The music and visuals have been linked together through the fast dances and sharp camera movements but also through lighting. During one of the group performances spotlights are used erratically which ties in well with the music.

This music promo has followed every convention of a modern K-pop video such as the big and multiple sets. Compared to other K-pop videos from other groups such as EXO there isn't any noticeable motifs that individual bands follow, this may be because K-pop is less about individuality and more focused of created popular bands with mass success.

Focus Group

An introduction to the members in my focus group. 
I have chosen a mix of girls and boys for my focus group because music is never specifically targeted at a gender so it is import to see what both genders think of different genres of music.

Alexia - 16
Izzy - 17
Jack - 17
Dan - 18
Jess - 17

From this group I have got both male and female who are in the range of my target audience. 
I can use my focus group to help to conform to codes and conventions, whilst also gaining their opinion on the products I will be creating. This will allow me to get ongoing feedback to better my products as they are produced. 

Codes and Conventions of Music Videos

There are codes and conventions that every music video follows.
The three main types of music videos are; Narrative based, Performance based and Concept based. However they can be mixed together to create a more diverse promo.

Music promos demonstrate genre characteristics, they do this through different mediums. Pop genre music videos will follow different characteristics to a punk genre video, for example a pop song such as Katy Perry's Roar is very upbeat and playful compared to Green Day's Basket Case video.

The song itself has to fit with the promo, this is done through looking at lyrics and visuals, music and visuals. Certain lyrics in a song can be used as a focus point to which a music promo can be made around, for example going back to Katy Perry's Roar music promo is jungle themed which is where the lyrics and visuals created have tied together. The music must also match the visuals; an upbeat song needs to have an upbeat promo for it to work.

Demands of record labels can also influence the music promo made, this means that the video may be required to have multiple close ups of the artist/band and artists may develop motifs that reoccur within each promo. This gives a music promo individuality as it is specifically tailored to a particular artist or band.

Introduction

G324 Advanced Portfolio in Media

Our task is to produce a promotional package for the release of an album, this includes:
- creating a music promo video
- digipak for the album
- magazine advert for the digipak // website homepage for the band
We can either complete this in a group or individually.

I will be using this blog for my research, planning and evaluation whilst also documenting other related topics throughout my course.