THEORIST RESEARCH
In 1992 Andrew Goodwin published his book dancing in the distraction factory, this consisted of his theories regarding his research into music videos.
He believed in criteria that would create a good music video:
1 - Genre Conventions: This means that by using symbolism of the genre for example the indie genre includes ‘edgy’ younger artists with a creative visual aesthetic to their work (we see this in my textual analysis’s), whereas the pop genre is much more focused on glammed up models an example of this is Dua Lipa’s song new rules which focuses much more heavily on dance routines and glam and rap tends to include ‘ganster’ looking males with expensive cars and gold chains, for example, KSI - Lamborghini (Explicit) ft. P Money which demonstrates this even in the name and also the video is focused on the car.
2 - Star Representation: Goodwin believes that including star representation within a music video makes the text a more appealing text. as each artist adds a unique style to their video and therefore, in turn, promotes their image to the public. an example of this is in Ariana grandes video focus which the label have used a number of close up shots to connect the audience to the artist. A way we will do this within our own text is by making the audience empathise with the artist through the narrative in which they play the protagonist.
3- Visuals matching lyrics: This is whereas the lyrics are sung, the visuals either directly connote the lines or contradict the lines. for example, in Shawn Mendes song stitches we see the artist physically getting hurt as he sings the lyrics to represent being emotionally hurt by a girl and therefore needing stitches quite literally because of his injuries.
4 - Beat matching visuals: This is where the beat of the music has a direct effect on the visuals for example if the song is a club song, the visuals should match this with quick cuts and the visuals changing on the drop of the bass, This is something we will aim to do but this can be quite hard. an example of this is Kalis Uchis - after the storm throughout this video we can see visuals matching the beat, for example, we see at 0:09 the shaking of the cereal matching the beat. aswell as at 0:12 we see the clouds in the window matching the beat of the music. at 0:28 we see the main female protagonist underline her writing to the beat.
5 - Voyeurism: Voyeurism is used in a few slightly different ways in media texts for example in film, Hitchcock famously speaks of voyeurism and how this is how the killer sees his victims whereas in goodwin’s case voyeurism is seen in a slightly different sense, a sexual sense. Using sex appeal of the artist/video to sell it. By using sex appeal to sell the video by portraying usually females in this light (this triggers male gaze spoken about in my research), we see this used on mass in the pop genre music industry, this element of good wins theory is one that I would like to subvert to show that a music video can be successful without this and can be successful by using an important message and using representation of sexuality as an awareness tool rather than a sexualisation tool. An example of this is in Camila Cabello's video - never be the same within the first few seconds of the video we see her being watched with an old camcorder style footage, this is her using seductive behaviour almost to try and entice the 'man' filming her a lover of some sort. We can tell this by the way she wiggles her hips and looks at the camera, but as an audience we are taking the mans point of view, we are watching what he is seeing, therefore, we see her in the same light, another point to add to the voyeurism of the piece is the mise en scene, we see the artist in her own personal space and we are watching her in an intimate way the public would not usually see. there are other connotations that add to this sexual viewpoint in the video, for example, her white costume representing purity and virginity and innocence but at the same time innocence in sex.
6 - Intertextuality: Intertextuality is the concept that one media text informs or references another, for example, a film referenced in a video game. These can be subtle or direct, for example, We see this in my preliminary task and Wayne's world. Another example of intertextuality is Bruno Mars video finesse and its references to in living colour, we can see similar almost identical imagery, for example, the spray paint and paint brushes as the first location followed by a rooftop set with the identical set as well as the use of cast we see a group of dancers. this can be done as a cool 'easter egg' for example from one song referencing another, or as a parody or to weave meaning from other texts into their own for example a more serious meaning to a text.
Application and Evaluation - These concepts are concepts I will keep in mind when creating my own music video for example, I will aim to use genre conventions within my work so that the appropriate audience access my text and enjoy appropriately, not only this but I will aim to construct my own Richard dyer star, using profiling to do so and construct a character within the genre in which is a role model figure but also use close up shots of the artist to identify with the audience. I will also aim to edit my video in a way that allows for the visuals to match the lyrics and beat again to create the most successful product true to real media products as I can. Voyeurism is the next point of discussion, Regarding the concept of sexual gratification and voyeurism, I would like to reject this openly within my work and move away from the idea that this is nessarct for a successful product. The final point I would like to apply to my own work is Intertextuality This is something that I would like to continue into my main product, i would like to reference the concepts used in videos such as same love - Macklemore and the original video for the song i have chosen girls like girls - Hayley Kiyoko, giving subtle nods to ideas they have used within their own work.
Andrew Goodwin - Music Videos
Blumler & Katz - Uses and Gratification Theory
Uses and Gratifications theory
states that as audiences we watch and utilise the media for different reasons and are active in picking this, to fulfil certain desires
Informed and Educated - usually through news and documentary, but any mass media can do this such as tv although the general view on television is that it is dumbed down in a bid to get more viewers through the entertainment of this dumbness.
Entertained - for pleasure, this is
usually in the form of tv, film or gaming
Personal Identity - role models look up to characters by mimicking traits or reinforce character traits, the general view is that mass music industry does this in a negative way for example the blurred lines controversy and things such as violence tv and creating aggression in children.
Integration and Social Interaction - we use media for social points similar to reception theory, and the idea of imagined community for example when you are watching something you may feel as though you are part of a bigger group watching it (Fandom) we see this alot in harry potter and the fans surronding this. this is usually in the form of social media
Escapsim - You can be some else in video games. an example of this is grand theft auto or games such as call of duty
Application and Evaluation -
When doing my own work, I will keep this in mind about why an audience may want to watch/enjoy my text. I will aim for my text to be viewed for informative reasons aswell as entertainment.
Laura Mulvey - Male/Female Gaze
Laura Mulvey ‘Gaze theory’ came from her essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”, Laura Mulvey introduced the concept of The Male Gaze, she believes the male gaze demonstrates power inequality within the film industry .
The male gaze happens when the audience is following the viewpoint of a heterosexual male. For example, the audience may view a woman but the camera lingers slightly on her sexual features or her body and this is argued that it is the viewpoint of a male, therefore being called the male gaze.
Mulvey believes that this male gaze on women in film objectifies them, meaning a woman's status becomes that of an object.
in the 1970's Hollywood industry the industry was mainly male with male executives funding male directors who made films for a male audience.which created these sexualised representations of women in media.
The sexualisation goes even as far as having a woman with little on for no significance for example in an advertisement a woman might be sexualised even though this would have no relevance to the product being sold.
Mulvey split this gaze into three 'looks' or viewpoints in which are tools to sexualise woman as objects
1. The Producer - the idea of the fact that a producer is most likely a man and due to this the camera takes on that of a male point of view which in turn means we as an audience view the text from a male point of view with shots that may linger on body parts of the females
2. The Audience - this is the idea of a male audience obsession with looking at the human body for pleasure for sexual gratification
"the perspective of the spectator as they see the female character on screen"
3. Males characters - This is the idea that male characters interact with the females in a way that that's their only purpose to be looked at, and usually draw audiences attention to be part of this.
"the perspective of the male character on screen and how he perceives the female character"
each of these perspectives gives men the power over women in media and that the female form is used only for pleasure of men in media.
although in the 21st century this is changing there are many more female producers and many more strong female main roles with no sexualisation being created, therefore, in turn, creating equal representations of gender. the main places in which are lagging behind now days in this are action movies and games.
Application and Conclusion
Regarding applying Mulvey to my own work, I will try and reject the male gaze and follow this new movement for using a strong lead without sexualising her for male pleasure.
Mulvey also believes that there are two ways in which women are portrayd in videos, either as a virgin (an sexually innocent character) or a 'whore' (sexually promisucs character) - she named this the virgin/whore dichotomy
Stuart Hall - Audience Reception
The concept of audience reception comes from the idea of media producers encoding texts with meanings, such using lighting to project an emotion or using font to create a theme, using costume in a way that portrays a character as a good guy or a bad guy, producers to this create a deep rich text.
Once a text is created with these encoded meanings in, the audience then, in turn, decodes these texts meanings, but due to factors and experiences in individual audience members lives, for example, culture or income, this means that individual audience members will decode meanings in their own way.
Hall believes that there are three ways in which media texts are decoded:
Dominant Reading - This tends to be where the audience decode a text as the producer had hoped and constructed his text for. the joker has been used as an example of this, most people decode the joker to be the bad guy we know this due to his appearance, for example, his makeup and his behaviour.
Negotiated Reading - This is where an audience member understands the intention of the producer but due to their own life experiences and beliefs such as their ideologies cannot agree with it but accepts its a rich text. For example youtube channel the meda insider uses the example of pineapple express, this movie contains themes of recreational drug use being funny and creates a good time, whilst the youtuber understand this he does not agree with drug use and therefore can appreciate the text.
Oppositional Reading - This is where the audience reject the message given by the producer whilst understanding it an example of this would be non gamers views on game ssuch as GTA .
If we use GTA to demonstrate the whole meaning of this it would go like this:
A younger gamer may take away the dominant reading for the text GTA, that it is a fun world where you can do anything you want
An Adult gamer with a bit more experience may take away the negotiated reading, the idea that it's a fun game but does come with moral implications such as violence and unnecessary bad language but appreciate that it is just a game and that its a persons viewpoint on the world.
A non-gamer may take the oppositional reading, reading that GTA is a game and they understand that but they reject the text because it is just too morally wrong.
sometimes audiences or a group will come away reading the oppositioal reading of the textor will try and get audiences to realise how the text could be read as an offensive text a good example of this is the text Blurred lines by Robin Thicke. which contains a number of ideas that the line between sexual consent is not esistent and all girls want you although this may be argued that this was actually the producers intention.
Application and Evaluation
This is something I will keep in mind when creating my media text, I will aim to make sure that I encode my text how I want it in the hope that audience mainly understand and experience my text through its dominant reading.
Richard Dyer - Utopian Theory
Richard Dyer is a lecturer of Film in the UK, He believes that audiences consume media for set pleasure reasons and then draw from these texts. (Similar to Blumler and katz)
His theorys contain themes of escapism of the audience who wish to get away from reality due to the stress and negivitty of reality.
"The notion of entertainment as in some sense utopian - expressing ideals about how human life could be organised and lived - is implicit in what the most widespread assumption about entertainment, namely, that it provides escape. Entertainment offers the image of something better to set against the realities of day to day existence'.
Dyer believes in three reasons audiences choose to consumer media:
1) Social Tension
2) Inadequacy
3)Absense
these are things that come from reality, and each of them have a utopian solution. I have included the table to the right.
Examples include:
Reality VS Utopian Solution
Tiring = Active
Poverty = Material Things
Boring Routine = Emotion & Energy
Manipulation = Honesty & love
Rehousing = Sense of Belonging
POST MODERNISM
Venturi, Brown and Izenour - Surface, Bricolage, Pastiche and Parody 1977
These theorists believed post modernism could be catergorised into elements:
Surface: this is where a text favours style over content and tends to be as its name suggests surface over depth, this tends to be tv that has much style but little meaning
Bricolage:
Patiche:
Parody:
