Copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, used by most governments, giving the creator of an original piece of work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time, with the intention of enabling the creator of intellectual wealth to get compensated for their work and be able to financially support themselves. Generally, it is "the right to copy", but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms. It is a form of intellectual property.

While many aspects of national copyright laws have been standardized through international copyright agreements, copyright laws of most countries have some unique features. Typically, the duration of copyright is the whole life of the creator plus fifty to a hundred years from the creator's death. 

It was important to consider copyright when creating our music video as the record company that owns the song "Sonnentanz" which we are doing may not give permission for us to use their music. In this case if we continue to use the song and create the music video we would be breaking the law as we need to be given their consent. We therefore, looked at who the record company was and we found out that it was Universal Music Group we then went on to there website and then went on to where it said contact us this is when we filled in the information below.

We are however, still waiting for a response back from Universal.

Initial planning ideas

My group is made up of four people from my school, there names are Rhiannon Andrews-West, Max Heath and Luke Thompson and myself.

Meeting 1: 

We collected all of our original ideas and evaluated each one to decide on an idea that we all thought would produce the best music video to give us the best grade possible. We considered whether the ideas would stick to the genre conventions of the song that we had selected as well as whether it would successfully attract our chosen target audience. These were our options: 

• Song 1: Zinc - Only for tonight

- Narrative idea: We thought that we could take the idea of teenagers receiving their  A level  results as it would reflect the lyrics 'something on your mind' that is repeated in the chorus of the song. We thought that we could also show the teenager going out and being involved taking drugs and drinking alcohol in order to drown out the stress of their A levels. This would then go with the uptempo music of the song and create the correct atmosphere. 

- Why we decided not to use it: We decided that the idea was not in depth enough and may therefore lead to the music video looking amateur. We also felt that our other ideas would be easier to carry out and would create a more successful video.

Song 2: - Sun don't shine 

- Narrative idea: The music video will start in a graveyard with a priest leading a funeral. This coincides with the lyrics on the first line i've walked through the valleys' which is a biblical term and therefore lends it to the story line. From here we are going to create flashbacks of the couple's (main characters) memories together to show an insight into the background of the people. This will be paired with the couple being shown at a house party that will be alternating with the flashbacks. This will help to create a faster pace to fit the fast beat of the House/Dance genre. We then will skip back in time to explain the use of the graveyard at the beginning by showing the couple leaving the house party (after having been drinking) and arguing in the car. The next scene is going to be a car crash which leaves the girl laying on the floor. 

- Inspiration: Ellie Goulding & Calvin Harris - Need your love / Coldplay - The Scientist

- Why we decided to use it: We have chosen to use this narrative as we all agreed that the song choice fits with the ideas for the narrative better than any of the other songs that we had discussed using. We felt that the song spiralled a range of ideas and that this would lead us to create a more original and effective music video.  

Research in to Diverse singing music videos

I analysed two diverse music video directors. Chris cunningham is a british director and Michael Gondry is a french director. I analysed two videos from each director. Elements that make a music video unique are strong narrative, big celebrities, behaviour/cencorship and budgent spent.

Cunningham has previously worked with a big artist in Madonna and created the video Frozen which I happened to analyse, i also analysed the video Big Daddy by Aphex Twin.

I analysed the presentation, goodwins theory, structure and style and representation of the artist in

Aphex twin it is a dance music video but it is filmed as a short film and there is no main characters. Aphex Twin has the opposite characteristics to a dance video for example no club setting and no strobe. In the music video it is filmed on an estate which is dark and cold it comes across as it is a nightmare. A nanny appears in the video and she looks very scared she starts staring into a tv then out of no where these demented weird looking children came out of nowhere. Throughout the video there is fast paced editing.

Goodwins theory is not present in Come to daddy because it is completely different to the common elements of goodwins theory which makes the video diverse. There is no main artist and no cencorship. It does not appear on MTV and you would only see a video like this on home pages or youtube. There is also no big broadcasters involved. The structure and style of the video is 100% narrative, the narrative is about crazy looking children chasing the nanny. The music video has no conventions to dance video and appears like a scary short  film. There is no representation of an artist as there is no artist this also means there is no relationship to the audience aswell.

 The second video that i analysed was Frozen by Madonna in which i also analysed the presentation, goodwins theory, structure and style and representation of the artist. Frozen is represented as being a Gothic style video u can tell this through the bleached black hair and the all black clothing. In the video there is nothing around her her she is stranded on this island. Madonna all of a sudden turns into a black crow with eagles flying around her which further reiterates the video coming across as gothic. Yet again another Cunningham video goes against the reputation of goodwins theory because it doesn't follow the conventions of a pop video which it is supposed to be because Madonna is a pop artist. However in the video there was a relationship between  lyrics & visual though the dark characteristics that Madonna portrayed.

The structure and style of the video is 90% performance and 10% narrative as there is a dark atmosphere and Madonna turning into animals. Madonna is represented as being emotional and supposed to be part of the 1990's image however in this video she rebels against the conventions of a pop video. 

After i analysed two of Cunningham's videos i analysed two of Michael Gondrys videos. Gondry like Cunningham has worked with a big artist, Gondry has worked with Kylie Minouge and they produced the music video come into my world. Also like Cunninghams i analysed the Presentation, Goodwins theory, structure and style of the video and the representation of the artist. Come into my world is a pop video with lots of extras in. It is situated in a realistic location where everyone can identify the location. In the video the people in it are wearing everyday clothing which gives off an image which is appropriate to the target audience. 

Unlike Cunningham Gondry does have some Goodwins theory in both videos, in Come in to my world there is a relationship with visual & lyrics when Kylie says "come in to my world" another character comes into the scene. The structure and style is 90% performance and 10% narrative.

This is when there is a relationship
between visual and lyrics when she says "come in to my world" more people appear.

The second video i analysed from Gondry was Hardest button to button by White stripes. This video genre is Alternative Rock you can tell this through the long black hair on the characters and the dark colours which they are wearing (black and red). Also the video follows the conventions of a rock group because the music they are playing is fast paced and loud with lots of banging something you expect to see in a rock video. 

Unlike the other three videos i have analysed this video relates to Goodwins more than the others do through the characteristics of the video and the visual making the music for example when he is talking about a box he has a red box in his hand. The structure and the style of the video is 100% performance and 0% narrative and the representation of the artist is stereotypical to rock .

There are positives and negatives to every music videos not matter if they are diverse or not. The positives to diverse videos is that they are different to everything else. They also have a specific target audience which a big name artist may not have because they produce different genres of songs all the time therefore, by having diverse videos the target audience can relate to the video because they will remember it more. Also it tends to break conventions. Like any video there are going to be negatives, the negatives of diverse videos are that the target audience cant relate to the artist specifically because they will have no interest in him which makes the video unpopular.

Both Cunningham and Gondry produce diverse videos for a reason, they like to create something new although not everyone likes that. They have both worked with big artists in Madonna and Kylie Minogue respectively which shows they are very good and well known for there work. I do think Gondry refers more to goodwins theory in the videos we analysed compared to Cunningham's but that is just the difference in there styles.

Research into music videos

In class we analysed two music videos together and one music video by ourselves, the two videos we analysed in class were Over by Drake and Club Cant Handle Us Right Now by Flo Rida. Music videos appeal to an audience because the audience get to see the song being played and what it represents. They can get an idea of what the song means and it allows them to watch something while the songs being played so that they do not get bored during the song but most importantly they can relate to the video. In the two videos we analysed Editing styles, Mise en scene and Camera shots.

Over

First of all we analysed the camera shots in Over. The first one we found was a low angle shot this was evident when Drake was dancing while his lyrics are projected on the wall this makes him seem bigger and powerful therefore not loosing his significance with the shot, this camera shot represents drake as a new rap artist and the shadow represents his image. This relates to the rap genre as it defines his emotions/life that he has been through. The audience would be interested in watching the music video to find out more information about him. The second camera shot we analysed was a Mid shot in which alot of it focused on reflection possibly to portray two different sides of his personality or that he is looking back in time at his bad choices in life. An establishing shot was evident when the image of a city is in the background of the wall this shows his life is changing and how quick its happened. This relates to a story about his life to his fans.

We then analysed the editing that went on during Over, Colour fillers were used this was when all different colours were moving fast within the bedroom the colours were really bright and quick this shows his lifestyle. Relationship with lyrics and music was evident in the music video when we hear drake talking about the lyrics and relationship, this relates to goodwins theory.

The Mise-En-Scene of the video also appears to be conventional of a rap music video, Lighting goes from low key to high key frequently, and makes the audience feel on edge , which is what the artists intentionally wants the audience to feel. The setting in the bedroom is used as a stage to perform his music, where the past is played around him which draws the audience in and makes what he's singing more relevant. Clothing in the video changes frequently which is conventional, we noticed that he was wearing a red jacket and sometimes had his hood up this is his costume. The red from his jacket represents his anger and relates to him going from nothing to fame this gives away his body language and the colour red has connotations of pain and aguish which is what Drake is feeling throughout the song.

Club cant handle us right now

The camera shots in Club cant handle us right now played a vital role in this music video especially
Cinematography. The long shot focuses on lamborginis which displays the artists wealth and the artist appears materialistic. The Audience relates to this by idolising the objects that people within this club have, and this relates to the video via the lyrics of the club not being able to handle them. Another camera shot used is the mid shot which shows the artist in the club. Flo Rida is on a higher stage than everyone else this makes him appear as the main attraction and superior to everyone else. This is conventional of a dance track as the artist appears powerful and the centre of attention.

A "split screen" was evident in Club cant handle us right now when it is all calm and then goes busy when they are all in the club. This references the lyrics to club cant handle them, this is a convention of the dance genre because it shows them having a good time and they love to party. Another editing style that was used in Club Cant Handle Us Right Now was "visual relates to the music" this is evident by the pace of the video when the music is slow the pace is slow and when the music is quick the dancing gets quicker. The effects used were cross dissolve when the music is slow paced and straight cuts when the music was quick. This relates to the dange genre because the pace of the video helps portray the party atmosphere.

Mise en Scene was also evident in Club Cant Handle Us Right Now through the use of clothing this was evident when he had a gold chain and watch on this was used to show his money and power over everyone else. This is relevant to the dance genre because it shows that he likes to be the centre of attention. Another piece of MES used was lighting, low and high key lighting changed throughout to show the atmosphere in the club fun and energetic. This is relevant to the dance genre because it shows the audience there all having a good time enjoying themselves. Positioning of characters is another example of MES this is evident when Flo Rida was standing on the podium in the middle of the street he has the centre of attention because he is raised above everyone else and everyone is looking at him, this relates to the dance genre because shows he is centre of attention and artists like that.

Research and analysis of a star Dyers theory

How can a music video help to show an image of an artist?

I think Justin Bieber has reinvented his image you can tell this from analysing his videos from the start of his career up until his most recent ones. Justin Bieber was born on March 1 1994.

One of Justins first songs was Baby.  It was released as the lead single from his album My World 2.0. Ludacris who is a rapper also appeared in the song. The song was released on the 18th january 2010. 

As of july 2013 it is the best selling song in US history as it is the only song to have been certified 12x platinum. The song comes under the genre Pop.

The song was a commercial success peaking at top spot in france and charting in the top ten of the UK and many other countries. In july 2010 the video became the most viewed video in YouTube history. He followed up the release of his debut album with his first headlining tour, the My world tour. Justins target audience for Baby was young teenage girls because at the time his image was a cute faced artist that had a special talenet in singing, this attracted all the younger girls into liking his music because they thought he was unbelieveable and nothing they had experienced before.

Here is a clean cut image of Justin on the front page of his song Baby. Here Justin has long wavy blonde hair and is baby faced. This is when Justin was first becoming well known as an artist.

In June 2011, Bieber was ranked #2 on the Forbes list of Best-Paid Celebrities under 30. He is the youngest star, and 1 of 7 musicians on the list, having raked in $53 million in a 12-month period. On November 1, 2011, Bieber released under the mistletoe, his second studio album. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling 210,000 copies in its first week of its release.

After this Beibers image started to change. He was more concerned about partying and women than his career. He also changed his hairstyle to short on the sides and long spikey on top, this is completely different to the long wavy hair he had before. In late 2011, Bieber began recording his third studio album, entitled Believe. On February 22, 2012, Bieber announced via Twitter that the first single off Believe would be released in March 2012. The following week, Bieber appeared on a TV show to announce that the first single would be called "Boyfriend" and would be released on March 26, 2012. The song was co-written by Mike Posner. The song debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, selling a total of 521,000 copies, the second-highest-ever debut digital sales in a week. The genre "Boyfriend" comes under is Pop Rap and R&B. Justins target audience in this video completely changes to any videos he has made before he is now targeting an older audience of elder teenagers. You can tell this through Goodwins theory of relationship beetween lyrics and visual when he says "if you were my boyfriend ill never let you" and a elder teenager appears and he is holding on to her. This leaves teenage girls  wishing it for it to be them that he is singing to .

Since then Beiber has been in abit of trouble. In March 2013, Bieber was involved in an altercation with a photographer in London which resulted in him being restrained by his own bodyguard. Bieber swore at the photographer, threatening to "fucking beat the f***" out of him. Also On August 30, 2013, a man charged at Bieber in a Toronto nightclub and placed the pop star in a chokehold. The club bouncers intervened before Bieber lost consciousness and pried the attacker away, throwing him to the floor. Justin Bieber then proceeded to kick his attacker several times in the ribs and head while the man was lying on the ground. The security personnel then had to drag a very angry Bieber away from his attacker, fearing that he would be killed.

Justin Beiber's newest song is called Heartbreaker. It was released on October 7, 2013, and produced by T-Minus, Maejor Ali, and Chief Tone.The song is the first in Bieber's series Music Mondays, where he will release a new single every week for 10 weeks until December 16, 2013. The genre for Heartbreaker is R&B and Pop, Justins target audience for this video is older teenagers starting from the age of 15. Heartbreaker has been quoted as being Justins most honest song however was not nearly as catchy as anything that he has produced before. Justins image is portrayed as being loving, emotional and vulnernable however, other people think that he has just put it on. Bieber was praised for the lyrics in the music video and for opening up even if he isn't telling the truth. The messages and values in the music video being given out are that if you happy in love you should not do anything to ruin that and if you do split up it is a hard experience and will take along time for you to get over it.

Dyers theory

In order to understand the relationship between the music industry  and its audiences, it is important to consider the roles of music stars. The term star refers to how u sell the performer to a large loyal audience. Common values of music stardom are;

• youthfulness
• originality
• anger
• success against the odds

Stars are only an image they are constructed to look like stars through media. Stars are commodities and only have a certain life span. Boybands and girlbands  have the shortest lifespan. Stars depend on a range of subsidery media e.g. magazines, tv, radio and the internet in order to construct an image for themselves which can be marketed to there target audience.

The star image is "incoherant' this is incomplete and open. Dyer says this is because it is based on two paradoxes.

Paradox 1      The star must be simultaneously ordinary and extraordinary for the consumer

Paradox 2       The star must be simultaneously present and absent for the consumer

Research into Goodwin's theory

Key Features of Music Video

Goodwin’s music video analysis

Andrew Goodwin writing in ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ (Routledge 1992)

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
(e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

4. 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 (a visual style).

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).

It is also worth considering:

7. Whether the video is primarily performance based, narrative based or concept based and how elements of each is used in it.

Research into Music Cencorship

Do you think music videos should be censored?

Ofcom is the communications regulator. They regulate TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms, mobiles, postal services, plus the airways over which wireless devices operate. They make sure that people in the UK get the best from their communications services and are protected from scams. Ofcom operates under the Communications Act 2003. This detailed Act of Parliament spells out exactly what Ofcom should do. The Act says that Ofcoms general duties should be to further the interests of citizens and of consumers. Meeting these two duties is at the heart of Ofcom.

Lady Gaga, "Alejandro" 

This video wasn't completely banned; it was just played in the later hours on one of MTV's channels that actually play videos. This video was censored, because of the usual reasons: bondage, simulated sex, religious imagery, dudes in vinyl Nazi outfits and Gaga in a vinyl nun outfit. Ofcom would have made sure this was played in the later hours of the day because this is usually when younger children who shouldn't be watching this type of imagery are going to bed. It is Ofcoms job to make sure members of the public are not disturbed by the imagery or sound in this music video.

"S&M" by Rhianna

The second video i analysed was S&M by rhianna which also came under criticism  because of the sexually suggestive content in the video, MTV first restricted the video's airtime and later banned it altogether. Here is a picture of a man being gagged by a sex toy in the video. Ofcom had to intervene because this type of media should not be seen by young fans of Rhianna. Rhianna is popular all over the world which means she has different ages of fans and therefore it was to much of a risk for the music video to be shown because there is indecency throughout.

M.I.A. Paper planes

M.I.A. has been censored on many occasions for her indecent music. In 2007 her hit single "paper planes" was censored by MTV and on a late night talk show "late night with Dave Letterman" it was censored due to the gun shots in the rhythm track. M.I.A. posted a message on her My Space page over the weekend, calling out MTV for "sabotage" after the network apparently censored the video for her (excellent) song "Paper Planes." Another one of M.I.A.'s songs "born free" was censored due to a youth being rounded up and brutally murdered due to its violent content.

Eminem Debate 

In class we conducted a debate on Eminem there were various roles that each individual in the class undertook. The points of of view on weather music videos should be censored came from The artist himself, The fans, The Record label, Parents for, Parents against, British radio, MTV and AKA.

Eminem believes that his music videos should not be censored because he speaks the truth e.g. in his song "Not Afraid." Eminem had a hard life growing up where he had to live in a caravan, he also bases all his music on real life experiences and wants the world to know how he feels and not to go down the same path as him. His music is presented through an entertainment way e.g. in his rap battles when he makes the crowd laugh after he has "slewed" his opponent.

The fans of Eminem believe his music represents real life situations and that everyone should be able to relate to him. They believe Eminem educates young teenagers so they they do not go down the same route as him.

Slim shady records who are Eminem's record label state that he has sold millions of albums worldwide and should definitely not be censored because people love him all over the world. He has also won a Grammy and won album of the year with Marshall Mathers LP. That album sold 1.76 million copies in the US in its first week alone. By selling 1.76 million copies in a week shows he shouldn't be censored because he is rated and valued and that they do not care about his language in it and they like his songs no matter what. The album was certified diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America. As of 2012 the record had sold 10,589,000 copies in the US.

The parents that are for his music being censored state that his music uses explicit language and lyrics that offend people, they also believe he is encouraging younger people to listen to his music and telling them the wrong sort of words. They believe they could copy him which they do not think is a good idea,

The parents against his music being censored say that it is the parents own discretion to weather they let there children listen to this type of music or not and they can not blame the artist for the music as they know he is only doing his job to entertain and try a make a living. They also believe he is a role model because his music shows he has come from nothing to a massive superstar all over the world and therefore, if you try hard at something you will succeed.

Kiss 100 the british radio station said that they only agree with strong language being voiced in music videos and that they only play these certain types of songs after a certain time therefore, agree to music videos being censored but do disagree with censorship.

MTV the american music station agree to music videos being censored  because they have a good reputation to uphold and do not want to loose viewers therefore, they do not play his songs. MTV is the biggest music station in the word therefore, there views are understandable.

AKA believe that music videos represent the true artist and the lyrics being said and believe music videos shouldn't be censored.

Overall there is a mixed response some individuals are in favour of music videos being censored and some are not however, most people believe that music videos represent the true artist and the lyrics being said and believe music videos shouldn't be censored, I also believe this is the case.

What is a music video

Task- One Direction Little Things

The purpose of a music video is that it is a market tool to promote an artist/song, to attract a particular audience, to show generic conventions and for the audience to understand more about the song. I choose the music video Little Things that is performed by the boy band One Direction. One Direction are know known all over the world because they appeared on X factor and made it to the final and finished in 3rd place. One Direction are very popular with the ladies because the group consists of 5 young males aged from 19 - 21 this helps them to make sales because lots of girls love them.

The music video would have been of a relatively low budget because they are in a music studio and they are using their own instruments and singing themselves. They are not flying across the world going from destination to destination in the video they are just having a good time singing together. This promotes that you don't have to have the biggest budget to make something work but if you put your mind to it and you are determined you will succeed. 

Music videos are split up into 3 different categories;

• ·      Performance  (singing/dancing) 
• ·      Narrative        (telling the audience a story)
• ·      Concept           (selling the audience an idea/ theme or ideology)

The purpose of the video is to show their inner feelings towards special people in there life. It is also to show that they are creative because they are using instruments throughout as well as singing. I choose it because I think the video offers something different to other music videos. They talk from there heart about past experiences that have happened and the audience like it because they can relate to the music video. They are also good role models because they show that if u want something in life and you work hard you can go out and achieve it.

The style of the music video is pop and the video is telling the audience a story of what love means to them. The target audience is mainly girls from the age of 10 to young adults who appreciate their style and type of music. The song performance is very slow paced because it is trying to get the audience into it and try and make them feel a connection with the song, it is also trying to give the point across of that you shouldn't take life to seriously because even though there talking about love and past experiences they are showing in the video that they stick together and are having a laugh together.

The music video appeals to the audience because the song is well thought out and they have made it themselves and have chosen which tune and beat to go with it. It also appeals to the audience because it is talking about love. One direction are well known all over the world which brings them a lot of publicity, many females are attracted to the band as well which also helps making sales. It also appeals to the audience because it is creative and they have planned out which group member suits each part because they know the strengths and weaknesses of each member.