A2 Summer HW

Task 1
What do you think are the major elements of an album marketing campaign (The different ways in which a band/artists identity is mediated to an audience)?

- YouTube
- Social network sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.
- Radio
- Posters
- Magazines
- iTunes

Where have you encountered these elements in your daily life?

- The official UK top 40, on radio, TV, and websites
- YouTube - recommended videos
- Top 10 on iTunes

What factors make you 'like' a band and therefore download their music, buy their albums or attend their concerts? How do you decide which band is 'cool' and which is not?

- The genre of music is the most important factor in my opinion, if you like a certain genre then you will like the artists who produce that genre of music.

- Another factor is the artists fashions sense, if I like their fashion sense or even wear the same kind of clothes then it could make me like them more.

- Lyrics of their songs is another important factor if I can relate to their lyrics I feel that I would like them more, rather than listening to lyrics that I can't relate to.

- The personality of the artist or band can also make me like them, if they are quite friendly and are interested in similar things to me, it would make me like them more.

When and where do you watch music videos?

I normally watch music videos on YouTube or Vevo on my mobile phone when I am at home. I sometimes watch music channels on TV such as 4Music as well.

Task 2

Music video conventions

Camera shots

Music videos tend to include many long shots, close ups and mid shots. This is to create emphasis on the artist, location and emotions. Also, close ups are used not only to show emotions but to reflect the words of the song with the movement of the lips of the artist

Camera movement

The movement of the camera is used to follow and trace the artist or band. Camera movements include tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots.

Mise-en-scene

This refers to the arrangement of performers and props on stage or in a scene for a production of a music video or any other media text. Mise-en-scene puts importance on the representation of something. An example is, ’Mad’ by Ne-Yo. The mise-en-scene involves him walking down a road alone, being in an isolated room. This reflects the isolation from his lover. Also, the props include hats and dark clothes which represent the down mood of the song. Similarly, the lighting is kept very dark as it is black and white; this connotes the angry and depressed mood. This is just one example of the mise-en-scene used to give an idea of how mise-en-scene works.

Editing

Jump cuts is the predominant editing technique used in music videos. This is because this allows a sudden change from one scene to another. Similarly, transitions such as fade and dissolve are very common in music videos as they create a different effect to cuts.

Lighting

Some music videos are black and white which help emphasise a particular mood and some videos have artificial lighting which put the artist/s in an enhanced look

Sound

Sound is mainly the vocals or the song but in some cases such as Michael Jackson – Thriller, the producers can make the music video into a short film

Props

These are vital in aiding to add to the scene and create significance on particular objects or people

Costume

This goes with the scenes in the song and reflects the genre. Costume is an important factor because it has a slight influence on how the viewers will dress because they use some of the celebrities as role models

Colour

Colours tend to set the mood of the song through creating an atmosphere. For example, dark  colours are used more in rock songs such as King of Leon and bright colours are seen to be used more in hip hop and pop videos.