Chosen Music Genre

Pop

After carefully considering a range of genres, me and my group have decided to go for a song called Still into you by an American band called Paramore. This genre of this song is Power pop/pop rock which is a music genre that mixes a catchy pop style and light lyrics in the typically guitar based rock song.

What is Pop?

• Pop is the term shortly used for "Popular"
• It originated in its modern form in the Western world during the 1950's and the 1960's driving from rock and roll.
• As a genre, pop music is extremely electric, often using elements from other genres such as dance, rock and Latin. 
• There are strong elements which that define a pop music genre. These elements include- short to medium lengthened songs written in a basic format as well as the use of a common chorus and a verse. 

Influential Pop artists

The following artists are a well known pop artists/ band in 2015.

• Adele                                         
• Ariana Grande
• Adele
• Rihanna
• Beyonce
• David Guetta 
• Demi Lovato
• Ed Sheeran
• Olly Murs
• One Direction
• Rita Ora
• Sam Smith
• Taylor Swift

What makes a good Pop song?

Song Structure- A great song structure consists of a verse, chorus and a bridge. This is commonly found in a pop song and is a key element when coming to entertaining the audience. It is designed to to keep on giving the listeners something new, but also provides them with enough familiarity to keep them engaged.

Melody- In pop music, melody is everything! Writing a melody is not difficult, however some things should be kept in mind. For example, keeping it simple, The simpler the melody, the easier it is to remember it. If the melody is too complicated, it will bore the listeners and divert their mind elsewhere. 

Moreover, the rhythm is also a key element in a pop song. The rhythm of the melody can provide a contrast between various parts of the song. 

Lyrics- Good lyrics are an important part of any pop song. You should be able to sum up the entire story of the song in short phrases. 

Furthermore, when picking the title of the song, something original and unique should be picked, not something that has been overused several times. For example- 'Easy', 'All my life', 'I don't want this night to end'.

Musical and Lyrical elements 

• A pop music consists usually of a guitar, piano and a microphone in where the singer sings into to enhance their voice.
• The tracks are often shore- medium lengthened, between 3-4 minutes long.
• Lyrics are often short and snappy and easy for the listeners to remember.
• The rhythm of the melody can provide a contrast between various parts of the song.
• The lyrics are often about love, romance or losing somebody close to you.

Vocals

• The vocals of a pop singer is often a mid toned voice, not too soft and not too loud like a rock/ punk song.
• Some of the famous pop vocalists are shown below.

Michael Jackson- (1958- 2009)

Beyonce

Justin Bieber 

Album Cover

Take That

For my album cover, i have decided to use the group called Take That who consists of 5 members; Gary Barlow, Robbie Williams, Mark Owen, Howard Donald and Jason Orange


I have chosen to look at Take That and their album cover as a part of my analysis as they have a consistent cover of either a neutral or a black and white color, and the five main characters walking. It also has the name of the album, along with the name of their band which is of course "Take That". 

As both pictures illustrates- the band look like they are walking together, it is of a neutral color and the name of the band along with the name of the album is written on the front of the album cover.

This is what the back of a Take That album initially looks like. It has a bold, clear title at the top, and underneath is the name of all the tracks and singles within the album to show the audience and make it evident to them, the name of the song that the album contains. 
Moreover, towards the bottom of the album, it has small images of previous albums that has been released by the band, along with the name of that album. This is so the audience and people who purchase the item has a variety of other suggestions that they may consider purchasing.

Finally, the layout of the back of a Take That album is laid out in a way where it would easily attract the attention of any audience. It has a vivid image of the band themselves, filled with a lot of color, and on top of that is a black background with white and red text. The creator of he album cover has carefully considered the color contrast of the item, and has done it extremely well, allowing the target audience to get attracted to it.

Lyrics Deconstruction

As a part of our research, my group and we had to annotate the lyrics of our chosen song which is called 'Santa tell me' by 'Ariana Grande'. The lyrics consisted of a verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus then the end. We found the lyrics on the internet on a website called 'A-Z lyrics' and it took us around 1 hour to deconstruct and annotate it.

(Chorus)

Santa tell me if you're really there
don’t make me fall in love again
if he won't be here next year

The singer Ariana Grande is in the Christmas spirit calling out to the Christmas legend Santa Claus asking him if she should fall in love with the this guy.

Santa tell me if he really cares
'Cause I can give it all away if he won't be here next year

Ariana is not sure whether the guy she is dating is really in love with her or just using her for attention, therefore she is asking Santa for advice on whether she should date this guy she is talking about.

(Verse 1)

Feeling Christmas all around- Ariana is in the Christmas spirit all year round

And I'm trying to play it cool
but it's hard to focus when I see him walking around the room

Ariana wants to take this slow and act cool however she feels nervous when she sees this guy walking around in the same room as her. She is so in love with this guy that she can’t control herself.

Let it snow, it's blasting now- popular song sang by George Strait
But I won't get in the mood- she will not fall in love again
I'm avoiding every mistletoe until I know

(Pre- Chorus)

Its true love that he thinks of
so next Christmas
I'm not all alone, boy

Ariana says she wants to find hew true love by next Christmas so she will have somebody to celebrate it with and not be alone next Christmas.

(Chorus)

Santa, tell me if you're really there
don’t make me fall in love again if he won't be here
Next year

The singer Ariana Grande is in the Christmas spirit calling out to the Christmas legend Santa Claus asking him if she should fall in love with the this guy.

Santa, tell me if he really cares
'Cause I can't give it all away if he won't be here
Next year

Ariana is not sure whether the guy she is dating is really in love with her or just using her for attention, therefore she is asking Santa for advice on whether she should date this guy she is talking about.

(Verse 2)

I've been down this road before
Fell in love on Christmas night
but on New Year's Day I woke up and he wasn't by my side

Ariana was remembering old Christmas days in previous years where she was looking for a man. She thought she has finally found the one, however realised that the guy she was with only used her for her body.

Now I need someone to hold- she wants someone to trust and hold
be my fire in the cold- she wants him to love her
but it's hard to tell if this is just a fling- she is unsure whether this new relationship is a quick fling or something deep and meaningful.

(Pre- Chorus)

Or if it's true love that he thinks of
So next Christmas
I'm not all alone, babe

Ariana says she wants to find hew true love by next Christmas so she will have somebody to celebrate it with and not be alone next Christmas.

(Chorus)

Santa, tell me if you're really there
don’t make me fall in love again if he won't be here
Next year

The singer Ariana Grande is in the Christmas spirit calling out to the Christmas legend Santa Claus asking him if she should fall in love with the this guy

Santa, tell me if he really cares
'Cause I can't give it all away if he won't be here
Next year

Ariana is not sure whether the guy she is dating is really in love with her or just using her for attention, therefore she is asking Santa for advice on whether she should date this guy she is talking about.

(Bridge)

Oh, I wanna have him beside me like oh-oh-oh
on the 25th by the fire place, oh-oh-oh

Ariana wants her and her boyfriend to be snuggled up by the fire on Christmas Day enjoying themselves near the warmth of the fire.

But I don't want no broken heart
this year I've got to be smart. Oh, baby
if you want me, if you want me

As Ariana is a lot older and smarter now, she is trying one last time to find the right guy and she will ensure she is more smarter and wiser about how she does it this time round.

(Chorus)

Santa, tell me if you're really there
don’t make me fall in love again if he won't be here
Next year

The singer Ariana Grande is in the Christmas spirit calling out to the Christmas legend Santa Claus asking him if she should fall in love with the this guy

Santa, tell me if he really cares
'Cause I can't give it all away if he won't be here
Next year

Ariana is not sure whether the guy she is dating is really in love with her or just using her for attention, therefore she is asking Santa for advice on whether she should date this guy she is talking about.

Santa, tell me if you're really there
don’t make me fall in love again if he won't be here
Next year

The singer Ariana Grande is in the Christmas spirit calling out to the Christmas legend Santa Claus asking him if she should fall in love with the this guy

Santa, tell me if he really cares
'Cause I can't give it all away if he won't be here
Next year

Ariana is not sure whether the guy she is dating is really in love with her or just using her for attention, therefore she is asking Santa for advice on whether she should date this guy she is talking about.

Music Video Director

Music Video Directors

Isaac Rentz

Isaac Rentz born in Japan is a well known music video and commecial director. He was signed to Draw Pictures for UK and US music video representation until 2010^. He is currently signed to More Media For Everyone.

Rentz's work has been featured in Pitchfork Media, Spin Magazine, Boards, and TV Guide. Rentz's body of work includes music videos for groups such as Cage The Elephant, Manchester Orchestrer, and Motion City Soundtrack, as well as promotional campaigns for Red Strip, Xbox and Nintendo.
His video for Pistol Youth's "In My Eyes" was included in the Los Angeles Film Festival's 2009 music video showcas His. Video for Manchester Orchestra's "Shake It Out" was included in Spin Magazine's list of the top videos of 2009. In 2011, Rentz directed a promotional music video for the feature film Take Me Home Tonight. The video featured actors Topher Grace, Anna Pharris and Demetri Martins reenacting iconic scenes from classic 80s films. Huffington Post described the video as, "like IMDB at a rave^".
On July 20, 2011, Rentz's Cage The Elephant video for Shake Me Down was nominated for a 2011 MTV Video Music Award in the Best Rock Video category. On May 21, 2013, Rentz's Tegan and Sara video for Closer was nominated for a 2013 Much Music Video Award.

Over many recent years he has worked with many well known artists and bands such as 5 Seconds Of Summer, Paramore, Cage the Elephants and many more.  

 Here is a music video which was direced by Isaac Rentz. This is the song me and my group will be imiating and creating our own music video to. Isaac Rentz and his music video has inspired me greatly.

Joseph Kahn

Director Joseph Kahn spent part of his childhood in Pusan, South Korea and Livorno, Italy until his family moved to Houston, Texas. He began his directing career in his teens, shooting music videos for local musicians. He eventually enrolled at NYU where after a year and a half into film school, he dropped out to direct.Kahn has worked with diverse artists such as Katy Perry, The Chemical Brothers, Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, Blink 182, Eminem, Wu-Tang Clan, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, Faith Hill, Moby, Jamiroquai, Justin Timberlake, George Michael, Kelly Clarkson, Janet Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, Beyonce, and many more. Kahn has collected multiple Music Video Production awards. He has won several MTV Music Video Award with nominations for Beat Video of the Year for Brandy and Monica "The Boy is Mine", Britney Spears "Toxic", Chris Brown "Forever", Pussycat Dolls "When I Grow Up", Eminem We Made You and Eminem "Love the Way You Lie." In 2002 he won his first Grammy for Eminems "Without Me" video which also won the MTV VMA's Best Videos of the Year as well as best directions. His video for Katy Perry "Waking Up In Vegas" won the MVPA 2009 Best Video of the Year. In 2015, Kahn directed MTV's choices for Video of the Year, Best Pop Video, Best Female Video, and Best Pop Collaboration, all by Taylor Swift.

Kahn's usage of Japanese pop culture in music videos first began with Janet Jacksons "Doesnt Really Matter" video. The video was also the most expensive video Kahn has directed and is among the most expensive of all time, costing over $2.5 million. In 2014 he was given The Icon Award by the UK Music Video Awards.

^{Joseph Kahn has made many of Taylor Swift videos including "Bad Blood", " Blank Space" and "Wildest Dream".}

Goodwin Analysis

Goodwin argues that the female performer will frequently be objectified in fashion on Voyeurism, often through a combination of camera work and editing with fragmented body shots emphasising a sexualised treatment of the star. Goodwin argues that music videos work around three codes- MUSIC, LYRICS and ICONOGRAPGHY. The relationship between these codes is key to understanding how music videos work.
They are designed to provide pleasure in order to keep he viewers watching, and to encourage repeat viewing.
The starting point of the analysis is to explore whether the video is primarily performance- based, narrative- based or concept- based and how elements of each are used in it.

Andrew Goodwin

Goodwin's theory is broken up into 6 key factors
1.Music video demonstrates genre characteristic
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
3.There is a relationship between music and visuals
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artists.
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking and    particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
6. There is often intertextual reference.




I have found a few music videos of my chosen genre which illustrates and portrays Goodwins thoery. These videos show us how all elements of an ideal music video are combined together to actually make it look just like a successful one itself, using the Goodwin textual analysis thoery.


LMFAO- SEXY AND I KNOW IT

The video is a clear example of Goodwin's theory number two- a relationship between the lyrics and the actual music video itself.

Genre Characteristics

The genre of this song is Electro House which is a hard form of house music which is charaterized by a pominent bassline. Electro house is known for its heavy bass and its kick drum and usually has a tempo from between 125-135 beats per minute. Its origin was influenced by electro, pop and tech house.

Although this music video is from an electic house genre, it does no show scenes where a ful elements of he genre is shown. However, as mentioned before, this particular genre is charaterized by a pominent bassline, and by bassline it means by adding a little 'funk' in there. The music video shows 'funk' but does not portray strong elements of a bassline including instruments such as electric bass, cello and tuba which wa not included in the music video.

Relationship between the lyics and the music video

This music video shows a good use of the relationship between the lyrics and the music video which is Goodwins key factor number three.

 The lyrics of the song perfectly illustrate with the music video when they sing "I'm in a speedo tryna tan my cheeks" and the video shows him doing the exact same thing.
Moreover, the main character is lifting weights whilst singing "girl look at my body". This shows the audience that the character is building up his body strength in order to attract the opposite sex.

MICHEAL JACKSON- SCREAM


This is a song by 'Michael Jackson' called 'Scream'. This video is clear example of Goodwin's theory number 3- a relationship between the visuals and the music video itself. 

Relationship between the visuals and Music video

 The theme of the song is about wanting to scream and Michael and his sister are in a spaceship which is usually seen as a small, chlostophobic area and wanting to scream is like wanting to escape from that small place. This gives the audience a clearer picture of how frustrating it is and makes us empathise with them.

The upside down shot of Michael Jackson helps the audience to see how chlostophobic an frustrated he looks and he wants to 'scream' likewise the whole idea of the video.

Genre Characteristics  

The genre of this music video ranges from pop, funk, dance-pop and R&B. Unlike the previous example, this music video portrays the genre of pop, as it has pop written on the screen during the first few seconds of he video. The main elements of the genre pop is an urban, dancer, and during this video, the lead singer Micheal Jackson and his sister are dancing, which shows the visuals of the video has met with the genre of the song. 

This vieo also ha a genre of electro rock, which is commony reffered to as eletro- rock, techno- rock and an digital- rock, generated wih electronic instruments. In the music video, itt shows the lead singer- Micheal Jackson breaking/smashing the rock guitar which is a prop/symbol of the genre electro- rock.

Are there are close ups of the star image? 

As mentioned before, the star image is of course Micheal Jackson himself. Micheal Jackson was a very well known American singer, dancer, songwriter and an actor. Due to his popularity worldwide, he is of course recognise as a star image of any music video he creates. Like any other song, this song contains many close up shos of Micheal Jackson, as this is what the audience and his viewer would like to see.

Comparing both images together, one is a close up of he star image and one is a medium shot of the star image and his sister. The audience wold prefer to see the second image more as he is the main lead singer and peole listen to his songs due to his fame as a peron himself. This is why the music video has many close up shots of Micheal Jackson as he is the star image.

Voyeurism- Representation

Voyeurism is the act of watching someone who is performing sexual behaviour, such as dancing, undressing or intercourse, in order to gain pleasure. Goodwin states that female performers are sexually objectified by camera work and edited by fragmented body shops emphasising a sexualised treatment of the performer.
Voyeurism is often used to help sell a product and create audience interest, there are many apparent uses of voyeurism in many videos, some of which I will be discussing below.

This is a song called 'Anaconda', sang by Nicki Minaj, a famous artist known for her kinky videos which is a clear example of Voyeurism. This music video clearly demonstrates Voyeurism as there are explicit parts of the video showing the female lead singer exposing parts of her body.
Not only Nicki herself, the male back dancers also show parts of their body including their male parts covered in underwear with no other garment on. This video is a perfect example of voyeurism for both males and females performing sexual behaviours and showing their body parts in order to gain public attention and pleasure.
Moreover, the lyrics and the visual image match perfectly, as the lyrics talk about her explicit body parts, and this is what they are portraying to the audience through the music video itself.

This music video is another perfect example of Voyeurism. This is a song called '7/11' by Beyoncé, another artist who is well known for her kinky videos and a clear example of voyeurism. The video simply shows the artists dancing in front of the camera, wearing a hooded jumper and no trousers on, only in her underwear. This automatically gets the audience attracted to the video as she is a female lead singer, who is semi- dressed, dancing, and performing in a sexual behaviour, portraying clear visuals of voyeurism.

As we are aware, Beyoncé is well known to portray her body parts in all of her music videos. Here is another song sang by Beyoncé herself called 'Partition'. Again this video is a perfect example of Voyeurism, where Beyoncé shows her breasts off to the audience. The camera purposely zooms into her beasts and exposing legs to attract the audience, particularly the male audience. This video again shows her perform in a sexual behaviour, dancing and getting undressed to gain pleasure and the attraction from the audience.

Self Evaluation of Last Years Work

Last year for AS I worked in a group of three, with Aleeza Zahin and Anisa Khan. We were told to make a two minute opening to a movie of our own genre. We chose a fantasy/thriller genre as we had a variety of ideas we could have used for this specific genre. Firstly, we had to do he primary research which included finding out about our genre and looking at opening movies ourselves to get inspired to help us in our own coursework. As a group we worked well at this task. We analysed the first 2 minutes of  a movie from our chosen genre, so we decided to analyse the movie Maleficent, which helped us gain new ideas and skills for our own movie.
We then had to move on our secondary research where we asked other people if they liked or disliked our chosen genre. We asked several questions to 5 different people ranging from both genders where they answered truthfully. This helped us consider what our audience liked about the genre so we could incorporate the ideas into our own opening. We then created a storyboard of how we could liked our opening to be like, which was checked and approved by our teacher.

Then onto he filming, we went to Oxford Street to film certain shots as a that time, they had Christmas lights which we thought would work well in our coursework. The majority of the time we filmed in our local alleyway. At times it was difficult, as we got a person outside of the group tomcat therefore he timing would never wok, however we managed to get the filming done to our best standards.

When it came to editing, we managed to edit the two minute opening and add the credits, title and music, however, we spent far too long trying to add special effects on it which resulted in an unfinished coursework and a low grade.

Overall, I think as a group we worked very well together. Every member participated well and we would always listen to on another ideas ad opinions and take it into consideration. However, what let us down was the lack of time, mainly trying to add the special effects which did not even work out to be the best. An improvement and a target I would set myself is to make things simple and do not over do the editing if I am not able to do it, as this will make things messy, leave work incomplete and result in a grade not best to my ability.