MUSIC VIDEOS (P1)

 MUSIC VIDEOS

Theorists: 

Richard Dyer- stated that celebrities are mere commodities created by larger corporations to target a specific group of people to make money

Henry Jenkins- calls lots of media platforms condensing into one the 'technical convergence'. Makes spread of information fast and spreadable

Tsvetan Todorov- stories have a certain structure. They start with a status quote, something that happens to disrupt this, one thing leads to another and at the end a new status quo emerges. If the structure isn't there it doesn't feel like a story and just a collection of events. Equilibrium to disequilibrium to new equilibrium

Levi Strauss- one way stories build meaning is by creating a series of binary opposites- good vs evil, dark vs light, happy vs sad.

43 music channels to watch music videos

THIS IS AMERICA- CHILDISH GAMBINO

• Released in 2018
• Demonstrated the artistsic power of a music video- both as art which makes audiences tghink about cultural ideas and also as a commercial tool and branding device
• 44.7 million streams within the first few weeks
• 942 million streams currently

Shot types:

Establishing shot

Medium shot- common shot in movies

Close up- used to show emotion

Master shot- establishes who the important characters are in a scene

Over the shoulder shot: Shows conversation between 2 or more characters

High angle shot: Indicated vulnerability

Low angle shot: makes someone look powerful or threatening

POV: Point of view of protagonist

Canted angle: Something wrong, chaos, uneasiness, drunkenness

Dolly shot: Disoriented camera work as the camera moves forward whilst zooming out

EMELI SANDE

Album cover:

• Black and white represents facts, truth, clear
• She is looking up to heaven
• Only see one side of her
• Image looks like a mugshot- showing her identity
• Serious facial expression
• Her name is bigger than the album
  
• Only her in the cover
• Bleached and shaved hair- not a typical pop star, shows individuality

Music video:

• Camera moving and not set up gives the music video a more realistic feel

LYRICS

Will you recognize me
In those flashing lights?- Possibly associated with police lights or paparazzi

I try to keep my heart beat
But I can't get it right

Will you recognize me
When I'm lying on my back?
Somethings gone inside me
And I can't get it back

Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
But the day, it always lasts too long
Then I'm gone
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
But the day, it always lasts too long

Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone

Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone

Will you recognize me
When I'm stealing from a car
You're not gonna like me
I'm nothing like before

Will you recognize me
When I lose another friend
Will you learn to leave me
Or give me one more try again

Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
But the day, it always lasts too long
Then I'm gone
Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wake with good intentions
But the day, it always lasts too long

Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone

Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone

Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wait with good intentions

Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wait with good intentions

Oh heaven, oh heaven
I wait with good intentions

You say that you're away
I try but always break
'Cause the day always lasts too long

Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone

Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone

Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone

Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone
Then I'm gone

EVIDENCE OF ANGELS- 

EVIDENCE OF TEMPTATION-

EVIDENCE OF REDEMPTION-

EVIDENCE OF RELIGION-

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BURN THE WITCH- RADIOHEAD

TRUMPTON:

• Children's show
• From the 'Trumptonshire trilogy' of children's shows
• Began in the 1960s
• Distinctive stop animation style
• Mostly portrayed a quaint village life that was already a halcyon idyll in austere post-war Britain
• World of safety- everyone knows each other, nothing goes wrong

WICKERMAN:

• Police Sargent Neil Howie travels to remote Hebridean island to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, Rowan Morrison, about whom he has received an anonymous letter
• The islanders, including Rowan's own mother, act like she never existed
• Howie's research reveals that when there is a poor harvest, the islanders make a human sacrifice to ensure that the next harvest is good. Howie believes that this is what happened to Rowan.
• Howie is put inside a giant statue and sacrificed

MUSIC VIDEO:

• Based on the Wickerman and in the Trumpton style
• Music video feels like a stop motion movie
• Don't show Radiohead in the music video because they are an established band
• Stop motion because every frame is important
• Radiohead's 9th album, a Moon Shaped Pool
• Released 3rd May 2016
• Named best song of the year by Rolling Stone, Billboard and the Village voice. It was also nominated for best rock song at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards
• The lyrics were inspired by the News Of The World newspaper that published the names and addresses of sex offenders in 2000.

ANALYSIS:

• Painting of cross on door could refer to lumberjacks marketing trees, or the angel of death coming over land and not killing anyone with a red cross on the door

LYRICS: 

Stay in the shadows
Cheer at the gallows
This is a round up

This is a low flying panic attack
Sing a song on the jukebox that goes

Burn the witch- reference to Salem witch trials
Burn the witch
We know where you live- reference to sex offenders addresses being released

Red crosses on wooden doors
And if you float you burn
Loose talk around tables
Abandon all reason
Avoid all eye contact
Do not react
Shoot the messengers

This is a low flying panic attack
Sing the song of sixpence that goes

Burn the witch
Burn the witch
We know where you live
We know where you live

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

0:02 2016- rise of trump. Based on Trumpton. Blue bird in music vid could represent Twitter- a platform that Trump was a part of

1:17 Woman on see-saw going into water could represent the drowning from the Salem witch trials.

Inspector walks by and looks like a see-saw.

0:44 'The speared boar pub- could link to below. Slaughtered Lamb pub is also seen in the Wickerman so intertextuality

1:45 Dead animal on the table- could link to above

0:57 doors being painted with red X- angel of death coming over land and not killing anyone with a red cross on their door

3:33 Blue coloured top could represent Trump initially being a democrat- everyone else is wearing colours such as red

0:21 Red could link to the election- the postman is "painting" the votes red as people put their votes through the letter box. This could also link to the paint on the door

0:27 Intertextuality to Trumpton. Mid shot used so that noose isn't shown until the end

2:25 The man has 3 X's on his tunic and the drink- could show how people sip the same drink and believe what they are told

2:35 Shows the alienation of the workforce- they aren't shown in the circle at the start

2:17 Boxes say Jobe on them, meaning a stupid or gullible person- could represent the inspector not knowing what is really going on in the town. Jobe in the bible was a good man who was punished. This could link to the people on the fruit farm- they are good people but are participating in modern day slavery. One of the boxes that says Jobe is then used to set the Wickerman on fire.

3:41 the inspector is seen to have escaped and can be seen in the left corner. This shows that not everything you see is true.

0:58 The only people that are shown with a mouth are the people that are killed. The only people who can protest are sacrificed.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Explain how media language in music videos incorporate viewpoints and ideologies. Refer to one of the music videos you have studied to support your answer.

Macro intro- Radiohead are perceived as 'royalty' in the UK due to their large fan base. They used stop motion animation in Burn the witch which contrasts to the dark themes due to the typically innocent style. This contrast reinforces its critical viewpoint on bind conformity and prosecution.

Mise en scene and symbolism- References the Wicker Man, suggesting dangers of groupthink. Village setting has bright colours, contrasting to the dark meaning. Red cross marking on doors symbolise prosecution, linking to historical events such as the saelem witch trials.

Cinematography and editing- fixed camera angles and slow zoom ins create a sense of fear.

Media language is used in music videos in order to incorporate viewpoints and ideologies. This is apparent within the Radiohead music video of 'Burn the Witch'. Radiohead are a band with a large fanbase of over 42 million monthly listeners. Due to this huge fanbase, they are perceived as 'royalty' in the UK. In the Burn the Witch music video, stop motion animation was used. The use of this innocent story telling style contrasts to the darker themes within the music video which can be discovered. This contrast reinforces the music video's critical viewpoint on blind conformity and prosecution. It could also represent Radiohead as an alternative band who push the boundaries. Radiohead's band members don't need to be shown within the video, as they are an established band and can easily be recognised. The lyrics were inspired by the News of the World newspaper that exposed the names and addresses of sex offenders in 2000. This can be seen through the lyric 'we know where you live'.

Throughout the video, links are made to the 1973 movie 'The Wickerman'. The mise en scene and symbolism towards this movie suggests dangers of groupthink and herd mentality. In this movie, police sergeant Neil Howie travels to remote Hebridean island to investigate the disappearance of young girl Rowan Morrison, about whom he has received an anonymous letter. The islanders, including Rowan's own mother, act like she never existed. Howie's research reveals that when there is a poor harvest, the islanders make a human sacrifice to ensure that the next harvest is good. Howie believes that this is what happened to Rowan. He is then put inside a giant statue and sacrificed. The Burn the Witch music video was heavily inspired by this movie, and this is clear due to the inspector representing Howie, and the burning of him at the end of the music video when he is placed into a giant Wickerman statue and sacrificed. However, in the last seconds of the music video, the inspector is seen on the left of the screen hiding in the trees, and is seen to have escaped the Wickerman statue. This could link to how everything is not always how it seems, and the inspector possibly knew about their plan all along. 

Media language is also used to incorporate viewpoints and ideologies through colour. Firstly, the village setting consists of bright coloured buildings and blue skies. This happy colour scheme contrasts to the dark meaning behind the video. At 0:57, a "painter" is seen painting a red cross on a door. He has splashes of red on him, which is likely blood and is being covered up as red paint. This could link to the theory of the angel of death coming over the land and not killing anyone with a red cross on their door - it could possibly be the painter covering up for the woman later seen inside through the window. The red cross could also link to the absence of the outcast when the inspector walks past, which makes a link towards the invisible suffering of people or how they are hidden and ignored in order to maintain an image. The use of the colour red is also seen when the postman is 'painting' the letters red as people put their letters into the letterbox. This could have a political link and represent how people in control are painting the votes red. Due to the fact that the music video was created in 2016, it is likely that references are made towards the 2016 election of Donald Trump (red party). 

Links to Trump are also made right from the beginning of the music video. The first scene shows a bluebird sat on a branch. The symbolism of the bluebird could link to the logo of 'Twitter' - a platform that Donald Trump was very active on at the time. The music video overall has links towards the Children's show 'Trumpton', which comes from the 'Trumptionshire triology'. The show began in the 1960's (which is also when the Wickerman movie was released), and has a stop motion style, just like the Burn the Witch music video. Trumpton was portrayed a quaint village life that was already a halcyon idyll in austere post-war Britain. It was a world of safety - everyone knew each other, nothing went wrong. This could link to the music video where the villagers try and make everything appear normal, however the truth behind it isn't as nice as it appears. The mayor wearing blue could represent how Trump was previously a democrat, whilst everyone else is wearing red. The 60's style links to Trumpton, which could appeal to older audiences and widen Radiohead's audience. 

A historical link that is apparent throughout the music videos is the Saelem Witch trials. This is firstly seen with the woman on the see-saw which could represent the drowning that occured in the witch trials with a 'ducking chair'. However, when the inspector walks past, it simply looks like a see-saw and everything appears normal at first glance. The use of the mid-shot when the noose is being shown is effective because it can't be seen that it is a noose until the camera zooms out. This, again, reveals that not everything that you see is true. Males are often seen in a higher position of power. They are shown doing manual labour, being chaffeured around, whilst women are seen in more domestic representations - such as cutting flowers, baking, or cooking. This reveals the binary oppisition between men and women. The scene where the villagers wave at the camera with a direct gaze evokes a sense of fear for the audience, as it shows that the characters are aware of the audience, 

In conclusion, the Burn the Witch music video uses media language in order to incorporate viewpoints and ideologies through their intertextual references of topics such as the 2016 election, the saelem witch trials, the Wickerman, and references towards the movie Trumpton, which an audience who listens to Radiohead may be old enough to understand and make the link towards the Wickerman movie.  

Video summary 

• Music video being in stop motion animation- perhaps trying to represent Radiohead as an alternative band who push the boundaries
• 60s style links to Trumpton- might appeal to older audiences 
• Males seen in a higher position of power- doing manual labour, being chauffeured around
• Women seen in more domestic representations- cutting flowers, baking, cooking
• Binary opposition between men and women
• Red crosses on the door act as a symbol of religion, danger, death. Crosses were marked on the door to show the angel of death coming over the door and not killing anyone with a Red Cross.
• See saw seems fun on the surface when the inspector walks past, however it can be seen after he leaves that they are drowning the woman to see if she is a witch (ducking chair)
• The bakery contrasts with the pie dripping with blood and reminds the viewer that not everything is how it seems in the village
• Seems like they are decorating a may pole but it zooms out and shows a noose
• Direct gaze to the camera as the villagers wave creates fear as we know they are aware of us, the audience
• The use of references to the 60s and 70 might attract older audiences. Radiohead started in the early 90s so many of their fans might be old enough to remember iconic texts such as Trumpton and The Wicker Man

Themes presented in Burn the witch music video:

• Self preservation
• Alienation (workforce separated from the community)
• Don't believe everything you see
• Oblivious/ignorance
• Not willing to challenge the status quo
• 2016 election
• Religious fear mongering
• Power of authority
• Herd mentality/bystander effect
• Control