Assignment Task 1 - Purpose of Music Video. ***DUE 14/10/15***

SCENARIO

You have been commissioned by a record company to write a report about the purposes of music videos. This will involve building on and extending the knowledge gained in group activities and independent learning.

TASK

Using your class notes on the music videos you have watched, and findings gained from your own research, you will need to write a report (minimum 300 words) demonstrating your awareness of the music video format. Your report must be originally published on your blog with links to the videos you use as examples.  Remember you will need to make reference to relevant terminology and at least one example for each purpose to support your point.  Your report should explain in detail  the following purposes of music videos and your examples of videos and music artists , explaining in detail the reason for their selection and relevant information :

 

•           Promotion of a particular song  ( explain how a single is released and promoted)

 

•           Promotion of the artist’s album ( explain how an album is promoted, and find and explain an example where the video directly promotes the album)

 

•           Promotion of a new artist

 

•           Promotion of an artist’s change in musical direction or image

 

•           Promotion of and synergy with another media product (film , television programme  etc.)

 

•           Increasing the income for the record company. In this case find an example of an artist who owns the record label and therefore benefits directly.

 

•           Increasing the range of media artist is active in (television, artist’s website , DVD release , social networking  sites etc. ) Find an example of an artist who uses a range of digital media and networking, and explain how a specific music video fits into this use of media.

 

You should research and analyse a range of different artists and record labels, such as major labels, independent record companies and artists who release their products with no industry support.

Criterion	To achieve the criteria the evidence must show that the student is able to:
P1	describe the purposes of music videos with some  appropriate use of subject terminology
M1	explain the purposes of music videos with reference to detailed illustrative examples and with generally correct use of subject terminology
D1	comprehensively explain the purposes of music videos with elucidated examples and consistently using subject terminology correctly

Example of a distinction standard analysis of a music video in relation to PURPOSE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRKJiM9Njr8&feature=player_embedded 
Another purpose of music videos is to promote the album, so that it gets more sales. There are many ways that this is done. Mainly this is shown by the title of the song being the same as the album title, however sometimes there are images of the album cover or shots that have the album cover in them within the video, and much more. This purpose is used, because it will help promote the sales of the album, because the music video, the song and the album are all linked together in some way, and if the audience like the song and the music video, they are likely to  buy the album, or listen to it and buy some of the songs off of it if they don't want all of the songs, which increases the album and song sales for the artist.
This music video is the 2006 My Chemical Romance 'Welcome To The Black Parade' video. This video comes from the My Chemical Album, 'The Black Parade', and this song is the first song to come from the album, and gave the audience an introduction to the album. This music video, and song, are used to help to promote the album, and there are many ways that there have been used to show it.
The main way that the music video and song have been used to promote the album, it by the songs title. The title of the song is 'Welcome To The Black Parade', which introduces the audience to the feelings and ideas to the new album. This welcoming to the new My Chemical Romance album is backed up by the fact that this song and music video was the first single and music video released for the album, so it gives the audience a taste of what the album will be like, and if they like what they see and hear in the song and music video, it may persuade them to buy it, just from the introduction they've been given to the album.
The music video starts off with a cancer patient dying in a hospital bed (this character is a constant theme throughout the album, so the audience can see him for the first time, and they already have an introduction to him). As he passes away, the 'walls' of the hospital room fall down, as though they were cloth, and he is 'transported' to what looks like a dark and dirty dump yard, where he sees a parade of people coming towards him through a pathway in the middle of all the rubble. This parade, as it is later found out through the video, is a parade of 'dead' people, who have come back from the dead into another world, where they all start a parade. The people are shown to be dead by their uses of makeup, costume and hair. They all have bleached-out white faces and dark makeup around their eyes, which gives them a skeletal look. Their hair is all messy, like the hair of a decomposing body, and the clothes they wear are all black clothes, either suits or dresses, and they look quite tatty and ripped, like they'd been worn in the grave, so overall, their appearances give them a corpse-like look. There are a lot of different camera angles in the location, to help to show the audience different angles and ideas about what's going on in the video. There are close-ups, which show the audience what the characters look like, and it means they can see the hair and make up and corpse-like look of the characters, so they can see the blank expression of their faces. There are also mid-shots and full shots of the characters too, s their body language and costumes can be seen clearer. There are a lot of high-angle long shots, so all of the characters can be seen, and some of the location can be seen around them. Some of the angles are even birds-eye shots. This is effective, as the audience is looking down on the parade, which is a symbol of the fact that they are in the underworld. The whole music video is in black and white, and after the very beginning of the video, once the video enters the 'underworld', the colours are very dark, a lot darker than they previously were. This parade is shown to be parade of dead people, because of the dark colours, and what the characters look like. This helps to promote the album, because it tells the audience what the black parade is, so they can get an idea of what the rest of the songs on the album will be like. This also links it to the album cover, as on the album cover, there is an image of a skeleton marching. He is wearing a black millitary-style suit, with white piping across the middle. This outfit is the same outfit as the band wears, so not only does it link the album cover to the music video, but it also has links to the band. This gives the audience more of a idea that the black parade is a parade of dead people, because the image on the front of the album cover could be a representation of what one of the band members is supposed to be like, and look like, in the music video.
There are many conventions that make the video portray its purpose of promoting the album, but the main one is the use of the artist. This is good, because although the idea of the video is to promote the album, the audience will need to be able to see who the band is, if they want to buy the album. Also in all of My Chemical Romance's other music videos of singles from the album 'The Black Parade', the band are seen performing, although they are staged performances, not live ones. They wear dark clothes in all of the videos, with pale faces and dark makeup, and the fact that the first music video from the album shows the band performing, it gives the audience a little taster of what to expect throughout their other music videos.
I feel that this music video is suitable for its purpose of promoting the artist's album, because it uses many features that are seen throughout the other music videos on that album, and throughout the album too, and the song's title is saying to the audience that they are being welcomed into the album by the first single, which every first single should.

 

Homework - Due Wednesday 23rd September

Find definitions for the following and add to your glossary:


-Mise-en-scene
-Diegetic sound
-Non-Diegetic sound
-Continuity editing (180 rule)

Welcome

Welcome to the blog for the Music Video Production/ Pre- Production Techniques Unit.

Through this assignment you will learn how to analyse music video techniques, which will enable you to confidently plan, produce and evaluate your own music video to near-professional standards.

This blog is designed to support your learning for this unit, providing you with additional links and resources to extend your learning beyond the classroom.

The resources found on this blog should be used alongside the assignment brief and Moodle to ensure that you are able to attain success with both your learning and achievement.