7. HOUSE- Primary research into the band

We asked our band HOUSE, who we are making a music video for, some individual/group questions and here are their answers.
Taking in mind this is a formed band involving a diverse group of people.
The band consists of 5 students
James who is the vocalist
Alex who plays guitar
Fagan who plays bass guitar
Steven who plays guitar
Tom who plays the drums

How is it that house became?
Fagan: we all new each other from in and around college. To be fair, it wasn’t until college that we formed.
Steven: to gain our qualifications in music, we must record varieties of songs within a band so long story short…HOUSE was formed.
Alex: obviously outside of college we are either rehearsing in our other bands or just rocking out in our rooms. We are musicians, that’s what we do but the fact I get to do it and receive a qualification at the end of it…cant say I’m upset about it.

So what drives you to continue to make music, to play your chosen instrument day in day out?
Tom: Its hard to comment on what it is that drives me. Personally for me its ingrained…innate. As if I was born to do this for the rest of my life. That playing is what keeps me from going over the edge. It keeps me sane man. Growing up I would listen to Queens of the stoneage and would listen to Dave Grohl over and over again and try and imitate him on the drum kit. Loved those guys.
Steven: So deep is our Tom (laughter) I was a huge beetles fan due to my dads repeated playing of them during my years of growing up. Eleanor Rigby may possibly be my favourite song.
James: Michael Jackson is what made me want to sing. My mum and dad bought me his earlier stuff first and then just continued to buy me anything that was M.J orientated. Such a shame I never got to see him live and never will.

How do you want to be portrayed in the pop promotion?
Simultaneously they all exclaimed that being themselves is what is wanted.
Alex: Because we are all so different, one person may dress in a Megadeth t-shirts whilst the other will be wearing Nike air max trainers . If we were all to have to wear the same piece of clothing then it wouldn’t express who we are or what we as individuals try to present….It would just feel uncomfortable.

What do you all aspire to achieve?
The overall agreement was firstly to receive a good overall pop promotional package to be produced. One that portrayed the band well and promoted them to the fullest.
James: it would be great to see HOUSE become something more than just a regular pop punk band. that’s where hopefully you guys (a2 media group) can start more than just ‘word of mouth’ advertising.
Tom: Would be amazing to see our names in magazine advertisements or on the back pages of Q magazine promoting up and coming gigs of popular bands.
They all agreed to this.

If for any reason HOUSE couldn’t make things work, might you all still persist and try things solo or work with other musicians?
Very controversial question I know but you are all still students and young. Is this something you all have thought about at all?
Fagan: If there comes points where you are unable to continue forward then I shall detour until I can get back on to that path.
Things in life aren’t easy but for those that it is then they are just lucky.
I am determined to make things work because I could not see myself doing anything else. If HOUSE didn’t work out then there are always possibilities to do instrumentals for other peoples tracks/ live performances etc.
Steven: I want to go to university and study a bit more in depth the history of music. How it has evolved through the ages. The revolutionaries that have set the ground work for the music that we hear today.
Through university I want to divulge with different instruments also. As much as I love guitar there is definitely more out there, maybe the triangle will take to me better (laughter)
But I will definitely continue to play and possibly come back at the weekends to play with HOUSE as long as I am still wanted.
Tom: Once your gone, your gone……only kidding. Well I think I can speak for everyone when I say that music is our life, I know its very cliché but its true. We will continue to work and strive forwards to achieve what is necessary to either be signed to a label or to do our own individual work with others but somehow we will integrate music into our careers, even if I do have to work in an office to make ends meet.
Alex: Outside of HOUSE I already play with a band which I have been doing so since very early adolescence which is great. I get to play a lot throughout the week which suits me brilliantly as I can continue to better my instrumental skills.
If HOUSE weren’t to make it ‘god forbid’ then I hope my other band and I can but if its not meant to be then it isn’t. Maybe there are other paths I am meant to follow. Who knows?
　
　
　
　
　
　　
　
　
　
　
　

5. Musical promotional package - HURTS

Hurts are a new band that have brought back something that has been left for dead since 1989. British synth-pop. This could suggest that this band maybe around for a long time to come due to the fact that there aren’t many others bringing this sort of music back to the ears of the millions. Instead we have continuous ‘tinie tempahs’ and other identical sounding artists polluting the radios broadcasting.

I first heard of them on the TV within a gym. Whilst cycling I heard an advert describing the new upcoming band ‘HURTS’. Within this you could see who these two men were and how they dressed and what type of music you were likely to hear from the samples of singles they were bringing out. With less than a minute you were given a rough description and understanding of who these new artists were and what to expect.

With their album cover it didn’t exactly give much away as it just shows the two band members sitting down but instantly you are made aware of who is the lead singer. Dressed in a greyish suit he is sitting with his elbows on the table whilst the other is just in a white shirt and is sitting further back in the chair with a less of a clean cut look about him. He also looks generally less happy even though neither one has a glimpse of a smile upon there faces. Which kind of suggests the type of music you’d think you are likely to hear from them. Due to songs such as ‘wonderful life’ which is about a man being stopped from jumping off of a bridge by a women with the chorus saying “don’t let go, never give up, its such a wonderful life” not so nonchalant.
But in a recent interview online video interview they exclaimed their songs portray more to do with love and hope even though they come across as grey and moody.
Hurts went on to say why they enjoyed making music videos as it allowed them to show everything which was meant to be said in they’re songs and that sometimes songs can hold you back form doing this.

Their Print Advert is also the same image as their CD cover. This could be possibly down to making it easier for the general public/ fans of the band to instantly match the two together instead of having two completely different images.
This way the two band members can become recognisable a lot quicker whether they are being interviewed on television or advertising upcoming live performances.
Their style of dress is very elegant with a sense of looking back to the styles being dawned in the 80’s such as the pet shop boys or depache mode especially with some of the lighting within some of their music videos such as the first video made for wonderful life which later was re-made once the bands popularity increased.

They have managed to re-create the music they loved when growing up alongside the many others therefore the audiences that are likely to be more inclined to buy into this band could possibly well be of the age of early 30’s onwards. Those that grew up through the 80’s listening to synth pop donning vintage clothes such as Farah and Ben Sherman.
This re-emergence of the lost synth-pop is a perfect time to re-establish it due to there not being anything like this at the moment. It can allow past fans to reminisce about past musical times with a modern twist to it.

I have recently developed an interest towards this band and after extended research I have found not to much in the sense of ‘the usual’ band promotion such as within magazines and on the sides of buses. Instead it has almost been integrated into the way our lives are being lead in this day and age.
What I am talking about is viral marketing, online/social networking promotion.
They definitely focused in on this as being their main strategy to get their name and music across to the masses. This includes sites such as you tube, tweeter and obviously Facebook which is globally recognised as being the biggest online social networking community of this day and age.

4. Music video textual analysis 2

Analysing HURTS-wonderful life.
The video I am analysing is by HURTS and is called wonderful life. It is directed by Kendin Cos.
The genre of music that this video belongs to is that of the 80’s synth pop scene. It’s hard to identify this genre within the video. Possibly within their vintage clothes that are worn within the video as well as the iconic electro piano which makes its appearance throughout.
The Mise-en-scene I thought was very effective throughout the video. The lighting used is very dimly lit…if any. The light of the evening plays a great role within one of the shots used which involves the female dancers, dressed in black, with the faint sun in the background reflecting itself on top of the pool. The dancers are wearing black veils which is a popular accessory to be worn at funerals which definitely suggests the dark tone of this song which is predominantly about saving a man from suicide.
The cinematography and shots aren’t exactly innovative but still captures the video beautifully. Especially the long shot of the dancers dancing close to the pool, I got the feeling that the dance being performed was a sequence of anger and frustration until finally they all jump into the pool which relates back to chorus of persuading the protagonist not to jump.
Another interesting shot was the crane shot used which enables the dancers to be seen within the pool from a shot above. I also noticed the rule of eight within framing wasn’t followed within some shots which I liked. This can be seen, for example, in the beginning shots of the two band mates but surprisingly the lead singer is in focus whilst the other band mate isn’t??
From listening and watching the video the music video definitely cuts to the beat which I believe is either a make or break for a music video, whether the editing is spot on or slightly lacking.
This can be seen for instance with the chorus. This part of the song definitely speeds up a little as well as including more instrumentals. This speed up is shown when the video cuts to the dancers which begin their set piece.
The artist and their style is generally seen as a gentleman’s style in the sense of donning a tailored suit with the exception of a tie. The band like the vintage look and the lead singer wears a singular gold earring similar to the days of depache mode or prince.
What I have noticed within this video is the amount of time the second band mate (the one who doesn’t sing) is continually faded out within the background whilst the lead singer is in full focus on a close up but when there is a close up of the second band mate the lead singer is never faded out?
Voyeurism in this video isn’t to extreme as their last ‘better than love’ which was full of exhibition. Maybe the close ups of the guys for instance could satisfy the female and or male fans but apart from that….unless short skirted female dancers can be classified within the category of voyeurism but their dancing was hardly alluring.
The music video they have made is a combination I feel of both performance and narrative based. More performance based than narrative though in this case.
The narrative can be seen within the older actor in some scenes in which he shows discomfort within his facial expressions and others when the video has shown the lead singer floating, which may suggest that the protagonist has jumped, the older actor is seen pushing a photograph of a female into the pool. Possibly contradicting the songs words in the sense that he hasn’t jumped but instead she has.
　

4. Music video textual analysis 1

Kanye west - power
The video I am analysing is called power and is by the artist Kanye west. The genre of music it belongs too is hip hop. Its typical characteristics of the genre that can be seen within this music video are the promotion of larger than life-everything such as the jewellery which kanye wears. The women which I feel are being depicted as just another form of hip hop voyeurism.
The most interesting part of this video is the visual stylistics which are few and far between the usual that’s probably seen. The costume design throughout the video could be compared to that which could be seen in films such as troy. The women are covered only by shawls with the addition of some demonic women such as a pair with horns and a women with angelic wings. the men wear something quite similar therefore trying to depict the video in a godly setting. Kanye is wearing black which is proven to draw your attention and with the addition of a larger than life gold pendant draped around his neck also helps the attention shift with ease. The location I assumed is that it is in heaven or an outer worldly scene.
The video seems all one take due to the camera zooming out and showing little bits of action taking place but I later researched it and it’s a montage of shots all placed together. that’s why it gives the effect of it seeming like a moving painting.
The music video is slow though with a few exceptions such as the speed of the horned women striking their poles onto the ground which also keeps in time with the sudden inclusion of a new beat to the track.
The whole video is blue screen. By just seeing the video you can tell it isn’t reality. The colour has been made more vivid within the clothes that are worn and the backdrop they are in. toward the end they even go all out with fireworks.
I think that its possible that Kanye has contradicted himself in this video and maybe he did this deliberately. The chorus goes “no one man should have all that power” but the video depicts himself being central with an extremely large pendant and a halo over his head with damsels scattered all over the place.
The music and the video don’t necessary cut straight to the beat but there are some parts as I mentioned before such as when the horned women strike their staffs to the floor . Saying that though towards the end once the video has fully zoomed out there are some quick cuts to different locations of the ‘moving painting’ and this is done to the beat of the song.
Kanye west is being represented as being that ‘one man with all that power’ and this can be seen by the large gold chain that is draped around his neck whilst others aren’t wearing any jewellery. The music video is very different to any that kanye has done previously as they are usually fast paced and never of just one shot but his videos are very innovative as can be seen just from this music video ‘power’.
I think that there is examples of voyeuristic tendencies’ on the women that are draped at the feet of kanye but also kanye himself. He is dressed in black with a very heavy gold chain around his neck. This instantly brought my attention on to him. There is definitely sexual display being seen within this video such as the near naked women as well as being two women (though it could possibly be a man) embracing one another.
It definitely could be suggested that there is a slight comparison between Michelangelo’s Sistine chapel painting but in kanye wests video it’s a series of slowly moving montage shots that end up creating this ‘moving painting.
This video is concept based, there isn’t no two ways about it. There isn’t a narrative and neither has kanye west performed in his video.
This music video promotes kanye as being this one man with all this power though there isn’t any performance suggesting how good an artist he could be though to many who listen to kanye would be fans of his already and this song/music video is possibly something that many of his fans already knew.
For kanye, this video has helped in reassuring everyone and possibly himself that he is at the top of the rap game. the 'power' of the video shows just how much of an innovator he truly can be with the help of great directors.

2. A short history of the development of music videos

Without music videos, promotion for artists would become so much harder. It’s also been discussed whether the majority of musical talents actually owe their success to the music video’s that they make such as Madonna who has managed to re-establish her image throughout the years from videos like ‘like a virgin’ which was sought after to be banned to a more spiritual Madonna which can be seen videos such as ‘frozen’.

Music videos can be useful for an artist as it allows a different persona to be created, one that may not be who they really are in the ‘real life’ but this ‘fake’ persona may profit from wearing next to nothing and creating a strange alter ego. Both options can be seen in Lady Gaga. Who has gone from usual looking in ‘just dance’ to unusual looking in ‘bad romance’.

As well as generating sales from voyeurism they can also include messages that are input within the videos whether it is about world peace- U2/Bonoor introducing more concerns to the public such as Chris martin and Coldplay have done about free trade and increasing awareness about it.
It may have even reached a point now that an artist’s career has become solely dependant on their music videos and the success of them to gain income and celebrity status.

The idea of the ‘music video’ has been an ongoing process. The earliest dating back to the late 1920’s which saw the beginning of ‘talkies’.
A ‘talkie’ was film accompanied by the music which could be played alongside the film on 12-16 inch phonograph records. Films such as the ‘jazz singer’ used the vita phone process.
Accompanying this was the short films which could be seen upon jukebox’s which would last up to 8 minutes. These where ways of showcasing the artist within bars and social clubs. These were called Panarom’s.
These films could contain more sexually explicit films due to the fact that it was highly unlikely to be policed in places such as bars as it might have been in more up market meeting places.

With the beginning of world war two, these soon died out but the idea was resurrected during the 60’s within France.
They gave birth to the scopitone which it two shared the showing of sexual persuasiveness which the Panoram had been doing but with age came more risk within the ‘shorts’ such as close up shots of regions of genitalia, covered up of course. USA also took hold of it during the middle 60’s.

Musical films also began to make an impact during the 1930’s onwards.
Films like ‘West Side Story’ and its dance sequences were believed to have been later used as a model to go by in Michael Jacksons music videos such as ‘Bad’ and ‘Thriller’.

Voyeurism and sexual exhibitionism is one of the main sources of past music videos that has been kept and is still being used today. This can be seen in many music videos such as semi naked women in hip hop videos and even semi naked men in artist’s music videos such as Lady Gaga’s or the Sugarbabes. This way it pleases both the female and male viewers. It’s also a great way of publicizing the artist and their music.

It was inevitable for a 24hr music video channel to be published and screened to many and this very idea happened when MTV was introduced in the 1980’s.
The world then saw, which could be seen nowadays as a punishment, its first video…’Video Killed The Radio Star’ performed by the Buggles.
This also helped many British talents to break through because of the lack of material in the sense of music videos that were able to be played at the time. Bands such as the Eurhythmics and Duran Duran were amongst these. Some theorists believe that it was the end of true vocal talent when MTV became as more good looking stars have arisen in the music industry due to their looks more than their musical abilities.

1: The second year of A-Level Media Studies

For the second year i will be creating an album promotional package for the release of an album which will include a music promo video for an album track as well as a choice of two of the following three options which are either

1. A website homepage for the band


2. A cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package)


3. A magazine advertisment for the digipak (CD/DVD package)

For the music promo video i will need to work within a group that can share indiviual roles and responsibilities involved within the production. the video will promote and reflect the bands image, genre as well as the pace and mood of the song.

The promotional package should all exist together instead of consisting three entirely seperate pieces of promotion.

Check out my first prezi of many as i continue to use this interactive tool to bring my blog to life as it were.... http://prezi.com/xtkywlakdbnp/the-project-to-end-all-projects/

Click more and full screen to watch this!