Synergy In The Music Business

Synergy is when the interaction of two or more forces working together creates a greater effect than the sum of their individual errors. Media Synergy is the way in which different elements of a media conglomerate work together to promote linked products across different media platforms. A music video helps to provide synergy for the artist starring in it; a popular music video helps to expand their audience but also serves to increase their power in the industry.

An example is Wiz Khalifa's song 'See you again'. This song exists across different platforms and they advertise each other through it. The song promotes the film 'Fast and Furious 7', and it does this by using clips from the film in their video to give it a bigger advertisement. From the power of the industries it allowed 

Reflection on Progress (Research)

Three things needed to improve:

• I need to improve my knowledge on some of the tasks. For example, I need to look into how a digipak is styled and take some ideas from it and start to make my own. By doing this I can link it to my practical work and then I can show what I have chosen for my final song choice.

• I also think I need to make sure I keep track of everything I am doing because I don't want to lose any information when it comes to putting it all onto my blog. To do this I need ti keep updating my blog of all the work I am doing so I don't forget about it.

• Finally, I believe that I need to put some more information into by blog work. I believe this because some of the posts I have created could have more detail on them and could be in a better format to make it more interactive.

Previous Students Work Reviewed

http://a2michaeldaymedia.blogspot.co.uk/

The Students work in which I am analysing is Micheal Day's. In my opinion, I believe that some of the shots could have been better because there were a few shots that looked slightly out of focus but I thought it was all edited together really well.

I also think that a lot of planning went into creating the music video by looking into his blog work. There are a lot of plans in which he has shown what he was going to do and it shows clear links to his final project and has a clear evaluation on what he thinks he has done well and what he could have improved. 

Screenshots:

The Mise en scene was incredibly well developed, and it suited the genre strongly, for example, the playing of the guitar. There was a lack of narrative which often is not too much of an issue.

I found that on his blogger there were a lot of different styles used to present his work. He has a range of different Prezi styles and there are many interactive features.

Micheal Day is a Drama student so he has tried creating as much art as possible into his music video which is why he has decided to use a mannequin doll for his stop motion. The reason I believe it is a good idea having a mannequin doll is because you can control it to do anything which you want.

Props

The props that I intend to use in the video are vital to the conventions of the video and are required to link well to the genre.

- My car - The first prop which we will be using is my 2003 Vauxhall Corsa, I believe that this is an important prop for our genre because it links to the conventions well and we will be able to get a range of different shots using this prop. For example, close up of wheels, or having a pitch black scene and then having the headlights switch on.

- Will also be using car keys to go with the lyrics of the song right at the start.
- Another important prop which we may use in the music video is money because the song is all about what they have and what they don't care about and they talk about all of the money in which they have.

- Another prop that may be used is a shovel, due to the lyrics saying 'Aint got time to dig six feet deep". I believe that it will have some significance with our video.

- As the lyrics are continued it does start to go on about English Literature and English Language, so I need to find some sort of prop that can link to that. For example in the video he has foam children's boxes which had the ABC and numbers on them.

- I also believe that a useful prop to use with in the video could be a weapon of some sort because it will go with all of the conventions of the music video very well.

- We also wanted to do what they done in the music video and get some digestive biscuits and some tea.

Mainstream Vs Independent Artists

The difference between these two artists/groups is quite clear after watching the two artists videos and finding out about them. A mainstream video is likely to be better quality, which would make it more appealing to the masses.Independent artists, on the other hand, will not be signed to a music label, so will have complete artistic control over their music and music videos. However, this means the music video will not be of high quality compared to a mainstream artist's music video.An independent artists music videos will aim to appeal to a niche audience however and many may not know about the artist unless they are into the genre of music.It is obvious why the audience may be attracted to mainstream music videos more than independent, due to the fact mainstream music videos are visually more appealing and entertaining, they are of a much higher quality and look more professional. Audiences have high expectations of mainstream music videos. However, I think that independent music videos may appeal to their own audiences due to the videos artistic control, independent artists are free to express themselves fully in their music videos allowing them to connect with their audience much more, this usually makes up for the low budget music videos. 

Mainstream Artists/Group

It is very clear to see One Direction have had a very big impact in the music world, so much of an impact that they now sell things which aren't musically related. For example, there are many different ancillary products and merchandise that is available and endorsed by artists for their fans.One Direction sell products from, Music CD's, Film DVD's to One Direction dolls, Calenders, Clothing, Key rings, Mugs, Perfumes, Trainers, Pillows, Covers, Hats, Towels and many other items which have increased the popularity of this group. This just emphasizes the growth of the group and how mainstream they really are. You are also able to buy the group's music almost everywhere where you can buy music, their website www.onedirectionmusic.com is just one place where you can find all this merchandise and all of the groups music. The group's music can also be bought from iTunes and Amazon and it can be viewed on apps such as Spotify.

Independent Artists

This next artist that I have chosen to compare mainstream artist too is an independent artist, Jake Miller. Jake Miller is an underground artist who is aiming to make it in the music industry and is has only just been signed to a record label.However, his target audience is also teenagers who are into underground rap and would know about this genre of music. You are unlikely to find any merchandise for an artist like this and no website however, Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are all used to promote the music videos and music artist. However, you are able to find Jake Millers music available for purchase on iTunes.

Laura Mulvey

The Male Gaze, developed by feminist, Laura Mulvey describes how the audience, or viewer, is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male. Mulvey believes that women should enjoy the attention of attracting the gaze, and put themselves in positions to be looked at. The concept of ‘the gaze’ is one that deals with how an audience views the people/person presented.

She believes that women are normally as seen as objects and are shown as controlled. control of the camera comes from factors such as the as the assumption of heterosexual men as the default target audience for most film genres.

Mulvey' also states that the female gaze is the same as the male gaze because women look at themselves through the eyes of men. A feminist may see the male gaze as either a manifestation of unequal power between gazer and gazed, or as a conscious or subconscious attempt to develop that inequality. From this perspective, a woman who welcomes an objectifying gaze may be simply seeking to benefit men, welcoming such objectification may be viewed as akin to exhibitionism.

The male gaze occurs when the camera puts the audience into the perspective of a heterosexual man. It may, for instance linger over the curves of a woman's body. The man emerges as the dominant power within the film fantasy and this shows to the audience that the male does have control over the female and her actions.

An example of this is the song "Get Low" by Dillon Francis and DJ Snake. This video shows how men have more power and they do this by having men sat on lots of chairs looking down on half naked women.

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin says that there are 5 key aspects to a music video. These include:

• Thought through beat(seeing what the lyrics mean in your head)
• Relationship between the song and Visuals
• Narrative and performance of the song           
• Technical aspect of the song
• Star image (Protagonist), a variety of camera shots making him/her the center of attention

Goodwin also believes that certain videos have genre Characteristics. These include:

• Stadium Performance 
• Studio Performance
• Location
• Narrative based
• Concept based

Voyeurism

This basically means that something is viewed within a music video that would or shouldn't have been viewed. For example, sometimes it could be hidden meanings within the music video.

• An intimate location: This could include a location such as a bedroom and it may have been deliberately chosen for a purpose.
• Nudity/ Near Nudity/ Revealing clothes: A good example of this is the song "Stay" by Rihanna and she is nude within a bath tub and this links to the male gaze.
• Exhibitionism.
• Frame within a Frame.

 Artist Close Ups

Goodwin expressed a key feature of music videos is several close ups of the artist. This can be because of the record companies which they follow or it could be because they just want to get across to their audience that they are the star.

Star Iconography

Following on from artist close ups, a feature linked to this is star iconography in which each artist will develop further in their music videos. For example, if something were to change then they would be one of the first people to promote it through their music videos. Star Iconography includes: 

• Brand Values
• Unique selling points
• Branding
• Style

Videos that support Goodwin's Theory.

Key Points
1 - Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. - This includes Themes, mise-en-scene and events of the video match with lyrics of the song.

2 - Music videos have genre characteristics - This means that certain videos meet specific demands when it comes to looking at the features of a music video so it links to that genre.

3 - Emphasis on 'looking' - This links to the male gaze and how it gives a voyeuristic view of a woman.

4 - Artists videos will include many close ups of the artist and will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos. - There are many examples of this where music videos use close ups and this use is becoming more popular as time goes on.

 5 - Intertextual references.- This links to other forms of media


Example of Goodwin's Theory:

An example of this is in Ed Sheeran's Music video "Photograph"

Analysis (Goodwin): 
This shows the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals and this can be seen in this music video. For example in this music video, Ed Sheeran is singing about how things are stored within a photograph and then in the music video you see the picture turn into a video. This sequence is carried out through the whole music video, so he made a music video from old sources in which he had stored away and all of these sources link to the lyrics well.

Voyeurism is not a part of this video which another thing which a lot of music videos have started to use. This shows certain parts of female bodies when they are wearing a little amount of clothing, to attract some male audiences.

There a lot of different shot types in the music video even though it was made up of a few different ones. The thing that makes it so significant is how it shows how he has progressed from being just a niche artist into an idol.

‘Star Image’
The star image is another vital aspect of music videos. This shows the development of an artist over time, so for example, this could be how they started off as a niche artist and how they grew to become a star.

Different types of Music Videos

Performance: The band, artists performing the song either in concert, location or in a studio based set. This is one of the most common forms or music videos.

Parody: Videos tend to mock an original piece of work either through subject matter, style or author, tend to be comedy versions.

Narrative: Images tell a story throughout the video.

3 different animations: Claymotion / Stopmotion, 2D Cell, 3D

Inspiration: Referencing other media forms such as TV or film.

Surreal: Tend to have a something the audience finds hard to believe.

Postiche: Imitates a piece of work, film, tv, literature, mixture of referencing and parody.

The main functions of a music video?

• The main purpose of a music video is to entertain their audience and therefore, allowing their fan base to grow so they can be more of a successful artist.
• It can promote the artists song and gain publicity through it, for example, the video "Gangnam Style" By PSI was successful from its music video.
• It will help the audience to understand the lyrics of a song if there was a music video to go with it.
• To increase sales of albums for the artist and Concert tickets
• The video will help to expand the artist's media platform, so the audience can watch it on e-media as well as seeing it broadcasted on television.
• Can be used to promote an artist, this is good for smaller artists that are just featuring in songs because it helps them grow a wider fan base.
•  The video helps to confirm the artist genre or show that there is a change in the genre for that artist, for example costume may change and therefore the artist will be promoting it.
• They can promote their other talents, for example if they can play the guitar they may be performing in music video. A good example of this is Ed Sheeran "Sing"