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"

Carol Vernalis' Theory

Analysis Of My Genre

Grime

In my project, I have decided to pick Grime music and this genre of music materialised in the ear;y 2000's. This genre is a wide range of a different mixture of music which includes drum and bass, UK garage and dance hall. Grime all started on Pirate radio stations in the UK such as Rinse FM, Deja Vu FM, Freeze 92.7 and Raw Mission. Since this genre began, it has grown very dramatically and it can now be accessed on many different online websites, and it also gets played on many radio stations.

The main artists which are associated with Grime music are: Skepta, JME, Stormzy, Bugzy Malone, Mo stack, Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Giggs and Tempa T. 

Most Grime music is presented through the main artist giving direct content to his audience by singing directly into the camera. This is also normally all set up within one place when they are performing and they normally have their friends also known as "road men", behind them when performing. Most of the time the music produced comes across quite violently and the lighting of it is normally quite dark.

Representing of grime music has changed slightly over the years. In the past people would refer grime to a lot of youths which were deeply involved in violence. However, there has been a dramatic change of grime music due to it changing into more mainstream music.

The lyrics associated with this genre usually links to violence or the troubles of their lives. So these lyrics normally engage people which have had a similar lifestyle to them. However, a lot of artists now change their music slightly so it can appeal to a wider audience.

The costume within this genre is usually low-end street end clothing or a tracksuit.