This is my music video that I made for the song "We Will Be Singing" by The Hype Theory.
Wednesday 14 December 2011
Tuesday 6 December 2011
Analysis of You Me At Six - 'Loverboy'
I have chosen to analyse 'Loverboy' by You
Me At Six. I am going to be looking at the generic signifiers and how it’s
aimed at the band's target market. It's the bands newest music video and was
directed by Tim Mattia. The band belongs to the pop rock genre and this is
connoted very strongly within the video.
Throughout the video
there are many generic signifiers, most of them conform but a few challenge the
genre's boundaries. Tim Mattia has done this in such a way so that the video
will appeal to the target market and You Me At Six's fans. Firstly, the location
used for the narrative part of the story, the police interview room, is very
generic, it is quite dark and lacks colour. The walls of the locations are
plain, mostly dull white and greys. Even the colours of the clothes the lead
singer is wearing, dark denim and blues, reflects the coldness and isolation of
the location which is very common in the pop rock genre's locations. The other
location within the video, which is used for the performance scene, is where
the only bright colour is in the whole of the music video. The red lighting in
the second location contrasts greatly against the bleakness of the first. Also,
the red lighting is very strong against the white lighting in the interview
room but towards the end of the video they start to combine so you can see both
red and white lighting. This way in
which the colour red is used within the video, to create a contrast is common
in the rock genre. For example, in 'The Pretender' by Foo Fighters they use the
contrast between the colours red and black and then the colours combine at the
end of the video as the red wall explodes. It is also similar to one of their
previous music videos, Underdog, this helps the fans identify that the video is
by You Me At Six as they will recognise the similarities.
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| Foo Fighters - The Pretender |
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| You Me At Six - Underdog |
The clothes the band are
wearing also connect them to their genre as they are one of the strongest
signifiers within the video as it is the thing the fans and audience will
identify with most. Josh Franchessi, the lead singer is wearing a grey beanie
hat, a denim jacket, white polo shirt and dark skinny jeans. This is what males
within the target market of the band are likely to wear if they look up to the
lead singer. The rest of the band is also wearing skinny jeans, dark coloured
shirts and some are wearing dark jackets too. The way in which Josh is dressed
compared to the rest of the other band is so that he stands out; he is the lead
singer and is shown more throughout the video. Another genre signifier which
conforms is the camera angles which are used within the video. The narrative
shots are mostly close ups of Josh, this creates a connection between the
audience and the band as fans feel closer to the band. When they show the performance scene the camera is
mostly further away so that the performance is captured as one but some close
ups of instruments being played, band member's face, etc are shown which again
connects the band and the audience.
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| Josh's Clothing |
The overall narrative structure of the video is based on a
split between the band performing and Josh, the lead singer, acting. Although,
in some of the acting scenes Josh is singing the words to the camera like they
are part of the scene but it is like he is performing rather than acting. There
is no really story to the video itself but it is clear that Josh and the other
band members are being questioned in police interrogation rooms. This does
however link to some lyrics in the song, such as “Leave the scene smelling of
dead roses”, “Don’t you feel bad, don’t you feel bad”, and “This is a night you’ll
regret in the morning”. All of these lyrics refer to how someone is feeling
after they have done something, possibly messing up a relationship and this
could be part of the reason why Josh and the band are being interrogated by
police. The way the lyrics are reflected in the narrative structure and story
of the video is appealing to fans because the lyrics are important and are one
of the appeals of the band so the fans are able to relate to the lyrics and
therefore the narrative of the video.
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| Police Interview Room |
There is a sense of looking created by some of the shots of
the interview room being shot through the one way glass. This makes it feel as
though you are looking in on the lead singer being interrogated but he can’t
actually see you. Almost like you are the judge of the situation and what
happens to Josh, whether he gets let free or sentenced, is up to you. This
makes the viewer feel more powerful and connected with the video, like they are
a part of it. Also, most of these shots are quite close up to the artists’ face
which is common within the genre as it brings the focus of the video to the
artist. As well as the interview room the performance scene also creates a
sense of looking as it’s like you are watching the band perform. The way the
performance shots are quite bold and some are low angles is similar to how many
photos are taken at gigs by professional photographers. Therefore this will
help fans recognise the performance scene because the angles are similar to
that of photos they may have seen of the band performing.
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| Looking Through the Viewing Window |
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| Performance Scene |
The band themselves don’t represent any ideologies, like
Paramore and their Christian beliefs which are slightly reflected in their
music and lyrics, but some of the lyrics within Loverboy in particular create a
sense of anti-establishment. I think this is because of the way they band are
shown to be rebelling against the authority and this has been set up because of
the lyrics which are about doing something wrong and regretting it. The regret
in the lyrics kind of brings the video full circle creating something that
appeals to the fans in an anti establishment kind of way but not agreeing with
it by using regret and guilt. The use of the police board with the word 'sinner' written on it does have a slight religious connotation but its right at the end and is a reference to their album 'Sinners Never Sleep'.
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| Police Board |
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| Sinners Never Sleep Album Cover |
The target audience for You Me At Six is 14-19 year olds of
both genders but mainly females. I think this because when I look on their
Facebook page 17 of my friends like them and out of the 17 people only 3 are
male. Also, I believe their target audience is mainly of a white ethnicity and
have a low income because they are in education. They would be very similar to
the fans of All Time Low and Paramore as they are bands from the same genre.
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| My Friends on Facebook who Like You Me At Six |
Analysis of All Time Low - 'I Feel Like Dancin'
I have chosen to look at All Time Low’s music video for ‘I
Feel like Dancin’. It is a very upbeat song and, like their other songs, the lyrics
and fun and comical. On the 5th April 2011 it was released in the US as a
digital download through Interscope Records. When the video was first played,
it was released online exclusively on Vevo. The director of the video shoot was
Matt Stawski, he had directed All Time Low’s previous video Weightless but also one of Paramore’s music videos.
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| Paramore - Hallelujah |
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| All Time Low - Weightless |
The story of the video is that the band are filming their
music video and the different performance scenes are the ideas that they have
come up with in the scene before. It kind of makes fun and relates to Goodwin’s
theory as some of the ideas they come up with are part of his theory. For
example, one of the ideas is to reference/copy other music videos and in
Goodwin’s theory it says music videos should make use of intertextual
references.
Throughout the video the choice of images is very generic in
relation to the genre. All Time Low are a pop-punk band so the main part of the
video is made up of performance shots and scenes. This is intertwined with
acting shots where they are supposed to be sitting down with their manager and
discussing what ideas they are going to use in their video. The first scene is
related to product placement. It features the band performing with the product
Rockstar Energy Drink placed on and around the whole performance. The costumes
and the way the band are dressed are to reflect the product not who they are.
The next method their ‘manager’ says will work is selling sex. This then
involves a costume change for the band and actors, which again doesn’t
represent who they are as a band. The actors are dressed very provocatively and
are wearing skimpy outfits, when they start dancing around in the performance
scene the band start to look uncomfortable as they aren’t happy with the idea
that their ‘manager’ has come up with. The final method they use is stealing
other artists’ ideas which is taking intertextual references to a whole new
level. The first music video they copy is Lady GaGa as it is instantly
recognisable when they are dressed in white latex suits dancing around in a
white room. Also, Lady GaGa is of a
completely different genre so the song has nothing to do with the band. Another
artist’s video they copy/reference is Katy Perry and her video for ‘California
Girls’, the band is dressed in exactly the same costumes as what Katy Perry was
dressed in when she original made the video.
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| Product Placement |
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| "Selling Sex" |
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| Using Others Ideas / Intertextual References |
The narrative structure of the video is linear, it follows a
story and doesn’t use flashbacks, but the storyline is quite jumpy as bits and
pieces have been missed out, in a way they use flash forwards to move the
storyline on quickly. The director has used a linear structure so that the
video flows along and doesn’t jump backwards and forwards, this also links into
what the video is made up of, performance and narrative. After their 'manager'
has come up with an idea it then shows the band performing that idea and so on
through the ideas.
As I looked at earlier, there are many intertextual
references throughout the whole video. For example, copying the videos of Katy
Perry and Lady GaGa, at the end of their video, this is done in a comical way
rather than a serious way. Also, the way the band is set up and represented
during the performance scene is similar to many music videos from the same
genre, with the guitar and bass players at the front in a line and the drummer
behind. This is a generic set up for a band and it is also the same positions they
stand in on stage when they are touring so that fans will be able to relate to
the video.
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| Performance Scene |
There are many different representations through the video.
Firstly, the world they are represented in is just their normal world; being
told what to do by management and then trying to do what they want instead. The
way it is shot is almost like a backstage video of a music video shoot that the
band would use to connect with fans. This kind of makes it more interesting for
the fans to watch instead of seeing just a normal performance scene mixed with
a storyline. The way the band is also being represented strengthens the
promotion. There are many close ups of the band and their instruments so that
the band are the main feature in the band, all the actors in the background
only get medium shots so that they don’t overpower the band. This helps with
the selling of the track as the fans feel closer to the band. The video does
relate back to another of their music video, 'Weightless', the colours used and
the comical value are very similar. This is mainly because both of the videos
have been directed by Matt Stawski and have been given the same treatment. The
way the band is represented is still basically the same in each video too.
During the middle section of the video, there are some very obvious references
to the notion of looking and voyeurism. The second idea their 'manager'
suggests is selling sex. When it then cuts to the performance scenes the camera
are much slower and focus on different parts of the actors bodies and the actors
have changed into very provocative clothing. Also, the way in which the
location has been set up to look like a music shoot means there are lots of
people watching the band performance and also what the footage they are
shooting looks like on monitors. The way the male and female actors are
represented during the second idea is quite diminishing of them as its crude
and to the point. I think this has been done to prove a point that even though
the band have it in their video it isn’t what they are about; they are
different from other music videos that have actors dancing provocatively and
almost selling themselves.
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| Copying Lady GaGa's Video |
Because of the way they are trying to communicate a
message about who they are as a band, a lot of scenes are not traditional for
the genre even though the video is based around a performance scene. For
example, the band believe they are individual and all about the music so the
video shouldn’t need to be imitations of other videos, have sexy dancers or use
product placement. These representations are affected by social situations.
Also, the pressure from record labels on artists to be something they are not
is a current problem within the music industry and this is kind of All Time Low’s
way of saying that they aren’t going to conform, which is part of what they
stand for as a band. They believe music should be about the artist not what a
record label wants them to be. Alex has stressed this in many interviews that
they are never going to become something they aren’t comfortable being or doing
things they don’t agree with. Another aspect of this is that when one music
video includes something like a particular scene you often see it then repeated
in many ways in other music videos released after the original. The way in
which it has been done is this video is to show this up. Because when music
videos are released you often see the same sort of things in videos released in
the following weeks.
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| Band and Manager Meeting |
All Time Low have quite a large fan base spread across the
world. In the UK they are still relatively unknown but they have recently been
played a lot on BBC Radio 1 by a DJ called Tom Deacon, he introduces new music
through a show aimed at a specific audience of people aged 13-20 years old in
the UK. This is mainly the audience that the band appeals to in the UK, more specifically
females, of a white ethnicity. Most of the appeal is from the music, notably the
lyrics but also the band themselves because of how they look. The lyrics that
Alex Gaskarth writes for the songs are catch but also give something for the
fans to connect with the band. Many fans say that listening to All Time Low is
like an escape from real life or the music has “saved them”. This is something
Alex and all members of the band understand and why they give so much time and
attention to their fans. This is shown in the form of a fan club they have set
up, called The Hustler Club. It allows fans of the band somewhere to chat and
talk about music together; sometimes the band members join in. On the boards
there is a real sense of family and friendliness which makes fans feel part of
something, it also gives them a chance to buy special merchandise or win meet
and greets at concerts. I am part of The Hustler Club and can honestly say it’s
worth the $25 it costs to sign up. You make great friends, are able to have fun
and free conversations about All Time Low and I have even won a meet and greet,
which was one of the best moments of my life.
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| The Hustler Club Homepage |
Band Analysis - We Are The In Crowd
After looking at The Hype Theory, I have found other bands that are similar that I previously didn't know of. One of these bands is We Are In The Crowd. They, like Paramore, are an American pop-punk band with a female lead singer.
They formed in 2009 and are from Poughkeepsie, New York. The members of the band are Taylor Jardine (vocals), Jordan Eckes (guitar/vocals), Mike Ferri (bass), Rob Chianelli (drums), and Cameron Hurley (guitar).
In 2010 they release an EP called Guaranteed To Disagree and in 2011 they released a full album named Best Intentions which went into the US Billboard 200 and number 122. Also, during the summer of 2010 the band formed part of the Vans Warped Tour as many other band similar to them, Paramore, All Time Low, You Me At Six, have done before.
Their first single 'Both Sides of the Story' was release on 15th October 2010, here is the video for the single:
Here is the album artwork for their album and EP:
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| Album - Best Intentions |
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| EP - Guarenteed to Disagree |
Wednesday 23 November 2011
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Revised Idea - Planning
After planning my idea I had quite a large problem. The actors I was going to use couldnt help me, so it left me with no-one available to help me film. This meant that I had to completely rethink my idea and try and come up with an idea that didn't involve actors. I decided that I would make a montage of Autumnal shots and fireworks cut together to the beat of the music. This was achieveable for me becasue it didn't involove other people. The main location I used, the woods, still referenced Paramore's video Decode like in the original planning. This was a music video that was set in the woods and used lots of camera angles and editing techniques to make it interesting to watch. When out shoting on location I tried to replicate some of the shots, such as shots of the sky and low angle shots of the trees.
Some of these photos formed part of my music videos but they were the first photos I took for my new idea. The most important thing was close ups and colour otherwise the shots were flat and uninteresting.
Here is Paramore's video Decode that I used for inspiration when re-planning my idea:
Concept
The concept for my new idea has taken most of the original ideas but just removed the actors. In the song a sense of loneliness is shown so I have replicated that by showing a sense of isolation and aloneness in the video through various photos. The photos which will be turned into a montage also reflect what the world is like this time of year with leaves falling off trees, etc. When the song goes into the chorus I will use some fireworks footage which will reflect the kind of release that happens during the chorus.
Shooting Schedule
I am going out to Dunston Common on 1st November to capture the bulk of my images and then on 5th November I am going to film some fireworks from Sparks in the Park as the rest of my footage. I will take with me my bridge camera to capture the photos and footage.
Location
The location I have chosen, Dunston Common, is quite close to where I live so it is easily accessible also it was one of my original locations which I was going to use before I had a casting problem. Just like I stated in my original planning, the woods are desolate and barren giving a sense of isolation and also are similar to the location used for Paramore’s music video Decode. The use of fireworks also relates to one of my other locations slightly, the room filled with coloured lights, which also gives a sense of being alone. Also, the fireworks are there and gone within a matter of seconds just like relationships in life which we need to value and understand.
Monday 10 October 2011
Musical Profile - Festivals and Similar Bands
Analysis of Reading Festival's Poster and Website
I have chosen to analyse the Reading Festival poster and website as I think that it is the most likely festival for my band, The Hype Theory, to perform at. I came to this conclusion after looking at all aspects of the poster and website, such as the bands playing at the festival, the colours used, the imagery, etc. The first thing that stands out is the contrast between the dark colour of the background and the bright colours also used. The bright colours are primary colours – red and yellow – and are very shouty and loud which makes it stand out against the rest of the page, it could also be described as ‘punky’ and alternative. The colour is also mainly in blocks, and shapes such as triangles and ellipses. The ellipses could have a connotation of the festival wristband as it is around the name of the festival and is also similar to how Kerrang!’s logo has been designed. The triangles around the edge of the ellipses are poppy and punky which connects back to the genre of pop/punk.
The background is made up of a photo of the crowds from a previous Reading Festival, the way the image has been used is to get people to look because to start with you don’t realise the background is made up of a photo. The fonts used are, again, very shouty and bold which stand out from the dark background but they are modern so appeal to an audience the same age as my target market.
The photos shown on the homepage are fairly simple. There is one of the merchandise available from the festival, these reflect the type of clothes that my target market wears, for example printed, coloured t-shirts. Also, the image of the crowd at the top connotes the energy you feel when you are at the festival but also shows a snapshot of the experience you will have.
Finally on the homepage, there are various companies’ logos. Just above the links at the bottom of the page there are some sponsors which have sponsored the festival, these are companies like NME, Relentless Energy Drink, Tuborg and HMVtickets, etc, which are all companies my target market would be interested in. Also, at the top of the page there are the Facebook and Twitter logos, along with an artist search symbol and a forums symbol. These are there so the festival is accessible on social media for fans, it also connotes that the audience is fairly youthful as they are more likely to use Facebook and Twitter.
The festival’s poster is quite different from that of the website. It is much more in your face because of the background colour of bright yellow but it still uses certain imagery such as the festival’s logo which could connote a festival wristband and the logos of well-known companies along the bottom of the poster. The font is still modern, shouty and bold which makes the names of the bands stand out from the vibrant background. The use of red as a highlight along with yellow background and black accents makes the overall poster very contrasted, colourful and it stands out from other posters.
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| Reading Festival Website Homepage |
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| Reading Festival Line-Up Poster |
What Can You Learn From This?
After looking at this information about similar bands and the festival The Hype Theory would I attend I have learnt a few things that will influence me when I make my music video and plan my digipak. Firstly, I learnt that colours, font and imagery are very important on products, such as festival posters and CD covers. This means when I create my digipak I will have to use bright colours, like orange, purple and green, fonts that stand out and are bold, and the imagery must connote music, like the circle on the Reading festival posted connoted a wristband. Secondly, the way in which technologies is combined with real-life products, like the Twitter, Facebook, etc logos on the festival website. So again when I am designing the digipak I will have to include website addresses on the cover for the band’s Twitter, Facebook, etc. Also, in the music video I could include technologies such as a phone or a laptop as this will mean that the audience will be able to identify with the content of the music video. Thirdly, the use of images of the band is very important throughout the products related to the band. Whether it is on the digipak or in the music video the connection back to the band is vital, this is because the band and their music are at the forefront to the fans. Finally, the theme from the digipak/album cover must continue throughout the whole range of products as it makes it easy for fans to identify with their whole range of products. This even extends to merchandise ranges on tour, to stage designs and website design.
Wednesday 5 October 2011
Wednesday 21 September 2011
UK Tribes and Find Your Tribe - Me and My Target Audience
About UK Tribes and Find Your Tribe
UK Tribes was created by Crowd DNA for Channel 4 to discover more about young people in Britain. Nowadays, tribes are much more varied than they once were. For brands and companies it is very important that they know who their target markets are. To get the information, young people across the country were questioned about different aspects of their lives; for media, to aspirations, to their brand preferences. The information was honest and uncensored to create a data bank full of information. The company UK Tribes was created in 2005 to run a project named TV Glue. The project focused on how TV was part of society. A smaller part of the project focused on how ‘social glues’ affected youth culture, based on music, sport, fashion, technology, etc. This information was regarded as very important by marketing and media people. The research continued and extended its depth, it became more genuine and ‘close-up’ to avoid generalisation. All the information is from young people about themselves.
The research was conducted using two types of questions, qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research included online forums, in-depth interviews, vlogs, etc. The quantitative research was made up of an online survey called ‘Find Your Tribe’. The first version, which ran in 2006, gathered data from over 50,000 people and version two, which ran in 2008, gathered 38,000+ people’s data.
The output created from the research was priceless; it allowed media and marketing people to find out about youth culture and what was happening in young people’s worlds.
Since the project started the data has changed, they started off with 23 tribes but gained 4 and lost 2), and it will continue to change as young people and their culture develops. While UK Tribes are recording this information they are building up an invaluable archive of young Britain.
My Tribe was an Indie Kid
My Target Audience's Tribe was Indie Scenestar
What Will Marketers Find Useful From The Information?
The information that has been made available by this project is very useful for the media and marketers. Before the survey there wasn’t really any ‘real’ information about the youth of Britain that was constantly evolving. Now if the information is used it is up to date as possible because as more data comes in from ‘Find Your Tribe’ the data is updated. The breakdown of the segments and tribes allow the information to be specifically tailored to which audience the media and marketers are looking at. The media information will allow marketers and media personnel to promote their products to their target audience through the right social networks, magazines, TV channels and online sites. For example, if a marketer wanted to promote a new magazine they put adverts on Channel 4 and Channel 5, as they are the channels the target market have said they most watch. The media consumption section shows how much the certain tribe spends on each type of media, again in the case of the tribe for my target market; there would be no point me trying to promote my band using the TV as overall not many people from the target market watch the TV, instead I would use most likely the internet as it is most heavily used by my target market. The section on brands allow the media and marketers to find out what sort of other products the target market likes, for example, the tribe I looked at did lots of online shopping so to create a wider brand for my product I could set up an online shop to sell merchandise. Much like Josh Franchessi from You Me At Six and Jack Barakat from All Time Low has done who have their own or are part of a clothing line, (Down But Not Out and Glamour Kills).
Links to the Websites:
Monday 5 September 2011
Women in The Music Industry
Even now in the 21st century, the music industry is still male dominated, whether this is on stage or behind the scenes, it has never been seen as a place of work for women.
This is clearly shown in the results of a survey conducted in 2009, 66% of workers behind the scenes in the UK are male, and only 30% of backstage workers in London are female. Another statistic is that 47% of women actually involved in the music industry earn less than £10,000 per year which compared to 35% of men probably explains why there are so few women behind the scenes. The statistics show that there isn’t just a lack of females backstage but also in executive and managerial roles too. Jon Webster, chief executive of the Music Managers Forum has been quoted saying that only around 15% of their members are women and that only 6% of women in the music business earn more than £29,000, where as 22% of men earn more than £29,000.
In the past there have been very few well-known female rock artists. The Runaways, Lee Aaron, Debbie Harry, Evanescence, Janis Joplin, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Annie Lennox and Heart are all bands with females in them or leading them who have achieved success.
In the past there have been very few well-known female rock artists. The Runaways, Lee Aaron, Debbie Harry, Evanescence, Janis Joplin, Madonna, Avril Lavigne, Annie Lennox and Heart are all bands with females in them or leading them who have achieved success.
One of the first ever well known female rock artists was Janis Joplin, she was born in Texas in 1943, and her music career started in 1962. Probably her most famous song is “Me and Bobby McGee”. Her albums, including “Cheap Thrill” and “Pearl” were multi-platinum. She helped bring females in the music industry in front of the public eye and in 2004 Janis was ranked 46th in Rolling Stone Magazine’s 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
A band who became very popular in the 70s and 80s was Heart; they combined the genres of rock and folk to create a unique sound. Over the decades the band has split and reformed a few times but sisters Anne and Nancy Wilson have always been part of the band. They have released 12 studio albums, some have gone platinum, and sold more than 30 million albums across the globe.
Debbie Harry is well known in the music industry now but when Blondie first formed they didn’t have many fans, possibly because of being a female fronted band. Critics at the time said they would never be famous or find much success but when they released the album “Parallel Lines” in 1978 they took off and became very famous. Today, when you look back at the 70s and 80s Blondie is one of the bands that stand out the most and their music has stood the test of time.
Joan Jett has probably done the most for females in the rock music industry, since she was 15 she has been an active part of the business. Her first band The Runaways weren’t very popular but has since become known for breaking into the male dominated rock music scene. In 2010 a film was released about the band and it showed just how hard it was for females in the music industry during the 70s and 80s. After leaving The Runaways Joan has had 9 top 40 hits, 9 platinum and gold albums and set up her own record label: Blackheart Records. Some of her most famous songs include “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “Crimson and Clover”, they both show her edgy, rock style. Rolling Stone Magazine has listed her one of the 100 Greatest Guitar Players of All Time, on this list there is only one other female guitarist.
Another famous female from the 80s was Lee Aaron; she is Canadian and was born in 1962. When she released her album “Metal Queen” she was put under the spotlight. After this she has since released multi-platinum albums, nominated for various prestigious awards and became known as ‘The Metal Queen’. Her songs such as “Whatcha Do to My Body” and “Sex with Love” are today metal anthems that are still well known. Although today she still performs some of her rock hits, she is working on her Jazz music.
Evanescence are one of the best female fronted rock bands of today even though they have only released 2 albums, which have sold over 20 million copies across the globe. Amy Lee, the front woman, formed the band in 1994. In 2003 they released their debut album “Fallen”. It spent 43 weeks in the top 10 in the US and sold more than 15 million copies. They were one of the first female fronted rock bands to use music videos as a way of promoting their music. The way Amy Lee is portrayed and the ideas used within the video have shown the potential effect that a female fronted rock band could have on the music industry.
Like Lee Aaron, Avril Lavigne was a big female rock star to come from Canada. When she was 17, her debut album “Let It Go” sold over 16 million copies. Her song “Sk8er Boi” from the album “Let It Go” catapulted her into the spotlight. She has in total sold over 30 million copies of her albums and has also appeared on TV, as well as in films such as “The Flock”. Although her music is a mixture of pop and rock they also have a punk/grunge twist. As one of the youngest females to be signed to a record label, she will stay in the spotlight for a while to come.
All of these female artists mentioned above have already broken through the male-based music business which is why they are better known. The Hype Theory are today, facing just as tough a battle as bands such as The Runaways, as the rock chart is still dominated by male bands, even though there are rock bands with females in them, such as Scarlet's Wake and Rhode Island Red, trying to achieve success. This is shown when you look at the number of female to males in the ‘iTunes Top 10 Rock Albums’ chart. Only one of the bands featured in the chart, Mazzy Star, actually feature a female. All the others are completely male bands. You Me at Six who are 2nd in the chart are a band that have been an influence for The Hype Theory and are a similar band with similar audiences.
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazzy_Star
http://www.scarletswake.co.uk/News.htm
http://www.apple.com/euro/itunes/charts/top10rockalbums.html
http://www.rhodeislandred.co.uk/
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazzy_Star
http://www.scarletswake.co.uk/News.htm
http://www.apple.com/euro/itunes/charts/top10rockalbums.html
http://www.rhodeislandred.co.uk/
Friday 2 September 2011
Applying Goodwin's Theory to 'Monster' by Paramore
Throughout the video of Monster the six main points of Goodwin's theory are shown and represented very clearly but there are also some other factors that relate to the band that are shown too.
Firstly, the video demonstrates its genre, rock/pop/punk, by showing performance scenes of the band in the video. All of the band members are performing in separate rooms, Hayley is singing and Taylor and Jeremy are playing their instruments, at the end of the video they all end up in the same room with their equipment which shows their bond within the band. This is very typical of Paramore style and representation of their genre; only one of their music videos has not got a performance element to it (Brick by Boring Brick), it also typical of similar bands such as All Time Low (from America), and You Me At Six (from United Kingdom). Both of these bands music videos are very dependent on performance scenes and almost every single one of their videos includes a performance.
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| Performance Shot |
The next point of Goodwin's theory that is recognizable is the link between the visuals and the lyrics. The first verse of the song references water. "You were my conscience, So solid now you're like water, We started drowning, not like we'd sink any further, But I let my heart go, It's somewhere down at the bottom". While these lyrics are being sung there are images of the band laying in water and shots of their faces in reflections to make them look as though they are under water, thus the lyrics are amplified. Also, the shot of the band laying in the water has quite a religious theme, kind of like a baptism, this is because of the bands Chrisitian belfiefs and has been reflected very subtly into the video.
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| Laying in the Water |
As Paramore are part of a record label, Fueled By Ramen, there are demands for a variety of shots and angles to be used in the video. From looking at some of Paramore the main visual style seems to be close ups of Hayley, the lead singer, as she is the main focus of many of the videos, with her band members providing a support role. But there are many close ups of all the band members during performance scenes. Another part of the band's visual style is their use of colour, in Monster much of the colour is provided from the clothes the band are wearing, such as such as their tops and trousers, and Hayley's hair. The use of Hayley's hair colour is very recognizable for fan fans of the band.
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| Hayley's Iconic Hair Colour |
There is a noticeable link between music and visuals, such as when Hayley is laying in the water and singing, the water around her is moving with the music creating a dream-like ripple effect. Also, as the chorus starts there is a use of pyrotechnics which are in time with the music. This creates a sense of performance and theatre and really makes the chorus stand out. Another link between the music and visuals is when the band start hitting and banging on the walls of the rooms they are in with their hands and feet but also their instruments. It’s a slight reference to rock artists who smash up their equipment and reckless antics of the rock genre, such as Pete Townshend of The Who and Jimi Hendrix. This is, I would say, the strongest link between music and visuals throughout the video, as it is in time with the drum beats and feels very significant when watching the video.
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| Hitting the Walls |
During the video, it’s difficult to spot any immediate inter-textual references like in some videos. Although, the location used for the majority of the video, the abandoned hospital, is similar to the opening location of the film 28 Days Later. In 28 days Later the main character is shown wandering bewildered through an abandoned hospital much like when Paramore are running through the corridors of the abandoned hospital in their video.
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| Hospital Scene in 'Monster' |
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| Opening Scene of '28 Days Later' |
Paramore’s
target audience are mainly 14-25 year old males and females. The majority of
fan are based in America but there are also a lot of fans in the UK too, these
following points are based around UK fans. Their income is fairly low as many
are still in education but they are most likely to shop at places such as Vans,
H&M and Schuh this is because although these shops are alternative they are
a mainstream alternative. Other bands they might listen to include All Time
Low, Blink 182, You Me At Six and Muse. This is because these bands all make
music in the same genre, also because some of them are bands that have
influenced the members of Paramore or bands that have been influenced by
Paramore. The target market would also be people that love to go to gigs and
see bands live. Fans are a very important point of how well a band does as its
those people who buys the music, gig tickets, merchandise etc.
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| Paramore Fans |
Finally, throughout the video there are references to looking and watching. This is best shown when the video is panning around the hospital and you can see into different rooms, it’s like you are looking into their private space. There is also a use of TVs which reference the notion of looking and watching, especially when Taylor
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| Taylor Watching TV |
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