Inspirational Videos

We have been looking at a range of different music videos that have inspired us whilst thinking of concepts for our own music video:

• I liked the use of clowns and the circus theme in this video as an entropic element in our video.
• Because the song we have chosen is called 'Who's Laughing Now' we thought that we needed to add a sense of entropy to our video, we came up with the idea of clowns.
• The idea of the relationship, being rejected and getting revenge appealed to us.
•  The mix of narrative and performance and how they overlap is another element of this video that we would like to replicate and the close up of characters to show emotion or a response to an event.
• I like the idea of the lead singer interacting with the main character as well. 

• The first thing that appealed to us was the use of clowns.
  
• We liked the idea of the clowns performing the song.
• The use of close ups to show the clowns emotions, for example when they are sad appealed to us. It contrasts with the idea of clowns as they are usually happy.
• The different camera angles for example the over the shoulder shots and high angles to represent low self-esteem, as if someone is looking down on him.

• The clown costumes are something I would like to try and replicate, they are simple (for example the waistcoat, shirt, big bow tie and black trousers) this draws more attention to the clown faces and expressions and is realistic.



Digipak Analysis

Coldplay - Viva La Vida (or Death and All His Friends)

Viva La Vida is Coldplay's fourth album, the digipak contains the front and back page, middle panes, a booklet and a CD in its own individual cardboard slip; all of the items included in this digipak are very redundant and expected. The artwork on the front of the digipak is very unusual, it is from Eugéne Delacroix he named it 'Liberty Leading the People' and it was painted in the 1800s. Delacroix's painting was changed slightly for the cover, a white paint brush was used to write the words 'Viva La Vida' over the painting. It is an unusual choice for cover art and represents a sense of freedom, which is reflected in their music and music videos. The same image of 'Liberty Leading the People' is used on the fount of the booklet. An entropic element of this digipak is that the booklet does not give the lyrics of the tracks on the album, the second page is dedicated to all of the people who helped create the music and album, which is redundant, with a small "Thank you to everyone who has helped at us." at the end. The rest of the booklet is dedicated to bright artwork the band have had made specifically for the digipak, some of the artwork contains the names of the tracks within it. This is very unusual to use the whole of a booklet soley for artwork, also you wouldn't expect this of a rock band. In one of the artwork the quote "Lord lead us not into temptation" is used which is very entropic in the digipak of a rock band.

There are two images of the band: one is a group photo of them recording, they are all sat in a line and not looking directly at the camera this gives a sense of equality among the band as it is not made clear which is the lead singer if you have not heard of them before. The other image is four separate photos, one for each of the band members, each member is playing their instrument and not looking directly at the camera. There are different shots for each member; a low shot, a high shot, slightly off centre and centre shot. Again no band member is made more significant than the others, both of the images are in a sepia tone which is considered more redundant in the rock genre now for example both Mumford and Sons and You Me At Six are considered Rock bands and they also use sepia tints. The text on the digipak is mostly capitalised, however does not take up much space, and most is in a light brown colour,     

this complements the sepia tone and makes the text stand out against the black background. The graphic designers may have decided that a large font was not needed as the text already stood out enough without making it huge.

Digipak Analysis

You Me At Six - Digipak

Opposite are images of You Me At Six's third album 'Sinners Never Sleep'. The digipak contains a CD, a DVD, a booklet with all of the lyrics in and individual mugshots of all of the band members, as well as the front and back covers and the inside panes. The theme of crime is continuous within the digipak not only have you got the mugshots and the front cover image of a woman holding up a mugshot board, there is also  identification paperwork for each band member on the inside panes of the digipak. This links with one of their songs on the album called 'Loverboy' which is set in a prison interrogation room. All of the images in the digipak are black and white with a sepia tint and there is no colour. The sepia tint contrasts with the music and genre as they are an alternative rock band and their music is quite fast, however the black and white colour scheme is redundant in a band of this genre. Almost all of the text in the digipak is capitalised, this gives it a formal appearance which supports the law enforcement theme. However the lyrics are in a font similar to that of a typewriter, also the layout makes them appear to be set out as old fashioned criminal reports which links with the sepia images.

There are many redundant features to this digipak for example the list of tracks on the back, the booklet listing lyrics and the thank yous at the back, the images of the band with the lead singer in the centre at the front and the CD. However there are some entropic features too such as the DVD, it is not very common for a DVD to be included and the mugshots of the band. It is very rare for a band to continue a theme to this extent.



White Lies Advertisement Analysis

This is a full page advertisement for White Lies debut album 'To Lose My Life', a full page is more likely to grab the attention of the magazines readers therefore enticing a larger audience. The image on the advertisement is simplistic, it is the artwork used on their album 'To Lose My Life' this further advertises the album. The image is black and white, the large black space above the image contrasts with the white writing, making it more memorable. The font is the same throughout, this is the same font that is on the album. There is a small amount of text on the advert but the text that is there is small, this shows that the band are focusing more on the image. The text is small but very informative, it tells you when the album is going to be released, the different forms in which it is going to be released for example 12 inch vinyl, download and CD and their website. This suggests that they are trying to get as much publicity as possible. However there is no image of the band which is quite entropic, this suggests that they are not trying to promote the band image as much as their music.
There are no critics quotes which is another entropic element as you would usually expect this for a album release advert. There is no clear gender focus as the image is black and white and of a landscape, this implies that they are reaching out to a large fan base with no clear target audience. Although, they are quite young therefore they would probably appeal more to a teenage or young adult audience but this is not made apparent by the advert as the band are not featured.

Mumford and Sons Advertisement Analysis

The advertisement to Mumford and Sons album 'Sigh No More' is simplistic and minimal, it includes only white text on a black background and four photos of the band members all with their instruments. This is suitable for the bands genre as they are a Folk Rock band and they only play acoustic instruments. Each photo includes a member of the band and their instrument in a field of corn. The lighting is ambient which gives the photo a natural and old fashioned appearance. The fact that each band member has their own photo presents a sense of equality within the band and there is no distinction between which one is the lead singer, this also links with the name of the band 'Mumford and Sons' which makes them sound like a family business. There is a slight low angle used on the photos of the band, however there is a low angle on all of them so it does not distinguish between which of them is the leading man. The corners of each image gives them the appearance of a photo album this also links in with the band name, also the font of the advertisement makes it look like that of a sign above a family business.
The advertisement takes up a full page, this is because it is their first album and they need the publicity. The advertisement is very redundant for their particular genre and I think it appeals to a wide target audience because there are no clear gender stereotypes, the band are quite young so they appeal to a young audience and the rock aspect will also appeal to a teenage or young adult audience but the folk genre will appeal to an older audience too. The advert does not include a band website this suggests that they either do not have one or want their audience to go out and buy their album instead of downloading it online. It does list some of the other songs that have been released, this will attract more people to buy the album.   

Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin's theory

View more presentations from emmaguest

Redundancy and Entropy in Music Videos: Further Research

MGMT Kids is almost completely entropic, from the opening sequence 'MGMT - Kids' is written in luminescent green writing on a background of flames and the sound of someone talking over a radio in the background. This is very unexpected for the opening of a music video especially as the song lyrics and genre give no indication of why the video has opened with this. Also the quote from Friedrich Nietzsche "He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster." seems out of place as this does not relate to the lyrics. However the quote does appear to have some relevance to the music video itself as it shows a young boy running away from what he believes to be monsters and trying to return to his mother for comfort.

They also quote Mark Twain "And if you gaze for long into an abyss the abyss gazes also into you." these quotes seem unusual in a music video as they are not usually seen. It takes just over a minute until the music actually starts which is unusual for a music video and there are asynchronous sounds of children laughing, crying and playing. Although this does relate to the title of the song 'Kids' it is still entropic. When the music starts there is key lighting on a young boy in his crib, this seems redundant enough until we see large claws through the bars. The claws then grab the child who starts crying, this contrasts with the upbeat music.

There is some redundance in the music video though, at one point the mother is carrying the young boy who is crying the lyrics mirror this "You were a child crawlin' on your knees toward it. Making mama so proud but your voice is still loud". However the music video soon returns back to its entropic nature, as the child is running through a group of monsters he then finds the band who are dressed up in silver, trying to look like space men, in a park performing. The contrast between their outfits and the setting is an unusual one, also their instruments do not reflect the ones of the song, whereas they are playing acoustic instruments the song is synthpop. Towards the end of the song the narrative changes from following the young boy to a series of graphic designs and cartoon style drawings, none relating to the lyrics or the music video except to the theme of monsters. There are barely any redundant features in this music video, however it does provide us with a perfect example of entropy.

There are many entropic elements in this music video, it opens with a clip from a movie which is unexpected in itself, the setting is also unusual as the band are performing in what seems like a combination of a childs park and a drive-in cinema. However the drive-in cinema is revealed to be a clever setting as clips from films such as 'Lolita', 'Creature from the Black Lagoon' and 'Jason and the Argonauts' are used throughout the film. The film clips used are deemed to be entropic though, as the music video is not made specifically for a film. Jump cuts are used to switch between the performance of the band and the young couple, this is considered redundant in an indie music video, also close ups are used to focus on the band members, mostly the lead singer, which is again expected.

The band and the young couple regularly change from their normal selves into skeletons, this does relate to the lyrics "Don't you wanna feel my bones on your bones?" which is redundent, however it is entropic as well because you don't expect the lyrics to be taken quite to literally. The music video closes with the young couple and the band (as skeletons) collapsing into a pile of bones, almost all of the video is bewildering it does contain some redundant elements such as the performance and the clothing of the band, also the link to the lyrics but even the redundant elements of the video are tainted with some entropy.

This music video is highly redundant for the genre. It is mostly performance based however it does include some narrative about a stereotypical high school bully everyone is afraid of. She is shown to push a boy with a broken arm into a wall, kiss someone elses boyfriend and cut a girls plait off. The narrative does link to the lyrics "Once a whore you're nothing more, I'm sorry that'll never change." and "Well there's a million other girls who do it just like you, looking as innocent as possible to get to who they want." The clothing of the band also is redundant of their genre and makes them stand out and seperate from the rest of the actors in the video.

It opens with fast jump cuts of the band, this matches the speed of the music and establishes the mood for the rest of the video. There are a variety of different shots ranging from extreme close ups of the lead singer to close ups of the instruments and establishing shots of the whole band. Most of the close ups focus on Hayley though, which is redundant in any music video as she is the lead singer. When the video switches to the narrative it shows a group of cheerleaders, fast jump cuts and close ups are used to focus  on their legs and pompoms, this is considered redundant as it is focusing on the female body. There are a range of different camera angles differing from high and low angle, at one point there is a low angle, mid-close up of Hayley this is another example of the focus on the female body. There are barely any entropic elements to this music video, however there is an unexpected twist at the end where the whole band exit a classroom and get there own back on the bully; removing her makeup and humiliating her. This is unusual because you don't expect the band to appear in the narrative and the underdogs come out on top at the end.

Redundancy and Entropy

Redundancy:

If something is redundant then it is that which is predictable or convential but not very informative. Redundancy is necessary in order to communicate with others effectively, however in large amounts the subject can become boring.

Entropy:

If something is entropic then it is unpredictable. Entropy in small amounts can make something eye catching or interesting but in large amounts it can make the subject too distorted and confusing.   




Redundancy and Entropy in Music Videos

I'm Not Okay (I Promise) is an alternative rock song, this is made apparent by the redundant elements is the music video for example the clothing worn by the band and their hair and make-up. There is a combanation of narrative and performance which is a common convention in most music videos. When the band are performing most of the focus is on the lead singer, this is shown through the use of close ups and the lead singer is centered in all long shots of the band. The narrative aspect of the video is based on a group of stereotypical alternative misfits, whose characters the band portray, who are doing badly at school and distancing themselves from the rest of the school community. The characters are typical of the genre and the lyrics link closely to the narrative as the video is about not being accepted and being bullied because they are different this is supported by the lyrics "I've told you time and time again you sing the words but you don't know what it means to be a joke...".

There are long shots which are expected when narrative appears in a music video but they are broken up by sentances or words which is unexpected and entropic in a music video, however these words do releate to the narrative. The opening sequence and acting that interrupts the narrative is not expected in a music video. There are also a few scenes, for example when the band are playing crochet and a small waltz when the tempo slows, that are unusual when considering the rock and alternative genre. Another entropic element is the setting of the bands performance, this contrasts with the genre and appearence of the band itself; where the band are all dressed in black the room is bright red and purple with spotlights on the wall behind them. The mise-en-scene makes the song appear more light hearted. Also the setting of the narrative is unusual because it is set at what appears to be a prestigious school this contrasts with the behaviour and class of the band.

General Analysis

The video that I have chosen is both performance and narrative based. There are a variation of shots changing from long shots to close ups, jump cuts and straight cuts. In the video there are intertextual references to the film E.T for example the In the video there are intertextual references to the film E.T for example the hospital/government building the two children are kept in, the baseballs circling the band and the red light in the drum.

The main story behind the video is a girl who is the face of a chocolate bar brand and Harry (lead singer) breaks her free from the brand that has trapped her, she is shown to be dying when in the chocolate bar and alive when she has been broken free. The boy, who is alongside her in the hospital building, sees her for what she really is whereas the police and crowd outside just want to see a famous child.

White lies are an indie rock band this is shown by the mixture of performance and narrative. Also the alternative video of combining the narrative video with elements of the film E.T reflect the indie style. However in the video there is the stereotype damsel in distress and male hero – Harry saves young girl from being trapped in something that makes her unhappy and the young girl and young boy kiss at the end this implies that we have to be in a relationship to be happy. 

I think that the band and video appeal to a late teen audience because of the age of the band and the relationship element. Also the E.T theme running through would appeal more to a younger generation. The record label is niche but this is not clear from the video because is looks professional.

Hello

For my A2 Media coursework I will be making a music video with Rachel Mather, Rosie Turner and Jack Bigglestone.The band we have chosen are called All About Flux and the song we are doing is called 'Just Don't Care'.


Permission: