Questioning the public

This feedback has shown that our target audience would be mainly teenage girls age 15-25 as they were the types of people who enjoy upbeat, pop music. However, we saw that some of the teenage boys also like upbeat music and some specifically pop. This shows we would have a secondary audience of teenage boys age 18-25. Therefore the boy in the video will attract girls and they may find him good looking as well as they will enjoy watching the girl as they can relate to her. The girl in the video will also attract boys because of her looks. The video will therefore use things that young teenage audiences can relate to for example the locations used will be regular, every-day places where people in the target audience would tend to go such as prom and riding segways on the streets outside their houses.

Idea for music video

First ideas for music video

Technical aspects of a music video

1. Speed is visualised by camera movements, fast editing (montage) and digital effects. 

• Camera Movement is often motivated by running, dancing and walking performers.
• Fast-cutting and montage editing creates a visually decentred experience necessary for music video consumption, with the images occasionally moving so fast that hey are impossible to understand on first-viewing and this need to be viewed several times (repeatability).
• Post-production digital effects - a staple of music video where images can be colourized, multiple split screens appear, and so on , all to complicate and intrigue, providing pleasure again and again. 

Not all camera movement is about speed though and some use slow pace through dissolves or static shots. This kind of editing - like in Sinead O'Conner's 'Nothing Compares To You' - is striking and effective in setting the song apart from the hustle and bustle of most pop activity. 

2. The meat of most music video is the cut to the close-up of the singers face. This is because the voice is seen as the most important part of pop music. 

3. Often, the video will try and represent the music through the use of the cut to go with the beat or key rhythm. 

4. Lighting and colour may also be used to emphasise key moments in the song, using methods from lighting live performances for dramatic effect. Colour may be used to show a development in the song, going form colour to black and white or visa versa when he chorus comes in. Equally, any change in the mise-en-scene or camera work can signal the same type of thing. 

5. Mise-en-scene - obviously the setting for music videos is important, often to guarantee the authenticity of the clip rather than anything else. So mise-en-scne for many music videos is the concert hall or rehearsal room to emphasise the realness of the performance or the grit and practice that goes into attaining star quality. Increasingly, CGI is used, especially for dance songs, which don't rely so much on being 'real' like rock, soul and rap acts. 

Rihanna - American Oxygen

There is a relationship between the music and the visuals. This can be seen at the very start when the silhouettes of people flash in time to the beat of the music. Also the later images of explosions and fireworks amplify the beat of he music at that point as it includes thumping sounds. 

There is also a relationship between between the lyrics and the visuals as the song talks all about America and throughout the video there are images of points in American history as well as American flags. However, there is a slight contradiction as the song mainly mentions the 'American Dream' however as it says this there are flashbacks of the negative points in American history such as the destruction of the Twin Towers. 

During the music video there are also many close ups of the artist Rihanna which is demanded by the record label in order to sell her star image. 

There is slightly less reference to the notion of looking or voyeurism because of the nature of the video. The camera occasionally focuses on Rihanna to sell her star image. However, the video mainly highlights the important and serious aspect which are the different events that took place throughout American history.

There are not inter-textual references to other media products but there are a large majority relating to  American history and different iconic moments throughout it. This is to highlight the message of the video that America has a lot of history, both positive and negative, to ultimately achieve the 'American dream'.

The genre characteristics include the element of performance which is singing however the main focus is American history. 

Narrative theory

Narrative is the way a story or tale is told so that the elements are structured and organised in such a way that it makes sense to the audience.
Key theorists
Todorov
Narrative will be structured into five different stages;

• Equilibrium
• Disequilibrium
• Recognition
• Reparation
• New equilibrium

For example; Jack and the Beanstalk story,
-  Jack and his mother are living happily (Equilibrium)
-  They are forced to sell their family cow which Jack sells for five magic beans (Disequilibrium)
-  Jack knows that he has done wrong but decides to see what is up at the top of the giant beanstalk (Recognition)
-  Jack takes the gold coins from the ogre and manages to defeat him by cutting down the beanstalk (Reparation)
-  Jack and his mother are now rich and live happily ever after (New Equilibrium)

Propp 

Narrative is motivated by a variety of character functions; there will be a hero who is sent on a quest by the sender. They have to overcome the villain usually with the aid of a helper and in doing so gains a reward; often a princess. If the audience can spot these narrative character functions then they can predict what will happen in the story. 

For example; Shrek film,
Shrek (Hero) is sent on a quest by the King (Sender) to overcome the dragon (Villain) with the aid of Donkey (Helper) and gains the Princess (Reward).

Levi Strauss 

Narrative is motivated by a clear struggle between Binary Opposites, one side which will be represented as the 'right' side which the audience should identify with and support. 

For example superhero films like Batman and Spiderman.

Heroes are always shown in a favourable light e.g. low camera angles, close ups and longer shots of them in order to make the audience identify with them and support them. 

One example of Music video narratives is Enrique Iglesias - Hero. It is a clear example of the Todorov narrative:

Equilibrium - Iglesias and the female actress are happily together.

Disequilibrium - Their car breaks down and they are attacked by a group of men. 

Recognition - He knows the gang will not let them go.

Reparation - He decides to fight against them.

New Equilibrium - Iglesias dies but knows the girl is safe from harm. 

Lip sync video

1. We filmed this video by gathering shots of many different people lip syncing parts of the song. 
2. We mostly used medium shots in this video to capture the person's face lip syncing as well as some movements they may have been making to the beat of the song. We occasionally used some close up shots to put emphasis on the lip syncing. 
3. In our video we included a range of different people, both genders and mostly teenagers. This was to give some diversity to our video and to make it more appealing to audiences to see many people lip syncing rather than just one person the whole way through. 
4. We choose the song Taylor Swift 'Shake It Off'  because it is a fun and upbeat song that people enjoy listening to as well as it is known by many different groups of people and age ranges and therefore appeals and attracts a wider audience. 
5. We have edited the video by cutting the song in different places and having a new person lip sync the song at each cut. The clips are then put together into one flowing video. 
6. We used many different effects on each clip. The effects we put on were quite bright, colourful, fun and alternative which matches the genre and feel of the song. It is also to make it more enjoyable for people to watch because people may become less attracted to watch the video if its plain and has no effects on it whatsoever. 

Applying media theory to music videos - Rihanna 'Russian Roulette'

There are various theorists who have different theories that apply to music videos. These theorists are Goodwin, Stewart, Dyer and Negus. The music video by Rihanna - Russian Roulette demonstrates all of these people's theories. 

There are key concepts in music videos, developed by Andrew Goodwin, which apply to 'Russian Roulette'. Firstly, the video is cut to the beat as there are quick cuts and the pace speeds up during the chorus whilst the performance and narrative aspects of the video switch. The visuals of the video match the lyrics of the song as there is a lot of flashing as the lyrics "as my life flashes before my eyes" are sung. There are frequent close ups to exemplify Rihanna's star image and sell her celebrity status. This also links to the voyeurism and the notion of looking. This is through panning shots of her body to emphasise her curves selling sexualities as her star image. Lastly, there are some inter-textual references mainly to the film 'Hannah'.

Some of Goodwin's theories also link to other theorists theories. Stewart's  theories include the use of fast cut rhythm editing techniques and the mixture of performance and narrative through this which applies to this video as described before. He also talks about the artist face but says that the lighting is also soft on her face to frame it and sell her image. Furthermore, he explains that music videos ramraid TV and adverts and have the aesthetics of an advert to encourage repeat consumption. This is seen in this video through the intertextual references and the similarities between it and some other shows and adverts on TV. Lastly, he also acknowledges that the mise-en-scene will suggest either an aspiration lifestyle or means of escape. This video clearly shows the latter as the narrative suggests Rihanna is trapped and is looking for way to escape the building she is in.

Dyer's star theory also relates to these other theories. He says a star image is based on rebelliousness, sexuality, style youthfulness and/or a disregard for social norms. These are all common themes in Rihanna's video and therefore this is the way she presents her star image. This also closely links to Negus's theory that synthetic artists, which Rihanna is, sell their star image through sexuality, style and rebellion formed with direct purpose to sell hits. She does this through her choice of costume and make-up as well as her overall performance.

Rihanna - Unfaithful , The Male Gaze

The Male Gaze  (Laura Mulvey) - Generally occurs when the audience is encouraged to view the woman's body through the eyes of a heterosexual man. The camera lingers on the curves of the female body, and events which occur to women are presented largely in the context of a man's reaction to these events. It relegates women to the status of objects to be admired for physical appearance. The female only exists in relation to the male. 

There are frequent close ups of the artists face in this video to sell her star image. The lyrics also match the visuals for the most part for example when she says "I am unfaithful" it shows her cheating on her boyfriend with another man. The music also matches the visuals as it is cut to the beat. Lastly, there is voyeurism. The camera pans her body frequently and objectifies her. This is linked to the male gaze. The panning of her body draws the audience to look at Rihanna in a sexual way. It shows her as weak. The camera acts as the eyes of a male focussing on her body. There are many mid and long shots used to fully highlight her whole body and use it as an erotic object for the spectators to view, mainly men because the producers take advantage of the fact that there is a pleasure derived from looking. Her clothing when she is singing further displays her as a sexual object and encourages the male gaze as she is wearing a tight, short and low cut black dress for the majority of the video.