Friday, 10 December 2010

Initial Questionnaire: Getting to know the band...

When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
Ben: We didn't really "form" GLITTERKNIGHT... We started recording a little over 2 years ago in my bedroom with garageband and a really bad microphone! Our inspiration was probably our similar taste and appreciation for a good melody and lyrics. It just went from there!
Kira: What brought us together was our broad interest in music and the fact we just got on really well! I think it was just natural for us to start recording and making music!

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
B: At the moment, we're focusing on covers though we do write both separately and together. I don't think there's a theme to my songwriting, I just write whatever I'm thinking about at the time without worrying if it fits a topic or set of other songs.
K: I'm exactly the same, writing music about relationships, people, situations... there really isn't much of a theme! I think eventually, the songs we do decide to bring through and produce will have a loose subject but right now, we're just writing about what's important to us whether that's a breakup or social issues! It's a really broad thing for us.

What's your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?
B: The ultimate direction... I'd have to say it's just being able to perform and for people to hear our music. Obviously the direction we're taking right now is writing our own material, having done covers for so long.
K: No! (laughs) We're doing it because it's fun and it's just something we want to do - fame and fortune would be an awful reason to get into music! It's our last priority (Though it would be nice)!

So, guys, what does your lead song Lights off the album mean to you?
B: Well Lights is a really fun song, it's a mix of genres with a good pace to it. Lyrically, the song is multifaceted with, with the melodies, is a really nice touch.
K: Exactly! The lyrics represent that feeling of not really being in control and loosing touch with life. The 'lights' represent the memories maybe, a person or... anything really that reminds you it's all okay really and that when you're feeling a bit alone, you just have to stop overthinking it and be yourself.
B: It's quite an empowering song - it means a lot to us. We love it.

Describe yourselves in 3 words- Go!
B: Creative, broad-minded and... quite individualistic really!
K: Ahh... I am... A diva! Ha.. No really, I'm very driven, fun-loving and don't take life too seriously. Too many words, sorry!

[Example interview/Questionnaire written by Ben Halliday (Myself)]

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

'Lights' by GLITTERKNIGHT (Audio)


'Lights' by Ben Halliday & Kira Knight (GLITTERKNIGHT)
Originially by Ellie Goulding.
Hosted by SoundCloud

Saturday, 4 December 2010

Recording the song 'Lights'

Video composed by myself, Ben Halliday

Here's just a short video that I filmed while my group (Kira and myself) were recording our cover of 'Lights' for our Pop Promotion Package using Apple's Logic Studio with a MicroKorg XL/Samson Q1U microphone in my bedroom.

Thursday, 2 December 2010

Pitching Our Idea To An Audience: A Visual Representation


Displayed above is our presentation/pitch, showing our thoughts and ideas for the promotional package.

During the presentation, Kira and myself pitched the idea to a group of media students, like ourselves, and talked them through our ideas. First, we played the song we would be using which you can hear above by following the URL in the presentation.

Showing them the visual representations featured in the presentation, we explained to them our ideas about sound, editing and cinematography, how we were going to execute them and why. We made it clear that we wanted to represent ourselves and the song in quite an abnormal, surrealist manner. I thought it was best to talk these images through with the group rather than type out explainations for them to read as the inner synesthetic in me heard the song quite visually and I wanted to fully elaborate the ideas I had.

The pitch went well and after a lot of explanation, the direction we were heading in was received extremely positively.

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

About the band

The band I'm promoting consists of Kira Knight and I (Ben Halliday) and as I'm sure you're aware, we'll be focusing solely on "Lights" to express our look and feel.

Meet the band:

Kira Knight

Kira Knight is an 18 year old student currently studying A Levels at Suffolk New College. At the age of 14, Knight discovered her vocal talents and jumped straight into vocal lessons to develop her unique voice. Since then, her musical taste and style has developed into what it is today. Influenced heavily by Paramore, The Cure and legends such as Madonna, her creativity has stemmed from the best in a variety of genres. Fascinated by the 50's, her style is a unique hybrid of pin-up with an rock edge.



Ben Halliday has been a music enthusiast for as long as he can remember. Now synth player/vocalist, Halliday started vocal lessons in 2005 and has since taught himself how to play the synthesizer and music production. Musically influenced by Frankmusik, Depeche Mode and La Roux, electronic music has been key to his growth as a developing artist. 18 years of age, Ben also studies at Suffolk New College with Kira, the other half of the pop duo.

Saturday, 27 November 2010

Primary Audience Research: Questionnaire

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Researching a similar band's marketing and star construction; Florence & The Machine






Researching Florence & The Machine's star construction and looking at the ways she's been marketed is going to be vital in understanding my target audience and hopefully will give me ideas and inspiration to reach out to that audience successfully. In terms of genre and image, Florence is similar to my group's band GLITTERKNIGHT so I think I can learn a lot from the promotional material, techniques, image construction and designs used here as we're both looking to reach a certain demographic, a certain audience, a certain fan-base.

I really enjoyed looking at the music video for 'Dog Days Are Over' and learned a lot from that in itself. Her image, solely from that music video, was constructed extremely well and represented her flawlessly. The star construction from that pop promo was clean, edgy, very indie and natural which I'm sure is what the marketing team behind Florence & TheMachine were trying to achieve.

The promotional material for Florence & The Machine's debut album entitled; 'Lungs' has to be one of the most well thought out, most cohesively themed marketing campaigns I've come across in my research on the subject. Similarly to the video for 'Cosmic Love', the visual elements to this marketing campaign have a very natural feel to them with an underlying darkness to the different aspects. This mix of contemporary edginess mixed with nature is something we've definitely thought of for our pop-promotion too.

The lead singer Florence is at the forefront of all promotional material; especially on the album artwork and print advertisement. The prominence of this is that it really builds a visual for the voice that the audience hears and puts a face to the name, helping to construct a star image for the artist which is extremely important, as previously mentioned in my blog.


The costumes and props used in the album artwork and advertisement image are extremely elegant and a
re reminiscent of a very old fashioned, almost roman era. This classic element of the print ads in contrast with her very contemporary stage name (Florence and the Machine) create a lot of interest from the public
and help to draw in a curious audience.

Stylistically, the similarities between both promotional advertisement and the CD artwork start to create an extremely clear and concordant brand image for Florence and the Machine, making it extremely easy for audiences to work out that the promotional ad is linked to the album in question. The typefaces and logos are exactly the same in both too, just slightly differently positioned and sized though more information is rightly added to the print ad, letting the audience know about the different ways they can obtain the music and the product's release date which is extremely important in the music industry as the point in campaigns such as these are to sell as many products as possible in a short amount of time to gain chart positions.

Taking the marketing campaign to another level completely, the television spot/advertisement not only follows the style direction and theme of the album design but furthers it, animating the background and the darkness and wilderness of the nature that is portrayed on the graphics.

Building on a solid theme is absolutely crucial in a marketing campaign as this is the chance to put symbolism and ideologies behind the artist and create a star with unique qualities. Especially in this case, you're left rather mystified by Florence & The Machine as she looks quite innocent in the photographs with a darker side implied. This cleverness and concordance in the marketing for 'Lungs's is what makes artists stars, brands and id
entities and underpins the success of the album and it's sales.


Above are three images displaying promotional artwork for Florence & The Machine CDs. Despite the iTunes LIVE artwork, Florence & The Machine's artwork follows such a careful theme. The borders with the song title and Florence's logo can be seen throughout her entire discography and make these pieces of promotional material extremely recognisable to an audience. This is such a good example of branding and advertising done well. Even in the iTunes LIVE cover, another feature that Florence & The Machine uses throughout her marketing campaigns is that she uses screencaps from music videos as her artwork/promotional images. This is extremely smart. It builds a star image flawlessly whilst directly linking the promotional material to the music video so that fans that see either or first know straight away what is being advertised whilst maintaining a clear and cohesive design ethos.

This adds to Florence's star image - she represents herself as quite an indie, natural artist with very powerful music that speaks for itself. This is exactly the style, representation and star image that I'd like to build for our band GLITTERKNIGHT and looking into how Florence, a similar artist to our own band, has marketed and branded herself has been crucial to growing and creating an image for ourselves.

I feel like the idea to keep everything unmistakably thematic is key to star construction and the success of pop promos and promotional packages are largely down to that factor; being clear and consistent with promotional material.

By Ben Halliday

Thursday, 4 November 2010

Music Video Analysis: Florence and The Machine, Dog Days Are Over

Artist: Florence + The Machine
Title: Dog Days Are Over
Director: Legs

Florence's Dog Days Are Over initial music video relies heavily on Mise-En-Scene and is largely lead by narrative and concept. The factor that struck me first about this video is the production quality; the video has a dominantly 'home-made' amateur feel to it which I actually really like. This makes me, as the audience, feel like the artist is quite indie and very accessible and approachable; quite unique.

The video opens in a forest where we are introduced to the set, followed by a strange looking character what appears to be a wedding dress. As this shot progresses, we see Florence, the artist, lying down with a bottle in the forest. Once blindfolded, she is lead to the main location deeper in the forest. Here, the mise-en-scene is properly displayed. The extras in the video are extremely obscure in appearance with a heavily carnival theme regarding costume and make-up. Their mannerism leads us to believe they're quite tribal by the way they appear confused as they reluctantly peer around trees, catching a glimpse of Florence, surrounded by scattered carnival flags, ribbons and old fashioned bird cages, all draped from trees in the forest clearing. As florence pulls of her sequined blindfold, members of this circus-like tribe of all ages emerge slowly from trees and lanterns as a dramatic chase begins. Florence then trips and appears to be 'tribalised' by her chasers.

After, we see a dramatic increase in the slew of ribbons, fairy lights, glitter, colourful bold all-in-one costumes and over-the-top, teased hair and make-up. Now night-time, the following shot fades from black and shows a mid-shot of Florence; hair and face covered in golden glitter, heavily artistic make-up and carnival-themed clothing and a primal look on her face as the previous tribe begins dancing wildly as the music picks up again. We see extras splashing glitter over their faces and others', wild group dancing, angry expressions and overwhelming amounts of colour flashing before us.

This use of mise-en-scene gives a really creative visual to the song that audiences wouldn't otherwise associate with either the mood or lyrics. The heavy use of colour and props give audiences a welcoming, safe feel mixed with the obscurity and threatening behavior of the extras. The fact that the opening is the artist being woken up with a bottle in her hand leaves us with an unexplained stigma of why she was in a forest, why was she drinking and why is she alone? Above all though, who is this tribe?

In terms of cinematography, the hand-held feel gives the audience quite a uneasy view of the events which is intentional, particularly as the narrative unfolds. Close-ups are also shown to evoke question as these close-ups don't show us key images that we need to piece together the story, providing us with a really nice sense of ambiguity. Further into the promo, close-ups are used on characters faces, especially the artist herself to distinguish who they are and in terms of Florence, to build a star image and recognisable face to fans. A variation of angles are used throughout the piece and are rarely perfectly straight, again, giving us this lurking, onlooker feel which makes us feel rather unsafe but steadier shots are displayed towards the end where we are supposed to feel more secure which is expressed with the cinematography. I really like and appreciate how although the video is clearly not a large production with an endless budget that the simplicity of the cinematography can provoke so much emotion and feeling through basic though clever technique. This is the reason I chose this video to analyse because this is something that's important for me to explore and learn from when thinking about producing my own pop promo (music video). As well as the cinematography, there are a few good editing techniques that further the cinematographic brilliance. The mix of slow motion and fast cuts give a fast and slow pace at the same time which is hard to explain but goes excellently with the mood of the song and the narrative. In faster paced parts of the song, the mix of shots cut quickly provide the sense of confusedness and awe too which is important and I'm sure, by the look of it that colour enhancing has been used to give a cohesive quality to the video overall though this cannot be proved.

Furthermore, this relationship between the music and visuals is displayed through the artist miming the song frequently, dancing and the tribe playing basic instruments such as wooden blocks, bells and bits of nature! This again enhances the natural, quite primal theme of the video but also sets it apart from being an entirely narrative based video nicely, making us feel that the music is partially diegetic. As far as lyrics go, I don't think these are displayed effectively through visuals which is the negative about this video although I'm not sure this factor was important to the director. Loosely, the dominant theme of celebration throughout the video displays the lyrics "The dog days are over" which may reflect the end of complicated modern living which again is only speculation. Though saying this, I do think that more visual representation of lyrics in Dog Days would have seemed forced and taken many positive, clever elements of this video away.

The music video promotes Florence + The Machine quite well, as well as displaying characteristics of the musical style. It's evident through listening to her music that the sound is quite raw and natural, isn't heavily produced and is powerful yet calm. This is the image that is pushed to audiences about this artist and frankly, this video delivers it extremely well. Close-ups of Florence, as previously mentioned, build up a profile of the artist and ensure that the audience have a visual of her and the fact this video is filmed in a forest also connects extremely well to the album artwork where Florence is positioned before a similar setting which sub-consciously connects the video and album.

The audience for Florence + The Machine, from this video would on first thought be artistic types who appreciate the quality of the video and music. On further observation, the video can be viewed mindlessly by most. Adults will appreciate the music and image of Florence + The Machine, children will relate the video to circuses fantasy films and teenagers will both appreciate a mix of previous points but also aspire to her fashion. The video represents all ages, all sexes and all races and the diversity in this music video makes it appealing to all demographics.

CD Cover/Print Ad Package: Initial Ideas

The CD cover and magazine print advertisement package for our band need to have a cohesive design and similar colours/themes. I'd really like a clean approach to the promotional package as a whole using the same themes and colour schemes as we will use in the music video; golds, blacks and whites. The out-of-focus lights used in the video would be ideal background for the promotional package, fading to black at the bottom for the print ad where information will be. Examples/visual ideas shown below:


A clean,readable but modern typeface is also something I think if very important when representing ourselves not only as artists but also as a brand. It has to be something instantly recognisable to a customer but also stand out as something concordant to our look and feel. A few examples and ideas are shown below.


Finally, high quality photographs that will be placed onto the promotional package material will be needed. For this, we will use a digital SLR in a make-shift studio using basic three-point-lighting. As with the music video, the styling for the shoot will feature similar costumes and make-up (blacks, golds, whites etc) to really bring it all together as one cohesive package. This image will then be photoshopped to look natural but perfect. Photoshop will also allow us to control colours and lighting, we can add effects such as glowing, feathering and shadows and give the promotional packaging a professional feel.

"Lights" Initial Treatment

Mise-En-Scene:
My inner-synesthesic sees "Lights" as a very richly golden song in colour with darker and lighter tones to it so I really want to reflect this in the music video. Below are a few rough examples of the mise-en-scene and art direction I envision for our video.

Costumes and make-up:
- Black and white outfits with black/gold accessories.
- Reflective quality to clothing where possible (sequins, studs, embellishments)
- Unusual but on trend costume required to portray look and feel of artist/star construction.
- Strong smokey eye, nude lip w/ gold
accents re make-up. Powder for camera as usual.
Props:
- Glitter (Gold)
- Fairy Lights (Gold)
Location:
- Studio 1: Dark lighting w/ fairy lights (out of focus) as background.
- Studio 2: White backdrop, three point lighting.
- Landscape (Forest?)


Cinematography:
- Clean, smooth cinematography.
- A lot of CU's to show off artist/band.
- Good range of shots and angles.
- We will shoot the same thing multiple times at different angles/framing for easy editing.
- Open/Close promo slowly zooming into the artist/band.

Editing:
- The opening will feature fast cuts during the zoom timed with the pace of music.
- We plan to use these fast cuts again where appropriate
- Slow motion will be used - especially in shots during the verse and those shot outdoors.
- Colour correction and glow will be used to express colour/mood of song/video.
- For the narrative side of the video, continuity editing will be used.
- Smooth transitions regarding different angles/framing of the same shot.

Sound:
- To ensure perfectly synced audio, music will be used on-set and replaced during editing.
- As of now, we don't plan to add any diegetic sound.
- High quality version of the song will be placed as the primary sound.

"Lights" Initial Synopsis

"Lights" is essentially a song about security and power struggles so I think it's vital that these elements are expressed successfully in the pop-promotion for it. To open, the shot will be entirely out of focus but the subject (the artists) will become focused, leaving only the fairy lights against the darkness of the background unfocused as the camera zooms in slowly, cutting every now and then harshly to reflect the music. On the first line of the chorus, the subject will look up and begin 'singing' the first line. Here, different angles and shots will be cut using continuity with the pace of the song considered. The same cutting and general editing techniques will be used, switching to a white background and a lighter feel. ECU's of the eye will be featured here. In the chorus, the lights will flare (as the key word 'lights' is sung) as well as other key visuals such as 'doubling-up' the subjects on "You show the lights that stop me turn to stone/You shine it when I'm alone" - and as the last word "alone" is sung, the doubled image will quickly merge into a clear, singular, normal shot.

From here, outside shots will be used in the second chorus as well as cutting every now and then to the lighter studio scenes. The subject will be holding a handful of glitter which they will blow at the camera (slow motion will be used here) and 'singing' (miming) will be featured everywhere apart from this.

The same concept for the last chorus applies to this second chorus but this time with a larger variety of cuts, angles and framing. Eyes will be a key focus as well as a larger number of close-ups and more lighting flares. This will build drama and tension before the instrumental bridge. This will consist of the lighter studio shots fading in and out shots of running in the outside location along a path of glitter. The whole bridge will be in slow motion and as the bridge progresses, cuts between these two scenes will become faster until the end where, as the music drops, the shot will quickly fade to a lense flare (white).

Upon the last chorus and the ending, the darker studio with the out-of-focus fairy lights will re-appear, fading in from the intense white at the end of the bridge. Lighting will be key here as the drama is intended to be at the height of attention for this final chorus. Both I and Kira will be in shot together interacting as individual close-ups and mid-close-ups are shown of us individually.

In the instrumental closing, the pace will be extremely fast regarding cuts but will feature a very soft focus, fade between each shot. All three locations will be used during this and the end will feature a mid-close-up of feet running along the same glitter trail featured in the bridge. This will be the last shot and will fade into white.

Music Video Analysis: Starry Eyed, Ellie Goulding


As a very similar artist to my own band, I've decided that analysing Ellie Goulding's pop promo for 'Starry Eyed' would help me in defining this particular genre and learning about the star construction and codes and conventions of the indie/electro-pop genre.

The video is entirely conceptual, using two locations to express the look and feel of the song and artist. The pop promo is set in an elaborate mansion, almost fairy-tale-esque, furthering the image of the dream-like nature of the song in terms of lyrics and music. The second location is a dark studio where Ellie Goulding can be seen dancing, 'singing' and generally posing. There are some really interesting examples of mise-en-scene in the video that help promote Ellie Goulding and the lead song off her album; 'Starry Eyed'. Illustrating the lyrics, the video opens with blurry flashing blue stars which looks quite effective and sets the tone of the video, giving a subtle nod to the electronic qualities that the song possesses. This is furthered by the fact that Ellie has blue sequins in the shapes of stars stuck to her palms that she frequently flashes towards the camera, reflecting the studio lights which looks really effective. The costumes used in the video are quite typical of the electro-pop genre; Goulding wears a golden cocktail dress and heels and a black and white dotted t-shirt with a statement necklace combined with black jeans and oxford shoes. The latter is again an homage to Ellie Gouldings roots as a folk artist, bringing out the indie qualities in the song. There's also some interesting visuals in the music video such as the use of soft focus in the studio shots. Amongst the glowing blue stars mentioned before, the edges of the frame are blurred slightly, leading the eyes of the viewers to the centre- Ellie Goulding. There's a certain scene in the pop promo which is cut to regularly of Ellie laying on the floor, suddenly levitating whilst singing which is really effective as behind her is a blue toned light flaring into the camera, building a really nice silhouetted effect at times.

In terms of cinematography, to make for interesting viewing, the camera pans and zooms around shots, usually, but not always in time with the pace and beat of the song. This technique is furthered by using multiple angles of the same shot which are later edited together using continuity to make the audience feel like they're looking in at the artist from different aspects and positions. Though this range of angles is used throughout the song, the most prominent shot type is close-ups, making the audience familiar with the artist whilst asserting a star image for Ellie Goulding, which, as her first pop promo is important for the star construction and growing her fan-base. The editing for this music video is really the key factor for the definition of tone and pace. Following the beat of the song, cuts are made appropriately and the shot length is kept short which compliments the characteristics of the genre style shown with
the costumes, colours and locations. There are also two dancers/acrobats in the mansion which have been edited beautifully, creating a motion trail behind them (this technique is also used
on Ellie Goulding's hands at times in the pop promo). This effect is illustrated to the right.

This pop promo defines and promotes the image and style of Ellie Goulding well whilst constructing a unique star image through the use of close-ups, costumes, locations and props. Ellie Goulding is represented as an energetic, young female artist with a certain innocence to her which is signified by her wide smile, coy body language, minimal make-up and long blonde hair.

From this innocence and the nature of Ellie Goulding's simplistic visual approach to the genre, her audience is likely to be young females of an age range 15-25. Being a young, pretty female though there is of course an opportunity for the marketing towards males and the male gaze and the non-gender specific following of genres such as indie and electronic music make this hybrid of those genres a really wide-audience potential video which is, I think what has been achieved here. The energetic nature of the video, paired with the fun dancing and playful imagery in the pop promo enforce this very young representation and audience attraction to the branding of Ellie Goulding and I think it fits her, the song and her image well.

Wednesday, 3 November 2010

Lights Lyrics

I had a way then losing it all on my own
I had a heart then but the queen has been overthrown
And I'm not sleeping now the dark is too hard to beat
And I'm not keeping now the strength I need to push me

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine It when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine It when I'm alone

Home

Noises, I play within my head
Touch my own skin and hope that I'm still breathing
And I think back to when my brother and my sister slept
In an unlocked place the only time I feel safe

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone

Home

Yeah, hee

Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights

You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone
And so I tell myself that I'll be strong
And dreaming when they're gone

'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home
Calling, calling, calling home
You show the lights that stop me turn to stone
You shine it when I'm alone

Home, home
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights

Home, home
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights

Home, home
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights

Home, home
Light, lights, lights, lights
Light, lights, lights, lights

Tuesday, 2 November 2010

Music Video Analysis: Oh No!, Marina & The Diamonds

Music Video Analysis
Artist: Marina & The Diamonds
Title: OH NO!
Director: Kinga Burza

Oh No! by Marina & The Diamonds is directed by Kinga Burza, coincidentally the same director as Quicksand by La Roux. I really like this music video because it’s a complete portrayal of the artist; Marina loves to toy with the idea of “pop” in an ironic way. She completely detests the ideology behind modern pop therefore shooting videos that exaggerate the codes and conventions.

Bright, over-the-top, bubblegum hued colours are a prominent theme throughout the video with bubblegum-pink dresses and boxing gloves, sky blue dresses, gold dresses etc. Marina stays true to her trademark make-up which is a natural base with neon orange lipstick and dark eyes which develops her look and feel.

As Marina was going with the “cheesy pop” theme with this video there aren’t any obscure examples of cinematography, but some examples I really liked were the birds eye views of her and her dancers with Marina looking up directly at the camera, another birds eye shot where marina is laying down in a dress which appears to be a giant dollar bill with real dollars fluttering down at her and a worm eye shot of marina bending over looking shocked.

Editing techniques, as Kinga Burza is apparently famous for, are also utilised in this video. Shots suddenly appear as comic-book-esque style and there are also floating illustrations such as coins and comic-book typeface corresponding to lyrics. There are also repeat cuts, such as the same shot Marina spinning around repeated consecutively to the beat of the song and shots are sometimes reverse in speed motion.

The relationship between the visuals and music is strong; there are dancers in the video wearing various shades of pastel coloured PVC dresses surrounding Marina and a strong pop dance routine that stays throughout the duration of the video. She is also miming the song for the entirely, which compliments the strong conceptual base of the video, along-side the performance based dance routines that cut in and out frequently. The choreography is matched perfectly to the beat as well as the visuals and cuts which is perfect for a pop video. At the beginning, the punches with the boxing gloves are in synch with the beat as well as the comic-book typeface that appears.

This use of comic-book typeface and illustrations has strong intertextuality of 90’s comic-strips as well as the theme of 1990’s television in terms of strong colour, the “cereal-packet-family-lifestyle” and American dream office job (of which an opposition is made clear). Also, her view on consumerism is made clearer a she seductively consumes a dollar-bill sandwich. All of this disagrees with what pop is made out to be; stereotypically superficial. The characteristics of the genre are emphasises to highlight this in a very ironic, contradictive way. The colours are very “bubblegum”, her hair, make-up and costumes are perfect and the locations are very “ideal life”.

The video portrays Marina & The Diamonds perfectly. If you’re looking at this video with analysis in mind, you’ll see clearly that her ideology is anti-consumerism and anti-capitalism. It’s a video with socialist views done in a very playful way but also subtly. If you’re a pop fan, you won’t notice these subliminal messages and focus solely on the ‘pretty colours and playful props’ which I really think both Marina and Burza intended. This is Marina’s trademark stance on music and the industry and is portrayed perfectly in this video which is why there’s such a diverse audience. The reason I like Marina & The Diamonds so much is a mixture of her “anti-modern-society” approach to such a superficial industry but also the fact that I’m guilty of loving a easy-watch video with bright colours and interesting visual effects. This makes me believe that the audience is both children and teens who appreciate the latter and more adult/mature teens who “get” what she’s trying to portray.

This double message represents Marina & The Diamonds in two ways; as an artist and as a person. As an artist, Marina is represented in this video as very 'pop' and the bright colours and pop-art visuals present her as a fun, energetic young musician, pulling in a demographic that has already been proved to enjoy elements of music videos like this (such as Britney Spears fans). Alternatively though, audiences that do their research are able to see Marina's self-representation which is quite tongue in cheek- this definitely draws in an older, maybe more political fanbase in a light-hearted manner.

Monday, 1 November 2010

Introduction to "Lights"

Lights is a song originally written by an artist named Ellie Goulding and appeared on the album also named Lights (2010). Produced by Richard Stannard, Lights is an electro/folk hybrid with a strong theme of fear, failure, insecurity and feeling continually dispirited. The verses express these feelings in lyrics such as; "I had a way then losing it all on my own/I had a heart then but the Queen has been overthrown." The chorus provides a lighter side to the song, almost a resolution. "You show the lights that stop me turn to stone/You shine it when I'm alone." This is basically means that these "lights" are safety and security being shown when you're feeling your most vulnerable, keeping you from 'turning to stone' and giving up. The song has extremely strong imagery.

Yet to be released as a single, we have little to go off but the song it's-self which gives us no reference of a visual interpretation. This is a positive thing because we'll be able to completely create a totally independant original interpretation ourselves and portray the song as we see fit; we already have some very strong ideas that are both conceptual and follow a narrative.

Kira and I are re-recording the song for our pop-promo using Apple's Logic Express Studio and making it our own. The song itsself is haunting yet up-beat with a prominently saddening, desperate quality which will be reflected in the video in terms of mise-en-scene and art direction.

Friday, 22 October 2010

'Lights' Test (Audio)


'Lights' by Ben Halliday (GLITTERKNIGHT)
A rough runthrough/test of the Ellie Goulding Cover.

Hosted by SoundCloud.

Friday, 15 October 2010

Music Video Analysis: Circus, Britney Spears

Music Video Analysis
Artist: Britney Spears
Title: Circus
Director: Francis Lawrence


The pop promotion for Britney Spears' 'Circus', following my previous post of the meticulously themed advertising campaign furthers the style and presentation extremely accurately.

As the video opens, we're immediately hit by a perfect example cross marketing; as very traditional non-diegetic circus music plays in the background, Britney picks up her new (Britney Spears brand) perfect and spritzes strategically so we get a good view of the bottle. Next, intertextuality in the form of product placement can be seen as Britney puts on Bvulgari jewelry. The cinematography and editing ensures that the audience can see the brand and product, lingering on the close up of the jewelry and logo.

The video itsself is entirely concept based, which is unsurprising seeing as the album promotion in it's entirety is hugely conceptualised as being circus themed. Mise-en-scene is key to this pop promotions from costumes, lighting, props, location and dancing. Britney is seen wearing a few different outfits throughout this video such as a sheer dress with diamond embellishment and classic 50's hair and a high-waisted shorts, blazer and top hat outfit which is also very reminiscent of classic circuses. The latter outfit has connotations of power as Britney is the the ring-leader as she sings 'all eyes on me in the centre of the ring/just like a circus'. This in itself represents Britney Spears as a powerful artist in control of her career.

Branching out from outfits, the props and location as just as important in this video. Circus animals such as lions, elephants and tigers make cameos in the video to further the imagery and make the video slightly more risqué. Location-wise, the set is a huge, dimly lit circus tent where Britney and her ensemble of circus performers exist. Rings of fire, whips and bright lights all compliment the theme of the circus which is trying to be expressed in this video, coinciding with the marketing theme of the album also entitled; Circus.

There's some really interesting things going on in the video where editing is concerned. Something that really spoke to me, especially as I'm starting to build ideas for my own pop promotion, was the way that in some shots in the opening, the edges of the shot were blurred and almost soft-focused (it was clear these were done in post-production) and it really drew focus to the action that was happening in these particular shots. Also evident is a large range of shots/angles being edited down to a single sequence using continuity editing which works really well as it's cut to the pace of the song.

The way Britney is represented in this song definitely rebuilds her star image by the way the cinematography lingers on her longer than you'd expect in some shots - not in a bad way though. The conceptual performance nature of the video ensures that the artist gets a lot of screen time during the video and she's she absolute main focus of the production, allowing viewers to get a really good picture of the image her and her marketing team are trying to portray. There's a lot of close ups of Britney, strengthening this image that she's trying to build - the fact that she's back in the music industry, she's out there for the male gaze!

The video is clearly aimed at her target audience, which is fans from her previous era as a star but also new fans. I'd suggest that her main demographic is both young teenaged girls to young adult women though, of course, with the male gaze as an important factor, these are not her only audience.

The characteristics of the music video such as the dance scene definitely fit in well with the genre of the music but also add a different quality to it. The music it's-self is definitely a hybrid between pop and almost show music as the circus theme is incredibly strong and I think the way the music video represents that is really powerful. It strengthens the album campaign, which i have written about prior to this post, but also maintains a very 'Britney Spears' quality with the quirky dancing and 'bubble-gum-pop' image that's being portrayed here with the direct links between the music, lyrics and visuals.

Overall - this is an extremely powerful and well executed pop promotion for 'Circus' as an album as the star (re)construction fits perfectly with the thematic approach to the marketing campaign and the intertextuality at the start. This is the definition of a successful pop promo and I've gained a lot from analysing this - the entire marketing campaign just has such a strongly held together theme that, for an audience, it would be incredibly hard not to link all the promotional material together and pin it down to one product; the 'Circus' album.

Thursday, 14 October 2010

What makes a good pop-promo?

When constructing a pop-promotion, there are a lot of factors that should be considered for a successful and effective outcome. First, it's key to understand why pop-promos are so important; especially early on in an artist's career.

Promotion of the artist is the main reason for the importance of music videos as well as promoting the song or album and building a persona. They help market the band and develop and look and feel - This is crucial to building a fan base and pushing sales.

Music videos, or pop-promos, are essentially the product of a variety of layers and considerations such as the relationship between the song and the visuals, codes and conventions of the genre, use of style, star image, iconography and sometimes, ideologies behind music videos.

The relationship between the music and visuals are broken down into two subcategories; lyrics and the music. The visuals must reflect the mood and tone of both the music and lyrics through mise-en-scene, editing and cinematography. In terms of mise-en-scene, colours, lighting, location, costumes and props are all incredibly important when constructing a relationship between a song and a music video. For example, if a song has a slow, sinister tone, vivid colours and provocative costumes don't have any relation. Editing and cinematography should compliment that very point. Edits should be in sync with the music and cuts should be made with lyrics in mind; perhaps between chorus/verse or in a change of beat, melody or even theme.

Establishing a star image and promoting a band's look and feel can be done through styling. The costumes, hair and make-up need to be carefully considered so the intended message is widely received and understood. In terms of promotion, close-ups, as well as a wide range of shots will help the audience familiarise themselves with the artist or band.

Codes and conventions of genres should, in most (not all) cases, be followed. Pop videos tend to be of a high-budget production value with the male gaze in mind. Sexuality is expressed through costume and performance. A total opposition to this would be a heavy metal genre video. These tend to less sexually-orientated and use darker colours, locations and edits are usually a lot faster with cinematography typically rougher. Though there are typicalities to each genre regarding visuals, these rules are sometimes broken and only compliment the song - it entirely depends on the individual song.

Lastly, how the artist acts in the video is hugely important to the success of a pop-promo whether it be an entirely conceptual, narrative or performance based video. The artist needs to appear comfortable and powerful in front of the camera. This voyeurism is a selling point in most videos which goes hand in hand in building a star image - the audience need to be able to look up to this artist. Obviously, demographics are also an important aspect and how audiences are targeted. Age, sex, and social identities need to be considered before an artist begins to think of a video concept. This is a crucial part of the pop-production process and determines who will engage and bring money to the product.

Monday, 11 October 2010

Promotional Package Analysis: Britney Spears, 'Circus'

Artist: Britney Spears
Album: Circus
Label: Zomba Recording LLC, Jive.
Year: 2008

Britney Spears' Circus featured a forceful marketing campaign in 2008 as the comeback album from the once pop-princess. The theme of Circus was of course a circus theme as seen on every piece of promotional material. Left, you can see the press promotion for the album. Surprisingly, the most predominant feature, or lack, of is a picture of Britney Spears. This may be read that the fact her name is so large and the fact she's also a huge pop icon is that there's no need for a photograph; everybody knows who she is - especially after the traumatic break from her career which her label played on during the promotion for the album in a positive way. The album's print promotion feature's the artist name, the album name, date of release and states the fact the album features the high selling single Womanizer. Also
featured, is website details and a clever marketing technique; "Call Britney on the B line".

The album cover it's self is extremely similar in design with nearly exactly the same look and feel. Missing from the print ad, though is a photograph of the artist, Britney Spears which will jump out at potential buyers in a shop next to her name in large typeface. The colour scheme, layout and borders are virtually identical to the promotional poster for the album which will link the two to audiences stylistically.

The album, design-wise includes a variation of features to market it's self. The main focus is the photograph of Britney, staring directly at the consumer looking flirtatious, with pristine hair and make-up, in a Rodarte dress from the spring collection of that year. The way Britney is represented in this cover is completely positive - she looks confident, healthy, beautiful, in control and happy. A complete contrast to the connotations of her in previous years which is undoubtedly what the label and art directors intended. The colours used are very bright and pure; creams and light pinks. These colours have connotations of calmness - something also directionally intentional in terms of art direction and styling. It's very neutral, very clean and controlled - a representation trying to be portrayed about the artist at the time of release.

The comparison between the album promotional material is extremely similar, which is the case for most, if not all album promotional packages. The two feature coloured borders in colours that are often associated with circuses, the print promo also features a background that appears as slightly worn paper to give an almost vintage element to the promotion which is also vaguely featured thematically on the cover with the draped cream silk background and the very traditional hair, make-up and costume. The typeface throughout is also very circus themed with two particular concordant examples; the artist name/logo and the album name/logo. The link between the typefaces in the materials anchor the texts as promoting the same product as well as providing a clearly visible recognition of the product even though the typeface is slightly contorted on the album. The marketing team behind the promotional campaign know strongly that their market will recognise the branding.

The stars on both advertisment and album cover are similar, but not the same even though they follow the colour scheme of the promotion. This isn't a hugely important factor as the stars are there to reinforce the theme of the 'circus' and don't primarily market the album themselves. The theme of the circus, being the album title, has impressively large connotations too and is an extremely clever merchandising technique. Circuses are known, culturally, to be elaborately excessive performances of a colossal nature. Something magical, opposed to the norm and unexpected; exactly what the marketing team want the public to view the album as. Another connotation linked to the circus theme, is the link to Britney's life leading up to the release. If you're unaware, she faced a mental breakdown and public scrutiny during this as she faced psychiatric lockdown as well as addiction. 'Circus' is a reflection of this time too but carries a much more positive light as mentioned formerly; it's a reminiscent though tongue-in-cheek title for a hugely anticipated comeback album.

Overall, this is a perfect example of marketing and promotion leading up to an album release. The themes are flawlessly cohesive and really push the product as an identifiable brand. Something I've failed to mention is the corresponding music video also named Circus, which I will do a separate blog post on as there is too much to say. This too features and in my opinion, enhances and progresses everything which is displayed in this promotional package. I'll be referring back to this post to make comparisons between the music video and the rest of the promotional package, displayed above to fully justify the strength and success of this campaign. The album debuted in the top 10 chart in 23 countries; no. 1 in 6 of those.