These are the questions we came up with for the interviews. Because we are doing such an independant/small music genre there weren't many people that actually watched soca music videos. Even those who listen to soca don't necessarily watch the music videos. Also England doesn't get soca music channels and the only mainstream soca radio shows are twice a week. So we had to search deep to find those people who do. We found some teens and elders and thought to compare the results.
1. What would you like to see in a music video (soca)?
2. What aspects of modern music videos do you like?
3. What aspects of modern music videos don’t you like?
4. How do you feel about certain representations presented in modern music videos? (i.e. girls, boys, sexuality etc.)
5. Do you think soca music videos are easier to create than mainstream music videos? Why?
6. Do you prefer it when lyrics match the occurrences in the video?
Friday, 22 October 2010
Questionnaire
1. What Is Your Age?
12 – 18 19 – 25
26 – 32 33 – 39
40+
2. What Is Your Gender?
Male Female
3. What Is Your Ethnicity?
White Black
Asian Oriental
Middle Eastern Mixed – White and Black
Mixed – Other [Please Specify] ...................................................................................................
Other [Please Specify]...................................................................................................................
4. What Is Your Preferred Music Genre?
R n’ B Hip Hop
Rock Jazz
Grime Rap
Dance House
Garage Indie
Pop
Other [Please Specify] .......................................................................................................................
5. Explain Briefly Why You Like This Genre
....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
6. Are Music Videos Important To You?
No Sometimes
Usually Yes
7. Where Do You Watch / Listen To Music?
T.V. Internet
Radio Adverts
Itunes
8. How Often Do You Listen To Music?
Rarely Moderately
Quite A Lot As Often As I Can
9. What Do You Find Is The Most Successful Advertisement For Promoting Music?
T.V. Adverts Friends
Youtube Adverts Posters
Radio Adverts Internet
Newspaper/Magazines Movies
10. What Device Do You Use To Watch/Listen To Music?
MP3/4 Player Internet
Ipod CD Player
Minidisk
Other [Please Specify] ......................................................................................................................
11. How Much Money Do You Spend On Music Per Week?
Under £5 £6 - £10
£10+
12. Do You Attend Music Festivals Or Concerts?
Yes No
13. Can You Access Music On Your Phone?
Yes No
14. Does Your Taste In Music Influence The Way You Dress?
Yes No
15. What Do You Like To Do In Your Spare Time?
Watching Movies Dancing
Playing Games Reading
Other [Please Specify] ......................................................................................................................
16. Where Do You Believe Is The Best Place To Listen To Music?
Club House
Pub Gigs
Bars Other
Thank You For Your Time!
Music Video Analysis
Boom Boom Boom by Tabia and Nathy
As a group we looked at various different genres of music in order to gather up enough information and ideas to help make our decision on what type of music video we were going to create as a group. After gathering all the initial information we need and researching various different music videos, collectively we all came to a final decision to use a Soca song for are music video called right there by an artist called Kes the band. Soca is a form of dance music which originates from the Caribbean. When the decision was made we thought it would be a good idea that each member in the group done a video analysis of a particular music video relating to that genre (Soca). I was given the task to analysis I Soca music video called Boom Boom Boom by an artist called, Tabia featuring Nathy.
The media allows people to manipulate the opinions of the consumers as it can change peoples perspective on subjects especially culture. The video starts with a long shot of a woman opening a door, with the whole shot shadowed in darkness. The shot then cuts to a close up shot of male (Nathy) the artist, with the whole shot with him in the sun the shot being filled with brightness. By doing this it gives the sense of joy and happiness as soon as we see the male it depicts that the women has opened the door and seen the light as the male is seen as the key to all her happiness for the future. This is shown throughout the whole video as there are number of shots were the woman is by herself, and the level of lighting used is low. On the other hand when the female is in the shot with the male character the shots uses high level lighting with the shot being bright. Throughout the video we are told the female depends on the male especially in the Caribbean culture as it is seen as the males are the workers and the providers in the household.
Also an array of bright colours is used throughout the video, down to both the male and female costumes, establishing the Caribbean culture. We also see shots of a man taking photos of a woman on a phone as she posses. This shows women are seen as objects to pleasure men and their there for men’s needs in a subtle sort of way. A close up a mobile phone with a message on it which states in it which the male sent (Nathy) “I miss you lets meet up” then the female says “ok babes”. We can evaluate from this that the woman’s there at the males needs showing a stereotypical gender position format. The video then cuts to a medium shot of a woman walking along beach, which then cuts to a extreme close up of a man’s which leads to an eye line match as the video then cuts to the woman again showing the man was gazing at the woman as she walks past. Again emphasizing the female body is seen as visual sexual object by men.
A panning shot of a segment of the Caribbean island is shown to establish the location as it looks like an exotic holiday destination. This connotes having fun in life and enjoying yourself the type of message which the music is conveying. Throughout the whole video the women don’t have many clothes on, showing off a lot of body. Again this is very conventional method when it comes to music videos across a vast majority of genres of music. Especially in the Soca genre as it focuses a lot on the female body and them dancing. In most of the shots there’s always more women than men to make the male seem as though he’s important connote a sort of king Alfa male status as their always surrounded by so many girls. This video represents males (gender) as being very heterosexual as we see various different shots of both females and males dancing with each other in an almost sexual nature.
As a group we looked at various different genres of music in order to gather up enough information and ideas to help make our decision on what type of music video we were going to create as a group. After gathering all the initial information we need and researching various different music videos, collectively we all came to a final decision to use a Soca song for are music video called right there by an artist called Kes the band. Soca is a form of dance music which originates from the Caribbean. When the decision was made we thought it would be a good idea that each member in the group done a video analysis of a particular music video relating to that genre (Soca). I was given the task to analysis I Soca music video called Boom Boom Boom by an artist called, Tabia featuring Nathy.
The media allows people to manipulate the opinions of the consumers as it can change peoples perspective on subjects especially culture. The video starts with a long shot of a woman opening a door, with the whole shot shadowed in darkness. The shot then cuts to a close up shot of male (Nathy) the artist, with the whole shot with him in the sun the shot being filled with brightness. By doing this it gives the sense of joy and happiness as soon as we see the male it depicts that the women has opened the door and seen the light as the male is seen as the key to all her happiness for the future. This is shown throughout the whole video as there are number of shots were the woman is by herself, and the level of lighting used is low. On the other hand when the female is in the shot with the male character the shots uses high level lighting with the shot being bright. Throughout the video we are told the female depends on the male especially in the Caribbean culture as it is seen as the males are the workers and the providers in the household.
Also an array of bright colours is used throughout the video, down to both the male and female costumes, establishing the Caribbean culture. We also see shots of a man taking photos of a woman on a phone as she posses. This shows women are seen as objects to pleasure men and their there for men’s needs in a subtle sort of way. A close up a mobile phone with a message on it which states in it which the male sent (Nathy) “I miss you lets meet up” then the female says “ok babes”. We can evaluate from this that the woman’s there at the males needs showing a stereotypical gender position format. The video then cuts to a medium shot of a woman walking along beach, which then cuts to a extreme close up of a man’s which leads to an eye line match as the video then cuts to the woman again showing the man was gazing at the woman as she walks past. Again emphasizing the female body is seen as visual sexual object by men.
A panning shot of a segment of the Caribbean island is shown to establish the location as it looks like an exotic holiday destination. This connotes having fun in life and enjoying yourself the type of message which the music is conveying. Throughout the whole video the women don’t have many clothes on, showing off a lot of body. Again this is very conventional method when it comes to music videos across a vast majority of genres of music. Especially in the Soca genre as it focuses a lot on the female body and them dancing. In most of the shots there’s always more women than men to make the male seem as though he’s important connote a sort of king Alfa male status as their always surrounded by so many girls. This video represents males (gender) as being very heterosexual as we see various different shots of both females and males dancing with each other in an almost sexual nature.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Music Video Analysis
Media Music Video Analysis
I have decided to do an analysis on the video ‘My Girl’ by KES the Band, it is a soca song taken from the album ‘ON IN 5’ released in 2009, directed by Sheldon Felix. Soca is defined as popular dance music, a blend between calypso and soul, originating from Trinidad.
In the video there is a linear narrative taking place, indicating a ‘typical day in life of Kes the band ’ beginning with the singer, Kes, waking up next to what is represented to be his ‘girl’ [although the girl is changed frequently] then moving on to choosing what clothes to wear and so forth. The narrative takes place in imitation of a to-do list, as in, with every job done, a text appears at the bottom of the screen, with a tick next to it, indicating that the job has been done, however, at the end, we learn it is all a dream.
Elliptical editing helps the video move quickly, almost like a link between the tempo of the song and visuals, the quick jump shots adds emphasis to the video which matches the speed of the song and lyrics, however, there is no signs where the video cuts to the beat, so the relationship with the visuals could be seen as weak. Yet the Instrumental part is signified through all the characters on screen not saying a word, although it is not noticeable, there is a non diegetic sound at the beginning of the video, accompanied by a blank screen, which indicates that the whole video is a dream, even if you don’t realise till the end, plus whenever there is a text on screen for example at 2:26, there is a non diegetic sound of a cashier to match with it.
The lyrics also seem to have a weak correlation with the song, as the lyrics is about the girl, how amazing she is, how she’s wanted by other guys and how much she means to the singer or narrator, yet the video shows shots of various different girls, and even more than one girl at the same time [3:47] whilst she is doing all the jobs for him. Some relation of the lyrics and the visual has been made such as ‘she knows what she wants and more’ [1:49] where Kes is singing to the audience and at the same time, he is sitting next to a sexy woman, dressed in formal wear and specs, a typical male gaze representation of a working, independent lady.
The video consist of various sexy and multiracial girls, with bright colours that connotes loudness, fun and confidence, also if fits well with the up beat music. The lighting is bright, as it follows the time line of a typical day in Trinidad, we assume this due to the mother figure waking up Kes at 4:49 who has a strong accent. The singer looks clean and fresh, probably since the females do everything for him, even put his toothpaste on his brush, plus it could be seen as clean men, get sexy girls as opposed to scruffy men with breads and casual clothes. Kes in this video happens to be wearing clothes that cover up the body, where as the girls are completely the opposite, wearing short and tight clothes, complete with make up, jewelry and neat hair.
Voyeurism is being exploited throughout this video, founded by Sigmund Freud, his theory is based on the notion that ‘erotic pleasure may be gained by looking at a sexual object (preferably when the object is unaware of being watched)’ this is shown at numerous occasions in the video e.g. 0:44, where the singer looks into the lens of the camera, like he’s looking at the audience whom the girl cannot see. However this could of also been used by Sheldon Felix in order to sell the product, by the singer looking into the camera, it creates a relationship between the audience and himself, making them feel like they are there with him, yet at the same time, it’s almost mocking ‘this could be you’ [1:26]
Furthermore, the video represents what a male’s view on a woman for example, there is only one man, and many women, which apparently is acceptable, as a man is allowed more than one woman, yet he sings of only one. All the ladies in the video, aside from his mother, is dressed in sexy clothes, or lack of, this is also emphasized by the use of slowing down the video on the women illustrating seductive poses or facial expressions. Although the video portrays change in history such as the feminist’s view of women being able to work and get paid higher than men compared to women only ever doing the house work, it can also connote that men see women as sexual objects rather and a sexual fantasy rather than respectable human beings, or that women portray themselves that way. Goodwin (1992) argues that with performers, male or female, females are regularly objectified through camera work and editing to emphasize a ‘sexualised treatment of the star’. On the other hand, it could also be mistaken as either Kes’ view on women, the narrator’s view on women, or even just what innocently happened in his dream.
Representation of sexuality has also been displayed here, at 0:34 there is sexual activity, distorted by jump shots and blurring, those of a young age would not likely understand. There are no signs of other sexualities however, only that of heterosexual, this is done my Sheldon Felix to engross the target audience, who are majority black male.
By targeting a certain audience, the director was able to play on the conventions of music videos that would engulf consumers, resulting in buying the products. These conventions include sexy women, bright colours, feel-good music and even the use of editing and camera work, such as slow motion pictures of women, close up of the singer [for fans, especially fans who are female]. The use of stedicam , canted framing and tracking of singer, gives the impression that you’re with him, the use of free hand, however, gives the video more dynamics, as well as acting as a POV shot [3:00 – 3:06]. But like most videos, the singer or band have a range of shots of them either playing the instrument or singing along to the song, this is usually done as if to assure the audience that the band/singer can really do it, even if we know that it has all been pre-recorded and unfortunately there is no visuals on the other band members. Humour is also used to help sell the merchandise, this is conveyed though the text at the beginning of video, conversing with the text ‘Yeh right!!’ at the end, followed by the sequence of the mother figure waking Kes from his dream.
From this we have learnt that with use of typical music video conventions i.e. sexy girls, and lip syncing, it is simple once you know how what type of structure you want your video to have, whether or not the lyrics, visuals and beat want to match and also the types of editing you’d like to use. The hardest bit would most likely be how to represent gender, age, ethnicity and such without offending too many people.
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