Using, developing and challenging conventions:

 Our music video uses a few current conventions such as the:

• Arguing couple- Many previous R'n'B music videos with storylines involve an arguing couple at some point as love is a common thing people argue about. Also many issues can be raised between boyfriends and girlfriends such as cheating.

• Cars- Many music videos in the R'n'B genre include cars whether or not it has a storyline, as this shows that the characters have money.

A few developing conventions:

• Facebook- As facebook is a recent social networking site it has not long been appearing in music videos, we are using it in ours to show modern times and to keep this convention developing.

• Storyline- Love - More and more music videos are starting to become about love and relationships, we chose this one as it would be better for us, as we also had to make up the lyrics 

Challenging:


Our music video does not really challenge the conventions very much, as we tried to stick to a few of the main conventions of a music R'n'B video.

Bobby Valentino- Turn the page
This video like ours has a storyline. This therefore shares similar qualities as ours does. We used this video as an inspiration as it is also about moving on (turning the page) and this is what was our storyline was based on. This video also has a reference to new technologies like myspace and facebook which we also included as it shows the video in a more modern light.

This video also gaves us ideas on how to portray that they are arguing in the video through facial expressions and body language.

Usher- Burn
This video is also about letting something go and moving on therefore we could also gain ideas to use from this video. It also displays an argumentative scene which can help us to interpret our argument into our video.

This video also has flashbacks and therefore will enable us to use them correctly. It also uses expensive cars, we shall be using a car in our video, this is a convention of the R'n'B genre.

Mary J Blige- Be without you


This video also shows the arguing between a couple therefore these 3 videos have given us a big insight to doing an arguing scene and how to adapt the body language and facial expressions of the characters involved.

This video also includes emailing which is also a technology like Facebook, which we intend to use in our video.

All three of these videos are developing on the current forms and conventions. These videos are sticking to the conventions proposed about R'n'B videos such as arguments, love stories, expensive cars etc.


By looking at these videos I have gained lots of knowledge on which types of camera angles and movements we could include.

• When arguing I believe we should alternate between two shots and over the shoulder shot this will therefore show the emotions between the two characters.
• When looking at programmes such as facebook we can use over the shoulder shots or point of view shots as this will make the audience feel involved with what is going on.
• We will use close ups on the bits that either need emphasising or to allow the audience to read something such as a text.
• Camera movements we change depending on the context. We shall zoom in on the text message to allow the audience to read it also on the 'view photos' part of Facebook. We shall use slow movements when the girl is thinking back. When the boy leaves the girl in town we shall follow her. After a while she walks slowly, to show that the girl is upset.

After watching these videos I have observed the different transitions used and come up with some ideas:

• In 'Be without you' the videos includes blackouts in between each shot when they are arguing I believe this looks really effective.
• Most R'n'B videos we have looked at have been very sharp transitions therefore we shall include these.
• Although we shall use some slow ones to show the dreamy effect when the girl is thinking back to the past.

In today's lesson we were finishing off our storyboards.
Our storyline is that a teenage couple is ripped apart by another boy interfering, by trying to get the girl to meet him, eventually it works and he steals the girl from the other boy.

In todays lesson we finished off our lyrics. They are as follows:

I'll never know how you feel
unless you say
I'll be in the dark
until that very day.

You're the one that I want
and my feelings for you are so strong
I can't get you out of my head
even though it's so wrong.

If I had my way
It would be me and you
just, just us two
baby me, me and you.

Everyday just the same
baby im sick of you playing games
you don't understnd how I feel
this is so unreal.

When im with him i think of you
It's just so hard to leave
I feel so trapped
I'm so torn between you two

If I had my way
It would be me and you
just, just us two
baby me, me and you.

I never knew what I was missing
until we started kissing
I'm so glad that were together now
even though I don't know how


I've left you now
I hate to say were over
but things have changed
These changes are gonna make me stronger


If I had my way
It would be me and you
just, just us two
baby me, me and you.

In today's lesson we began to draw up our storyboards. We started by writing down ideas which we could include that would fit in with our genre. From this we made a storyline, this helped us to draw a storyboard for our music video.

In today's lesson we carried on making our music extended it to make it the right length of time. We also began to put together ideas for lyrics of the song. We began with a basic storyline we wanted to follow to make our song flow correctly. We worked well together as a group throughout this process as we were all putting in ideas and contributing well.

Narrative in music video:

• Much of the research on music videos makes only small references, if any to the music.
• Kaplan especially, applies extensive Hollywood film theory to music videos. She uses two videos clips for comparison: 

• Marilyn Monroe- Diamonds are a girl's best friend. Click here to view 

• Madonna- Material girl. (1985) Click here to view 

 There are obvious links to music, videos and films. An example of this is that music is often used to promote films.
Here is the evidence:
Guns 'n' Roses- You could be mine (from Terminator 2, 1992) Click here to view trailer of Terminator 2

Andrew Goodwin:

"Songs are not the movies"

He argues that by incorporating lip-synchronization into the video, the performer is addressing the viewer directly, as opposed to the distance between actor and audience in a movie, brought about by ignoring the camera in an attempt to act "more natural".

This brings a voyeuristic quality to watching movies that doesn't manifest itself in music video, where lip-syncing sees to embrace the viewer, bringing him/her into the action.

Other writers, like Kaplan also believe that music is not the primary factor of a music video. They believe the reason for this is the advertising industry and promotion techniques. Albums, singles and tours are advertised in magazines, billboards, on buses etc

We shall use some of these advertising techniques to get our music video noticed. An idea is to put it on a website as it can be seen worldwide and people can leave their comments as to what they think of it.

Berland, from Sound and Vision:

"Image is more important than sound"

Phillip Tagg (1983):


"Listeners of pop music already visualise the music they hear using a series of semantic connections they hear created by the text"


Will Straw:


Sees the promo-clip as a threat to the listeners individuality, and seems to take away the responsibility of visualising the music "diminishing the interpretive liberty of the individual music listener who, when presented with a promo clip, sees to have visual or narrative interpretations of song lyrics imposed on him or her"

Below is my mood board of R'n'B:
Click to picture enlarge: 

My mood board shows the stereotypical conventions of R'n'B:

• Expensive cars
• Make-up- Many girls are wearing alot of make up to portray themselves as glamourous
• High heels for the girls
• Seductive females wearing next to nothing
• Lots of money typically dollars as most R'n'B music videos are made in America
• Expensive houses
• Weapons such as guns to show crimes that may have been commited or being commited to get into this rich lifestyle "the American Dream"
• Men with youngers girls often more than one
• Dancing

Audiences:


Some people see media audiences as being easily manipulated masses of people who can be persuaded to buy products through advertising, or to follow corrupt leaders through propaganda. With this the problem of violence in media is arisen. People may believe violence to be 'cool' or 'accepted' in society, due to seeing it in the media. An example of this is where James Bulger was murdered by two children, the media reporting suggested they were influenced by violent videos.


Historical Background:


150 years ago all types of media would have seen like fantasies. Instead people were more independent and filled up their leisure times with things such as reading. Media has had a huge influence on this behaviour.


Their are two views people can take of the media

1. It can split people up as people do not go out as much.
2. Bring people closer together as millions of people experience the same media events.

The audience as a 'Mass':


When listening to or watching media products we become part of a mass audience in many ways.
Media can spread different songs, pictures or films across the world therefore the media is less restrictive. Whereas media used to be restricted to a certain number of people.


Herbert Blumers ideas of mass media:

1. Its membership may come from all walks of life, and from all distinguishable social strata; it may include people of different class position, of different vocation, of different cultural attainment and of different wealth.
2. The mass is an anonymous group, or more exactly is composed of anonymous individuals.
3. There exists little interaction or change of experience between members of the mass.
4. Loosely organised and is not able to act with the unity of a crowd.

Defining audiences: the mass market:


Media producers and institutions like to consider audiences in groups. (Target audience)
Therefore we carried out questionnaires to discover our target audience to enable us to produce a music video to their expectations.
We have to think of:

• The age group 
• Gender
• Race
• Location
• Also what their expectations are and what they like/enjoy to see

Influencing the audience:
 There have been a number of theories throughout the years about how exactly the media work on the mass audience. We looked at a few some are explained briefly below


The effects/Hypodermic model:

• Syringe injects ideas and concepts into the audience and attitudes and beliefs.
• People therefore are affected in different ways.
• Therefore this relates to our videos as people can watch the video and believe it as we shall be making it like others on the market with a twist therefore the audience can watch it and believe it, especially if we use a storyline.

The cultivation/culmination theory:

• While any one media text does not have too much effect, years and years of watching violence will make you less sensitive to violence, years and years of watching women being mistreated in soaps will make you less bothered about it in real life. This process is referred to as Desensitisation.
• Although this is difficult to prove either way
• People have seen the sterotypes of a R'n'B video many times and therefore when watching our video shall not be shocked of its content.

Identification:

• Some psychiatrists claim to have successfully used pornography to help sex offenders release their emotions

Sensitisation:

• Violence can be shocking to some people and consequently put people off.

Criticisms of mass audience theory:

1. Relies on assumptions of the people analysing the masses.
2. Could be just a chance for people to air their prejudices.

Uses and gratifications theory:


According to this theory we all have different uses for the media and we make choices over what we want to watch.
What kind of gratifications can we be getting:

1. Information- We want to find out about society and the world- we want to satisfy our curiosity.
2. Personal identity- We may watch tv in order to look for models for our behaviour.
3. Intergration and social interaction- We use the media in order to find out more about the circumstances of other people.
4. Entertainment- Enjoyment, relaxation or just to fill time.

• These are the reasons why some people want to watch our video, we shall try to include each one so our audiences is broadened. 

Reception analysis:

• Concentrates on the audience themselves and their reading of the text. Believes that the audience themselves help to create the meaning of the text.

Is all about trying to look different meanings and to understand them. What reception analysts have found is that factors such as gender, our place inside society, and the context of the time we are living in can be enormously important when we make the meaning or the text.


David Morley:


Theorist of reception analysis.


BBC Survey of Nationwide audience in 1974

Social Group	Size	% of Audience	% of Overall Population
Upper middle-class	321,000	5.4	6.0
Lower middle-class	2,140,000	36.3	24.0
Working-class	3,438,000	58.3	70.0
Male	2,772,000	46.1	--------------
Female	3,177,000	53.9	--------------

Source: Morley (1980: 38)

Three Positions

Morley outlined three hypothetical positions (adapted from Frank Parkin) which the reader of a programme might occupy (1983, pp. 109-10; see also 1981b, p. 51 and 1992, p. 89):

• Dominant (or 'hegemonic') reading: The reader shares the programme's 'code' (its meaning system of values, attitudes, beliefs and assumptions) and fully accepts the programme's 'preferred reading' (a reading which may not have been the result of any conscious intention on the part of the programme makers).

• Negotiated reading: The reader partly shares the programme's code and broadly accepts the preferred reading, but modifies it in a way which reflects their position and interests.

• Oppositional ('counter-hegemonic') reading: The reader does not share the programme's code and rejects the preferred reading, bringing to bear an alternative frame of interpretation.

Morley argues that 'members of a given sub-culture will tend to share a cultural orientation towards decoding messages in particular ways. Their individual "readings" of messages will be framed by shared cultural formations and practices' (1981)
Morley insists that he does not take a social determinist position in which individual 'decodings' of TV programmes are reduced to a direct consequence of social class position. 'It is always a question of how social position, as it is articulated through particular discourses, produces specific kinds of readings or decodings. These readings can then be seen to be patterned by the way in which the structure of access to different discourses is determined by social position'


He also found in his research:

• Men prefer more factual programmes
• women often watch the television whilst doing something else.

In today's lesson we looked at who and where to sell our music genres. On the map below i have highlighted in pink the countries in which I would expect to see my song sold. I chose these countries as they already listen and produce the R'n'B genre. Against each of my chosen countries I have singled out the reason for my choice.

Click image to enlarge:

Making and enjoying global music:

Convergence is now bringing together the music and other media industries closer together. Although there are significant differences between film, television and music. These differences become apparent in relation to 'globalisation'. Some suggest recorded popular music as simultaneously 'global', 'regional' and 'local', in terms of its production and consumption.

Recorded music as global product:

• The Gramophone Company of India (HMV) is synonymous with Indian music.
• The company was incorporated in Calcutta as 'The Gramophone and Typewriter company Ltd' in 1901.
• The first Indian artiste to be recorded was Gauhar Jan (5th November 1902)
• Arrival of the 'talkies' in 1927 (where you can music and talking) This caused problems due to language barriers.
• 1960's British Performers did attempt to record their UK hits in other European languages, but this was not particularly successful.
• Technology for making master recordings and subsequently pressing records was, and still is less expensive and simpler to manage than film technology.

The structure of the industry:

Majors in the music industry worldwide:

• Time Warner as Warner Bros -  Time Warner Inc., a global leader in media and entertainment with businesses in television networks, filmed entertainment, publishing and interactive services, uses its industry-leading operating scale and brands to create, package and deliver high-quality content worldwide through multiple distribution platforms.

• Sony as Sony/Columbia - Produces many music videos such as 'Beyonce Featuring Kanye West - Ego'. Columbia and "Walking Eye" Design are registered trademarks of Sony Music Entertainment.

• Bertelsmann as RCA/BMG -  RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Currently, the RCA trademark is owned by the French conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson. The trademark is used by Sony Music Entertainment and Thomson SA, which licenses the name to other companies like Audiovox and TCL Corporation for products descended from that common ancestor ^.

• ^{Seagram/Universal as MCA -} MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group (now Universal Music Group), of which MCA Records was still part. Established in 1967, MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003.

• Two 'major' Hollywood-based groups, Disney and Viacom/Paramount, are classed as 'independents' in the music industry.

• New Corporation is the only media conglomerate without a significant music industry interest.

• The music industry is not 'integrated' in quite the same way as the cinema. The 'majors' are indeed primarily distributors and producers, but not so much 'exhibitors'-in case of the music industry, the exhibitors are effectively the radio and television stations and the retail outlets.

• Music companies tend to buy local record labels and to acquire a roster of local artistes in addition to their marketing global acts.

• Music market is organised regionally.

• Because some UK acts have made the leap to international status, the UK has a strong global presence. 

Alan McElroy, senior director EMI UK:


Globalisation is the organisation of production and distribution across national boundaries...it has very little to do with music. We compete (with the other majors) in A&R (Artists and Repertoire), sales and marketing, we compete for the artists, manufacturing records is not a significant area of competition. Globalisation of the supply chain has nothing to do with globalisation of music.


Repertoire::

•  The music industry is organised around the development of A&R. This means that the companies want to find 'talent', develop it in terms of performance and recording, controlling recording' and music publishing rights. It is in their interest to develop specific repertoire for each territory in which they operate. They know that attempting to sell just a handful of American stars across the globe will not work. This is something that the music video satellite providers have also recognised with the development of programming with significant local content, whether it is different parts of Europe or Asia.

Popular Music:

• Popular music bears a direct relationship to local culture - indeed some popular misic is termed 'root' music, emphasising that it comes from a specific community.

 Hybridity in popular music:

•  The influence of cultural studies within Media Studies and the development of postmodernism has created interest in the concept of hybridity, which can be seen being developed in relation to popular music. People of different cultures have been seen to mix and produce new culture forms.

Questionaire results:

• There are equal number of men and women that listen to the R'n'B genre
• The group age 16-21 proved to have more listeners than any other group
• They all seemed to like similar artists
• Knew most artists if not all the artists we included 
• Most prefer narrative and dancing in the music videos
• Many prefer a picture of the artist on the album cover
• This same album cover they prefer in colour
• They believe that seductive males and females are a huge convention of the R'n'B genre
• Ushers album cover proved most popular
• They also liked the techniques used and the storyline in the R'n'B video Bobby Valentino-Turn the Page