Music Promo Theories

Andrew Goodwin

• Music promos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in rock and metal videos and dance routines in boy/girl bands). 
• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style) 
• There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screen,telescopes etc..) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. 
• There is often intertextual reference to films, TV and other music promos. 

Steve Archer 

• There needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between narrative and performance in the music video.
• Music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band.
• A carefully choreographed dance might be part of the artist's performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to air visualisation and the 'repeatablility' factor.

John Stewarts

• The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with a lot of close ups of the artist. Lighting is used to focus on the starts face.
• Visual references come from a range of sources most are from cinema, fashion and art photography.
• 'Incorporation, raiding and reconstructing' are essential parts of intertextuality, using something with which the audience may be familiar, to generate both nostalgic associations and new meaning.
• The video allows more access to the performer than a stage performance can.
• Mise-en-scene, can be used to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle.

Sigmund Frued

• Voyeurism- Refers to the notion that erotic pleasure may be gained by looking at a sexual object (when the object is not aware of being watched) this is seen a lot in some genres of music promos.

Laura Mulvey

• Because filmmakers are predominately male, the presence of women in films is often solely for the purpose of display.
• The purpose of this display is to facilitate a voyeuristic response in spectators, which is generally seen from a male's point of view, one that is a powerful controlling gaze at the female on display, who is objectified and passive.

Roland Barthes

• Enigma Code- Referring to the idea of holding back information from the viewer as a way to raise questions that demand explanation.
• Action Code- Refers to the idea of building interest and suspense on the part of the audience.

 Tzvetan Todorov

• Narrative begins with an equilibrium (harmony), then moves to a disequilibrium (disharmony) until a new equilibrium is restored by the end.

Claude Levi-Strauss

• Constant creation of conflict/ opposition propels narrative. Narrative can only end on a resolution of conflict. Opposition can be visual (light/darkness, movement/ stillness) or conceptual (love/hate, control/panic), and to do with soundtrack.

Inspirational Video

Rizzle kicks 'When I was a Youngster'


This video is related to our own ideas in the way that it describes childhood thoughts and dreams. We are planning on using the idea of older characters dressing up as children for some of the shots within out music promo, to create the idea of memories throughout different ages.

Lyrics to Track:

I can remember that when I was a little youth I,   
Wanted to fly around the world making a new life,
I never thought today,
I'd be where I am now,

Yo, wanted to be a fireman,
Than I lost the desire man,
The second I got old enough,
To buy myself a cider can,
Yeah, I was a smart little kid,
That sides departed me since,
These days you can find me,
Sitting on the bench in the park with a lager and crisps

Back when I was younger,
I wanted to be everything on the planet,
Now that I am older,
It seems the ambition has vanished,
Yeah when I was a youngster,
When I was a, When I was a youngster,
Youngster, when I was a youngster
And now that I'm older,
I wish I coulda been everything that I wanted,
I'm on it

I think that if I think back back to the days
When I thought I didn't think that,
Nothing that I thought could not be possible,
Ha, try and figure that out,
Back when I didn't know how,
To settle for a desk job bring in those pounds,
I wanted to live in those clouds,
These days I deliver those sounds

I always thought of myself as a simple dreamer,
Never tried to hard but believed it,
Now all of a sudden,
It's gone my way

Back when I was younger,
I wanted to be everything on the planet,
Now that I am older,
It seems the ambition has vanished,
Yeah when I was a youngster,
When I was a, When I was a youngster,
Youngster, when I was a youngster
And now that I'm older,
I wish I coulda been everything that I wanted,
I'm on it

Music Promo: Mood Board

Ideas for Music Promo

One idea we have been working on for our music promo, is to amplify the idea of childhood memories that are featured quite strongly throughout our track. We have been working on the idea of using a range of different childhood memories and using a montage style to put them together during the promo suing a narrative style of both amplification and disjuncture.


http://prezi.com/e-cuiqspopfi/childhood-memories/ 

Response from Carl Hauck 'Windjammer'

Date: Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:00:06 -0500
Subject: Re: windjammer
From: carlhauck@gmail.com
To: abbynewland@hotmail.co.uk

Hi Abby, Amy, and Rebekah - 

Thanks for contacting me, and thanks for your interest in using my music.  

I'd be fine with you using my music for your project since I'm assuming it's not commercial in any way. I'm sure it'll be fine, though, so you could probably proceed in the meantime.

The song "Windjammer" is the title track of my most recent album, which was filled with quite a few songs in which I was trying to come to terms with life after college and all that it entailed, especially since I was returning to my home town to teach high school.  I thought about where and what "home" is, about the people whom I'd wronged, about how dreams become compromised by "reality," and about the meaning of love, among other things.

The song in question was, for me, a way to look back (fondly) on various childhood summertime moments at the house I grew up in, which happens to be located on a street called Windjammer Court. So each stanza is basically a vignette of various fragmented memories (that probably wouldn't mean to much to other people :).

I'll leave it at that for now, but feel free to let me know if you have any additional inquiries or follow-up questions.

Thanks again.

-Carl

www.carlhauck.com

www.facebook.com/carlhauck

Acoustic Music Genre

Acoustic music mainly uses instruments to create its sound in a very simple and un-compromised way, compared to the use of electronics to improve the sound. 

Acoustic performers tend to improve their sound by using an amplifier, making their music louder more powerful. However, these amplification devices remain separate from the amplified instrument and reproduce its natural sound accurately. This is done by placing a microphone in front of the instrument, which is then attached to an amplifier.

During the 1990’s artists who realised the appeal of acoustic music but however were mainly associated with electronically produced music because performing acoustically, these performances became known as unplugged performances.

Music reviewer Craig Conley suggests, "When music is labeled acoustic, unplugged, or unwired, the assumption seems to be that other types of music are cluttered by technology and overproduced and therefore aren't as pure."

Acoustic Artists: 

Damien Rice - Cannonball

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah 

Ed Sheeran - The A Team

Conventions of Acoustic music promos:

• Many of the shots seen in the promos are that of the performer him/herself either on their own of playing an instrument. Acoustic artists tend to focus more on the music rather than putting on a big performance, sometimes a narrative is used to help the song create a more emotional effect within the viewer and example of this is Ed Sheeran’s ‘ The A Team’. These promos can be based around either illustration, amplification or disjuncture, most of the time is is based on what the artist thinks will be best to show the song and the meaning behind it.
• Slowly paced camera shots, editing and movements are seen throughout acoustic music promos so that the viewer does not become distracted by fast paced shots, and therefore can understand the meaning of the song and the video. A range of different shot types are used throughout these promos, close ups and reactions shots can be used to put across emotions, however long shots and establishing shots are used to create an atmosphere for the mise-en-scene.
• The locations in these videos tend to be quite isolated locations, or a location that reminds the artist of the idea behind the lyrics. 
• The mise-en-scene in these promo are usually quite simple, keeping the main focus on the song and the performer, costumes are kept as real as possible, and the main props used are the instruments being played. The lighting will create focus on the important aspects, and will change depending on the mood of the song, for example, some promos will have spotlight to create more intense emotions, whereas other promos will be brighter creating a lighter mood.

Carl Hauck: Windjammer Lyrics

Analysis: Carl Hauck 'Windjammer' Lyrics

Analysis: Digipak and Magazine Advert

DigiPak

This digipak is quite conventional in its style, it has one main image running throughout that clearly illustrates the genre of music, and is a good symbol for the band. It is also conventional in the way that is states the artist name, gives a clear title of the album and has a list of songs that are featured on the album. The colours work well as they fit well with the genre of music, they are quite calm, simple colours, but still stand out as they are relatively bright.

This digipak is also conventional, it features the bands name, a title for the album, a list of tracks and also shows an image of the band itself. The colour scheme is quite bland, but having the band on the front in mainly white t-shirts creates a stand out effect. The shape of this digipak is quite simple having only one main image base compared to others that have multiple, this works well although they cannot have as many images making this pak slightly less interesting and effective at drawing attention as other digipaks would be.

This digipak has many features similar to the last, however the use of colour and layout makes this one more eye catching, the use of block colours draws the eye to the pak and makes the artist stand out, creating a main point of focus, and a clear display of the artist. Using this block style,also makes the track titles, artist name and album title much clearer.

This pack compared to others is much more unconventional in the images used on it, this however works well in drawing the eye to the digipak, making it quite effective in helping the sales and promotion of the album. This promo is however still conventional in the way it still has an image of the artist, a list of the tracks and the name of the artist and title of the album. This digipak is much more interesting to look out and creates much more thought in the viewer, which is effective in giving it attention.

Magazine Adverts

This magazine advert works really well in creating a striking and memorable image, is very unconventional in the image used, as it has no clear link to the band or the single, however it is conventional in the information that has been placed on it, its clear what this poster is advertising. I like the way that is only includes the need to know information, this makes it clear and easy to look at and completely understand what its about. The font style used, gives an unconventional element as it is not a clear and bold font, usually seen on this adverts to draw attention, this font draws attention in a more interesting way, due to its handwritten style. 

                     

This magazine advert is quite conventional in the way that is contain a very bold simple image, drawing a lot of attention to it. It includes all the necessary information that's needed, with some additional information, and has a clear purpose of advertisement. However, there's nothing on this poster that stands out in an interesting way, and is therefore not as memorable as it could be.

Conventions of a Digipak and Magazine Advert

Digipaks can vary in style for each artist, as they allow for the artist to put their own twist on the design, however some of the main and most common conventions of a digipak are: 

• Visuals- these tend to be images of the artist/band, shots from concerts, and images relating to the album theme and the tracks on the album
• Band or Artists name
• Album title
• List of tracks on the album
• Information- background information on the band/artist, information on the genre of music, influences, themes and ideas behind tracks, ect..
• Reviews- Reviews from magazines and newspapers if good are often put onto the digipak to increase sales and promote marketing.

Magazine Adverts tend to contain similar elements to that of the digipak, they include:

• A main image of either the artist or an element relating to the promo
• Information about the release date/ tour dates. the type of format the single is being released in
• The name of the artist
• The name of the single/album
• Tour dates
• Cost of tickets for tour

The CD/DVD Digipak

Digipak is a patented style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark or AGI Media, a MeadWestVaco, Inc. resource.

Digipaks using consist of a gate fold (book style) paperboard or card stock outer binding. They usually have one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies.

Positives of a Digipack:

• More information can be stored in a digipak
• More creative input can be put into them, a more creative and innovative look can be achieved
• Eye catching
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Shatterproof
• Cheap to produce
• Good for display of graphics
• Environmentally friendly
• Can accommodate all sorts of needs
• Innovative premium product
• More visuals on display
• More possibilities of layout
• More design options
• More room for display of product

Negatives of a Digipak:

• They are prone to tearing and ripping
• Plastic teeth/ CD holders can break
• More expensive
• Trays can break/come away from other packaging
• CD's fall out if anything breaks
• Begin to look old and ragged quickly

Analysis: Music Promo

Jason Mraz: Music Promo Analysis 

This music promo is based mainly of a narrative however shows some illustration of the lyrics, as well as amplification of the theme behind the song. Being set in an exotic looking setting, gives the video a very laid back feeling which relates to the lyrics of the song. The promo is conventional in the way that the artist is performing the song throughout and appears/act during the whole of the promo.

This promo has a range of different shots throughout, most of the promo looks as though its been home filmed which creates a really nice casual effect. At the beginning of the promo not much is given away as to the artist or the location. Shadowed lighting gives away no detail, which creates quite a calm and quiet effect matching the music well. 

A range of different shots are seen throughout this promo, some are unrelated to the lyrics however still follow the narrative well. The shot is an close up/ extreme close up of a fish tank, in the promo we see a shadowed figure over the tank which lets us infer from images seen before of the plane, that he is going on a trip.

As the promo carries on we begin to see more of the artist, and some performance comes into the video as well. This shot is a close up of the artist, from this we can deduce that he is on a plane, from the windows seen in the empty space of the shot. 

This video throughout shows a range of different locations, illustrating different people as well as places, seen above the promo shows the artist at a skate park and below gives an idyllic scene that the artist later visits. Showing these different scenes gives again the idea of travelling around and a relaxed lifestyle that is idealised in the song.

I like the way that this shot is simple but still really effective in the message its putting across and the links it has to the song. It shows a love of life. The way in which the artist has been silhouetted makes him appear normal, as though he's not anything important- the same as everyone else.

Cross fades are used to change the scenes and shots, the way that this shot has been transitioned works well in the way that the hat can still be seen in the sky even though the scene has completely changed, it creates a good link between the different shots.

Towards the end of the promo the artist is seen, following the conventions seen in a number of music promos, to finish with the artist.

I think that this promo is very effective, and works well for the acoustic genre. Music promos within this genre work well when they are left relatively simple as it puts most of the focus of the music and lyrics, which usually have a lot of meaning and emotion behind them.

Analysis: Music Promo

Ed Sheeran: Music Promo Analysis                      

Prezi Presentation

In this music promo the main point of focus is on the man that is signing the lyrics, I think this is a very effective method of performing the song rather than having the artist lip syncing along, It creates a much stronger image and makes each lyric seem much more important. The lighting and mise-en-scene throughout this promo is black and white, these colours alternate with the different shots and along with the music, which creates a much more interesting effect compared to what would be created keeping them exactly the same throughout the promo. The shot editing starts slow, however when the tempo of the music changed so does the shot editing, and much faster cuts between the shots can be seen. A montage of images can begin to be seen towards the end of the promo, that illustrate the lyrics, however this teamed with the signing and lack of performance from the artist make this promo quite unconventional compared to other acoustic artists. Throughout the promo the main point of focus being either the performers or the images, are created by the use of spotlights, which makes them appear much more important than the artist himself who is only shown quickly at the end of the promo and it shot quick shots throughout. A wide variety of shots have been used throughout this promo, giving it a much more creative feel and giving the simple mise-en-scene a more interesting appearance.

This shot shows the illustration of the lyrics. This images gives this promo a more sinister feeling as although this images would normally be related to positive aspects is has been presented in a negative with, with aspects of the images being dark and unwelcoming for example the eyes of the man. This show is a mid/close up shot.

This shot shows a mid- long shot of the performer. The way that some shots throughout this promo have been edited to create a blurred effects when movement is shown works really well in putting a lot of emphasis on the signing, which shows the importance of each movement and so the importance of each word being sung.

A number of different shots have been used throughout this promo, mid and long shots have been used to show performers, however some close ups and extreme close ups have been used to illustrate emotions and put importance and emphasis onto certain lyrics. I like the way in which only the face of the performer is highlighted in this shot, it looks quite haunting and creates a lot of thought and emotion for the viewer. 

The way in which the artist doesn’t appear in this video to perform him own song gives the impression that he is trying to make the point that he is not a conventional artist, which I think works really well in showing who he is as a person and what he stands for, him not appearing really illustrates the lyrics that are being sung. 


History of Artist
Ed Sheeran was labelled the geek throughout his school life however he made sure he was not going to be defeated by his gingerness, poor eyesight and lack of hearing in one ear. He does however still describe his childhood as "slightly depressing"

It was a chance meeting with Damien Rice that led to him beginning to write his own music. After meeting his idol backstage at a gig in Ireland he took the artists advice and wrote his first song the next day. Soon after he began selling CD's which he recorded in his bedroom, the initial earning going on CocaCola and Twix’s. At the age of 14 with the support of family, he travelled to London over for the summer holidays. A chance meeting with Julian Simmons in a Limehouse studio, led to Ed's debut album with he titled ‘Been Born’.

Adding to his repertoire, beat boxing, rapping and the loop pedal became a staple part of his style. After getting attention from a management company he soon became a regular face of the acoustic circuit. Around this time he has gotten himself a job with Nizlopi ('JCB Song') as their guitar technician. "I did a cover of one of their tracks on YouTube which they saw and liked. They invited me to join them on tour and I learnt everything I know about singing, song-writing and live music from them." Some other musicians he took influence from were The Beatles, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and Planxty which his parents played on road trips, and personal favourites like Foy Vance, Nizlopi and anything with hip hop credentials. 

History of the Music Promo

The idea of the music promo had not began becoming popular until the 60's, artists began to make short films with little performance, however still putting across their music to an audience without having to perform it live.  


Bob Dylan 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' (1960s)

This video is conventional in the way the artist is shown in the video, however there is no range of shots or performance in this video making it unconventional of a music promo.


One of the key ideas that led to the rise of the music promo were TV music programmes such as 'Top of the Pops' these featured chart based music with with either live or mimed performances, short films were used to fill band absences, this is what started the music promo.

The Beatles ' Strawberry fields forever' also made in the style of a short film, plays the song as well as featuring the band, but still does not have any performance aspect to it. However in this promo compared to Bob Dylan's, a range of different shots and effects have been used. Not much money was spent on this video as the idea of a music promo was not seen as a worthwhile thing.  

The Monkeys, were the first constructed band, it was there music and videos that established some of the main conventions for music promos such as: surrealism, jump cuts, wacky comedy, action plus performance. It was this band that introduced the idea of telling a story for song within the promo.
It was Mike Nesmith from the Monkeys' that came up with the idea for a promo based cable TV programme, this was the beginnings of MTV.

Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' were considered by some to be the first pop promo. They gave it free of charge to the networks. They were one of the first bands to sing along to the song in the music promo, and used a number of different special effects throughout the promo. This promo goes back and forth from the performance and studio based aspects of a music promo.


MTV was established in 1981, and grew rapidly in the US. The potential of this medium was quickly realised by different artists. Early audience demographics led to dominance of white acts/male rock. Whereas now that have expanded to allow a number of different MTV channels that specialise in a variety of different genres of music. MTV at the time tended to ignore a lot of black rap videos, most of these artists didn't have a large budget and tended to have some threatening content. It was Aerosmith and Run DMC 'Walk this Way' that provided a cross over and broke the white dominance on MTV. by 1983 MTV was firmly established as a key channel for the music industry. The company produced its own Oscars for music promos. As more music TV channels started appearing, MTV became more of a lifestyle orientated channel, and covered popular culture in television- e.g. film, music, tv ect. In the 1980s artists realised the effectiveness of a music promo and production budgets soared. Duran Duran 'Wild Boys' spent $1 million on their music promo.

Michael Jackson 'Thriller' was an influential music promo, it was directed by a film director, and cost him a small fortune, the promo itself starts as a movie, and its not until around half way through that the music and performance aspect of the video begins. This promo however was effective in boosting Michael Jackson's popularity around the world.


The present


Compared to then, there are now a much larger range of music channels that show a range of different genres, as well as these channels music promo can now be shown in a number of different places, showing convergence between different mediums such as the Internet.

Music Promo: Key Words

Illustration- Using the music promo to illustrate exactly what is being said in the song. 


Amplification- Taking one key idea/theme from the song and showing it in the music promo.


Disjuncture- Ignoring the song’s meaning or concept completely and instead, creating something completely unrelated to show the song (a more artistic type of video).


Intertextuality- Taking ideas from an exsisting text and showing it in the music promo. e.g. Robbie Williams in 'Let me entertain you' has make-up like the band Kiss.  

Conventions of a Music Promo: Mis-en-scene

Conventions of a Music Promo: Editing

Conventions of a Music Promo: Camera

http://prezi.com/wmuou86951fs/copy-of-conventions-of-a-music-promo/