Potential Artists to Use

Artist Research- Potential artists to use

When I began the search for my artist, I didn't think it would be that challenging. I am the manager of a local band called 'The Episodes', so therefore thought it would be relatively simple to find the right song of theirs to use. I knew getting permission from the band would not be a problem, and they would be able to partake in the video.

The Episodes

The Episode are a 4 piece band from hight barnet and Luton. They formed just over a year ago and are already making their name big in the industry. The episodes have a very indie sound about them crossed with a funk element. Many people have compared them to artists such as Kings Of Leon, Arctic Moneys and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I fell as if this would be a good band for me to use due them being a small time band that i know through personal questions so it would be possible to meet them and incorporate them in the music video. However, the band has only released a small number of songs and none of them have the anthem effect of a single, and so for this reason I don't feel as if they are the right band/genre for my music video.

After realising I wanted to use a different approach to a music video than that the songs by 'The Episodes' allowed me, my search became difficult. I spent a whole evening searching through my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in the hope to find a young artist willing to let me make them a music video. Unfortunately, this wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. On the bus on my way home from school one day, I was flipping through my iTunes and came across a song I used to be obsessed with. I began to think of many ideas that would look good with the song. I, optimistically, decided to chance it and contact the singer to see if he would let me use his song. 10 minuets after I emailed Josh Records manager I was given the thumbs up and my project could begin.

Chris Cunningham- Auteur Theory

Chris Cunningham

Chris Cunningham is a British music video film director and video artist. Chris has worked on many projects and has produced; music video’s, video art, short films, commercials, music production, photography, and a novel.

Cunningham is known for his warped style and disturbing imagery, he has worked and produced music videos for the likes of; Aphex Twins, Bjork, Placebo and Madonna. He has won multiple awards, including break through video at the MTV awards for his video ‘All in love.’ As well as producing music video he also produced commercials for; Gucci, Play station and orange.

I believe that nearly all of Chris Cunninham videos include fast paced editing and sharp cuts, which are used to disorientate the audience and create confusion, mystification and a non-linear narrative. Cunningham’s videos reflect a horror genre by using gothic imagery such as; black crows.

His videos tend to use lots of canted camera angles and nearly all the camera work seem to be hand held to create more dramatic, dizzying movement.

All of his videos use strange, unrealistic objects, sequences and people. The CGI editing used to morph people into horror characters creates individuality, as this is not typical of a mainstream music video.

In class we looked at Chris Cunningham’s music video for the Aphex Twins, this video is a great example of Cunningham’s auteur signatures.

 This video seems to be inspired by the horror genre as there are several elements to the video which reflect it such as; creepy children, the evil spirit, the thin creature and also the settings are; grungy, derelict, gloomy because of the low light and shadows created. There is fast pace editing to reflect and illustrate the action and also to build tension and confuse and create excitement for the audience. 

Canted camera angles such as the shot is that is rotated to it’s side, creates confusion for the audience but it also looks creative and arty as Cunningham has used editing software to create a TV image with bad signal which mesmerises the audience. As well as canted camera angles Cunningham uses nearly all hand held camera work as this creates the illusion of chaos, thrill and excitement.

Madonna- Frozen by Chris Cunningham

As I am investigating auteur’s I have decided to look at ‘Frozen’ music video to see if there are any similarities to Come to daddy which suggests that Chris Cunningham is an auteur of music videos as he will have signature things which makes him recognisable.

-       The most distinctive auteur signature of Cunningham is the horror genre inspiration. Horror is obvious a big influence on him as both Frozen and Come to daddy have horror tones to them. This video particularly represents this by using; Madonna becoming ravens, dark imagery is shown, the lighting is very dark but also calming in a sense. Finally the way Madonna is dressed is rather gothic as you can see she is wearing black floating garments. The editing is illustrated by the beats and rhythm of the song, so when the song sped up so did the video which creates, tension and excitement.

  

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

To correctly analyse and grasp Goodwin's theory I am going to apply it to a music video case study. "LDN" is a song by British recording artist Lilly Allen which was released in the UK on 25 September 2006. This song was number 30 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. “LDN” is a pop song that talks of Allen describing a bicycle ride through her hometown of London. Set to a cheerful tune, the lyrics first appear to describe an innocent scene, "A fella looking dapper, and he's sittin' with a slapper", but follow up revealing a less glamorous reality, "Then I see it's a pimp and his cr*ck wh*re."

Theory

Analysis

1)    There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals 2)    Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics 3)    There is a relationship between music and visuals 4)    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)   5)    There is frequent reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes) and particularity voyeuristic treatment of the female body.  6) There is often intertextual reference to films, TV Programmes, other music videos etc.

Goodwin’s theory indicates that the music and the lyrics usually go hand in hand. An example from “LDN” is when Lilly Allen sings ‘There were people from the city havin' lunch in the park I believe that is called al fresco’ we are then able to see who Lilly is talking about and then the people eating in the park. The theory also states that dependent on the genre certain aspects are usually repeated throughout. The genre of “LDN” is pop. Examples from the video are shots of Lilly Allen walking around in a vibrant red dress, which would not be worn on a typical day out. Lilly allen is also shot dancing and spinning around having a good time. This gives it a pop feel. During the chorus of lilly Allens song there is a small chime sound that is repeated. As this is done the images in the music video change from being a plesant image such as a sweet on the floor, to an old cigarette butt. By doing this it engages the audience straight away and interests them. Another aspect of the theory is, a lot of close-ups of the main artist. Artists that have a large fan base regularly feature in their videos to create a personal connection. In the first 0.05 seconds of the video, we get a close up of the main artist, Lilly Allen. This has been done purposely to show the audience who they are watching. The effectiveness of the use of a close-up creates more of a personal relationship to the fans; they will feel as if they are being sung to personally. Therefore the more eye contact the artist gives, the more engaged and wanted the audience will feel. In this music video, Goodwins theory of voyeurism plays less of a part, due to the artist being a female and a femininst. However, although the artist does not use sexual images of women, she does include sexualisations and derogatory terms for women in one part of the song. Lilly allen sings "A fella looking dapper, and he's sittin' with a slapper"- the use of the word slapper to describe a women is thought of as demeaning and unfair considering the woman in the video is not your stereotypical ‘slapper’, but perhaps Allen did that on purpose for a sense of irony. She then goes on to sing "Then I see it's a pimp and his cr*ck wh*re." and the video shows the man acting violent towards the woman. A final aspect of Goodwin’s theory is intertextual references. In the video we can see 2 noticeable references the first is of the re cord shop which Lilly Allen is in, it is shown many times during the video, and the outside of the shop is used in the very beginning of the video. A second reference is of the mobile that she is using. Ath the time when this video was released that mobile phone would have been thought of a really good. These types of shots advertise to the audience and make them wish to purchase the same items that are in the videos, which then allows the audience to feel as if they are the same as the artists.