Editing Techniques

One editing technique we could use in our video is the use of different effects on the clips. The Script use a black and white effect in their music video for their song 'Breakeven'. This gives a feel of unhappiness and a very dull mood. However, the effect is not used all the way through the video, the character is shown looking at video's on his phone of a girl who he maybe once had a relationship with, these video's are in colour which represent a mood change and maybe he is seeing the light with her.

Another editing technique that we could use is slow motion. This can help show emotions in clips but can also help focus the viewers attention an a significant part of a video. We could use slow motion to help show rejection in our video as it is our concept so it is very significant in showing the story behind the music.

Another editing technique we know we will use is stabilisation of the clip. As well as using a tripod to keep the shot steady, we will stabilise all clips we would like a steady shot for so that the shot looks professional.

We can also use transition effects between clips to make a smooth transition instead of jump cuts.   

Target Audience

We decided that we would give our questionnaire to 5 people from each age group so that we had a wide age range for our research and also we had a lot of data to decide our target audience. From our research we can see that the majority of the people we asked thought that the gender of the target audience should be mainly a female audience.
Another thing we can see from our research is that people think our age range should be between 16 and 30 years of age.

Target Audience Research

To research target audience the best thing to do was to play the song to as many different people as possible and see what they think of it. The best way of getting feedback from people is to ask them to fill out a questionnaire that we would have already prepared for them. This means that we can decide what questions we want to include on the questionnaire so that we are provided with the relevant information when receiving reviews from people. This is the questionnaire we created:

Target Audience Questionnaire

Erick Baker: ‘When will I be loved’

Age:               10-20             20-30             30-40             40-50             50-60

Favourite genera of music:

Hip-Hop / R&B                         -

Alternative Rock / Folk            -

Rock / Metal                             -

Jazz / Classical                        -

Dub step / Electro                   -

Pop / Dance                            -

Other…                                    -

Do you like Erick Baker’s song?

Yes                  No

Would you like to listen to more of his music?

Yes                  No

What age do you think the main audience of the song is? (tick as many as you like)

10-20             20-30             30-40             40-50             50-60             60+


What gender do you think the song is aimed at most?
Male              Female            Both male and female

We plan to give this questionnaire to 5 people from each of the age groups in our first question so that we have a variety of different ages. The information we gather will allow us to help decide on a target audience we will try and aim our video at.

Target Audience Prediction

I believe that the target audience for this song is males and females aged 16+. People don't usually have serious relationships until the age of 16 onwards so anybody younger than this may not be able to relate to the lyrics and the visuals very well. This may not be true for some people but it will apply to the majority of people under the age of 16. Most people at the age of 16 wont have experienced love and breakups to this extent yet but they may be able to relate to it having had some sort of experience with love before, even if they have only had small relationships they may be able to relate to the story and the song in some way. Teenagers dont experience true love and don't tend to be looking for love much until they grow up a bit more and start to leave school.

I don't think there is an age where you would be too old for this song. People can experience love, breakups and loneliness until the day they die so will always be able to relate to the song. Even the very few people who do not experience love in their lifetime will be able to relate to the loneliness aspect of the song.

I think the song would be mainly aimed at females however males will also relate to the song and enjoy the song. I think females listen to more music on the whole than males and this genre is one of the more popular genera's for a female audience. Female's usually show more emotion and are in touch with their feelings more than male's which would allow them to connect with the song more. However, the artist (Erick Baker) is male and the song is about him not being able to find love so its his own experiences. As it is a male writing the song, other males could also relate to it which means the target audience is male and female.

The song is part of an alternative rock/folk genre so the target audience would include people who like other songs from this genre. However, I don't think this sing is limited to just this target audience, the power of the lyrics and the story behind the song could touch people who's preferred genre is completely different from the alternative rock/folk genera belonging to this song such as Hip-Hop, R&B or Pop fans. I think the song relates to anybody and everybody that have shared the same sort of experiences as Erick Baker has.

Timeline

0.00-0.14: Danny's Bedroom
0.14-0.23: Lecture theatre
0.23-0.32: Ally's front door and driveway
0.32-0.38: Brasenose Drive, Kidlington
0.38-0.41: Cutteslowe park
0.41-1.02: Lyne Road, Kidlington
1.02-1.09: English classroom
1.09-1.19: Lecture theatre
1.19-1.36: Cutteslowe park
1.36-2.00: Lecture theatre
2.00-2.19: Cutteslowe park
2.19-2.25: Lecture theatre
2.25-3.18: Cutteslowe park
3.18-3.28: Lecture theatre
3.28-3.40: Cutteslowe park
3.40-4.14: Lecture theatre
4.14-4.46: Cutteslowe park

Callsheet

Directors: Danny, Shannon, Ally, Leah
Filming: Danny, Shannon, Ally, Leah
Shot Choice: Danny, Shannon, Ally, Leah
Actors: Ally, Shannon
Props: Phone, Guitar
Costume:
Shannon costume 1- Beige boots, black leggins, white vest, black top, beige jacket and scarf.
Shannon costume 2- Black shoes, denim jeans, white top, beige jacket and scarf.
Ally costume 1- Black & white shoes, beige chino's and red blue and white checked shirt.
Ally costume 2- Gray shoes, brown chino's and blue and red striped top.
Ally costume 3- Black & white shoes, beige chino's, black top, white sweatshirt and navy gillet.
Ally costume 4- Blue shoes, denim jeans, white top, blue jacket and navy gillet.
Shot Locations: Danny's bedroom. Ally's front door. Brasenose Drive, Kidlington. Lyne Road, Kidlington. Gosford Hill lecture theatre. Gosford Hill english classroom. Cutteslowe Park, North Oxford. 

Mise en scene research

The mise en scene in music video's of the same genera are usually quite similar so by researching some of the mise en scene used in these sorts of videos, we know what to include in our video so that it resembles the right genera. Three artists that I am going to look at for inspiration are 'The Script', 'James Morrison' and 'Adele'. By looking at the mise en scene in a video from each of these artists, I will be able to see what would and wouldn't be good to include when making our music video.


The Script- Breakeven
The first thing I noticed about this video is the black and white theme used throughout a lot of the video, however there are also coloured shots of the characters ex partner. The audience see the black and white theme as the feeling of unhappiness and loneliness, this is contrasted with the coloured scenes which signify happy times when the couple were still together. The contrast between the black and white clips with the clips in colour show the difference in moods, happiness and unhappiness, at different stages of his life. There is a glow effect put onto all the clips of when the two are still together, this gives the effect of it being a dream and in the past. As our song has the same sort of storyline as this, we could apply these effects to give the desired effect.
The clothing in the video changes throughout, however all the way through, the clothing is reasonably tight fitted and smart rather than being baggy and more scruffy looking. It is also plain clothing with no big logo's or stand out colours. Jeans and chino's are worn throughout the video by the males so this will be a thing to remember when choosing clothing for our video.
There is an on stage performance that include the use of a guitar, microphones, drums and a keyboard. The use of these props help to bring the genera through the video, these instruments are associated with the alternative rock genera. A mobile phone is also used as a prop, it is in the hand of the character through a lot of the video. This gives the audience the feel of desperation like he is waiting for a call from his ex partner maybe. It is also used as a way of showing video's remembering his ex partner.
The video has elements of a rural setting for parts of the video and a more urban feel for other parts of the video. some of the video is set in a house, there is a shot of the house from the front and it is a town house so this is a more urban setting. However, most of the flashbacks are set on the cost by the see, walking by the sea, this is more of a rural setting compared to the town house. The time of year the video seems to be set is the autumn / winter time,  this is because the main character is often wearing a jacket and a scarf which signifies it being quite cold outside.

James Morrison- Please Don't Stop the Rain
This video is set in a very rural environment, a field with nothing there but the character. This gives the effect of being all alone. However, he is always walking in the video in a straight line forward which tells the audience that even though he is all alone, he is on a journey and he knows where he is going. Quite a lot of slow motion is used throughout the video, this may be to help the tempo of the video match with the tempo of the music.
The clothing worn by James Morrison in the video is quite tight fitted and looks quite smart. The colours are very plain black and gray. This is something to look at when choosing the clothing to use in our video so that it has the same characteristics as other alternative rock video's.
The main two props used in the video are the dog and the sparks used as rain. The dog seems to be in the same sort of situation as the character, it may be being used to represent the character being out in the wild but can still look after its self going somewhere. Sparks are used to represent raindrops, these may have been used to make the raindrops more visible to the audience but also to make them look nicer. Rain is usally considered to be bad but as they are sparks not rain, it gives the effect that something good may come out of a bad situation.
The video is quite dark for a lot of it, not bright sunshine. This shows unhappiness. The technique of having a dark, shot or a black and white shot to signify unhappiness in the character is used in most video's, we have seen it in the script video and this video so far. it is very effective and would be a useful technique we could use to show unhappiness in our video.

Location Shots

We chose this location because we needed a front door to walk out of and this is the one out of our 4 houses that we thought had the best space outside to work with and the road outside was the one we wanted to use most so this went well with the road for continuity. This had a more open drive with no obstacles on it that would get in the way of filming so we could track the shot all the way across the driveway.

This is the road we decided to use, it is quite a long, flat stretch of road so it was easy to film on and see me at quite a distance for the shot we wanted. We wanted to use a jump shot of me walking down the road so a flat road is easier to see the progression I am making quickly. Also, as we already decided to use the house on this street to do the scene before, it would work better to use this street for the continuity of the video. We also liked the layout of the road as it looks like a more rural area compared to the other houses and streets we could have used.

We decided to use this bus stop for the rejection scene because it gives more of an urban feel to the shot, the scenery is not as nice here which is a contrast from the last outside location we used. This gives the sense that something is getting, or about to get worse in his life, this is backed up with the rejection of the phone call.

We decided to use this location for some lip syncing, we had an idea to project some flashbacks of a previous relationship onto a wall in the background with lip syncing going on in the foreground. The lecture theatre at our school had the perfect layout for what we needed, going up towards the back of the theatre there is a plain wall where we could project the film onto. We thought that with the character sat a few rows down from the back with the film being projected over the shoulder on the wall would give the perfect shot for lip syncing and give the sense that he is a long way away from the happy times playing in the film.

We decided to use this location for our rejection scene because it is a sofa area which looks very homely to represent the characters home. The character is sat on the sofa when she receives the phone call. It looks very realistic because she is lounging around on the sofa just like anyone would do at home.

We used this location for flashbacks and with me on my own to show the contrast between the two periods of time. In the flashbacks we used it as somewhere to show the two characters sat down talking when they were both happy together. This is a very rural place with the trees and bushes in the background. The autumn colours in these shots will help represent happiness and brightness in their lives back when they were together. There is a huge contrast when the flashback is followed by a solo shot of me on my own with a black and white effect on the clip, this represents the unhappiness in my life. We decided to use this bench instead of others around it because this is the one with the most colour around it.

 We decided to use this location because is a bright, sunny clip with the leaves on the trees it looks like a lovely place but with a black and white effect it looks all dark and gloomy and this represents the moods of the characters at the time.

We chose this location for a walking scene again because in the flashbacks, with the leaves on the trees it represents a happy mood but in contrast, in a solo shot with a black and white effect it brings the mood right down and shows how happy he was before compared to now. 

Contacting the artist

Email sent to the artist

The website, www.unsigned.com, that we discovered Erick Baker from included an email on the page to contact the artist.  

Reply
The reply e-mail contained the message below.

'We’d love for you to use Erick’s song – please send us a copy of the project so we can see it!'

However we could not display the whole e-mail because it contained personal information that we could not share due to the message also included in the email saying;

**This message may contain confidential and/or proprietary information, and is intended for the person/entity to whom it was originally addressed. Any publication or use by others of information herein is strictly prohibited and may be subject to legal action** 

Storyboard

The concept we want our music video to include is rejection. This is because the lyrics of Erick bakers song talk a lot about the love life of a man and how he is so unlucky in love. 

We have planned to start off our video as a normal day with the leading character leaving his home and walking down the road to start his day. We plan to do a long shot walking down the road into the distance to give the effect of walking away from everything. We then plan to have a long shot walking along a path with autumn trees in the background. The next shot we plan to do is an over the shoulder, tracking shot while walking to show it from a different angle walking to the bus stop. The next shot we plan to do is the one that will bring the concept across to the viewer. We plan a point of view shot looking at a phone which will be making a call to a partner of the man, which will be followed by a reaction shot of the partner seeing the call come through to her phone and rejecting it. This is the bit where our concept will be shown most and it will help bring the whole video together. The next shot we plan to shoot is a close up of a clock, fast forwarded to show that a lot of time has passed and the man is still feeling the same. For the next shot we plan to do a shot in a lecture theatre with a film playing on the wall behind the character showing flashbacks of happy moments the character had while he was in the relationships. This shows how the character used to be happy and everything used to bee good and now his relationship is over he cant move on. This shot will also have lip syncing in it. The final shot we plan to do is a shot of the character on a dark stage performing on his own with nobody in the audience. This would reflect the loneliness he is feeling and the unhappiness well.

Music Video- rough cut

This is our rough cut of our music video, I am going to analyse the video to see what areas we need to improve on, where are weaknesses are in the video. We kept the shot steady every time we needed it with the use of a tripod. We had the camera stood on the tripod for every shot that we wanted steady so that there was no camera shake and the tracking and zoom on every shot is very smooth and works well. For some shots we hand held the camera to give a certain effect which worked well.

We framed shots well throughout most of the video, making sure that we included everything into the shot that we needed to. There was one part of the video where framing the shot did not work well, 2.52 we had  the shot framed so that when I was lip syncing, the flashback film was playing in the background. But the film stopped playing so we had to zoom in so that you could not see the film ending in the background. This was well framed because we didn't want to include the film ending, but this was not a good looking shot so we may have to re-shoot this.   

We have used a variety of different shot distances throughout the video. Close-ups, extreme close-ups, medium shots and long shots. We used different shot distances where appropriate using them for different effects. As well as different shot distances, we also used different camera angles throughout the video to give different effects. Low angle shot, tracking shot, point of view shot, high angle shot and over the shoulder shot.

Most of the shooting material in our video is appropriate to the task set. However, there are some shots where when we looked back at the rough cut, as a group, we did not like so we will need to take these shots out. The shot at 2.33 is the main shot we do not feel fits in to our video very well. There are also some of the lip syncing clips that we feel we need to re-shoot. 

I feel that we have selected mise en scene well in the video including colour, costumes, lighting, setting, objects and figure. Costumes were based on alternative rock/folk genera so instead of wearing big baggy hoodies with big chains like you may have in a R&B video, I am wearing chinos or jeans and a checked shirt or a slim hoodie. Most of the video is set outside and we have used less built up areas and more woodland/park areas to go with the alternative rock/folk genera. The colour we've gone with is mainly a black and white theme for a lot of the video to represent the unhappiness and heartache. When we use flashbacks colour is used to represent happiness and we use a glow effect to also show happiness and to show that it is almost like a dream or a memory of old times. 

More work needs to be done to make the meaning more apparent to the viewer. The concept that we are trying to get through in the video is heartache, loneliness, rejection and unhappiness. This video does not reflect our concept very well so we need to edit the video with more contrasting shots between the flashbacks and what he's like now. The concept is not clear enough to the viewer yet.

We haven't used many shot transitions in the video, I think transitions would be a good thing to put in where the shot cuts between flashbacks and lip syncing or walking. This would help the viewer realise the difference in time between the two shots.

I think most of the lip syncing is good, well edited and in time with the music. There are a few shots where the lip syncing is out of time so this will need to be re-edited to sync the music with the visuals. The opening shot with the guitar playing is well synced in time with the music and it is a very good clip to open the video with during the instrumental.

When editing we all did it as a group making decisions that everyone agreed with. we made sure that everyone spent time physically doing the editing on the computer while everyone was making decisions as a group. As I was in all of the clips I couldn't do any of the filming, however, I did help make decisions on camera angles and shots as did the rest of the group. I think I will have to make sure we include a clip that I can film so that I am contributing in all areas. This will be hard to do as I am in every shot but we will need to decide on a shot that will go well where I am not involved so that I can film it for our final music video. The software we used for our editing was iMovie 11.

Mood Board for 'Erick Baker- When Will I Be Loved'

In this mood board I started with a gray background, I used this because I believe it represents the unhappiness in the song. I have used four words in my mood board 'Nobody', 'Hurt', 'Loneliness' and 'Heartache'. These are the feelings that I think the main character in the song will be sensitive to and it is what reflects on the audience when hearing the song. I have included a picture of a checkered shirt because this is the sort of mise en scene you would find in a traditional video from this genera. I have also incorporated a picture of a guitar because it is the main instrument used in the song. I have a few pictures of city areas because these are occasionally used in the setting of video's from the alternative rock genera, however I have also included a picture of a quiet rural area because this can also be associated with videos from an alternative rock genera. A lot of pictures also reflect the feeling of loneliness which is the main thing that is portrayed to the audience.

Lyrics Analysis

Lyrics

My crown of roses
Is filled with thorns
And the sleeve where my heart is
Is old and worn
I guess the time of my life
Is running late
And I don't know how much longer
I can wait

For your phone calls, four walls, at night fall in your bed
So my bruised ears will not hear this one clear thought in my head
When will I be loved

The older I get
The younger I want to be
Why do I fall
So Easily

For your phone calls, four walls, at night fall in your bed
Now my bruised ears can just hear this one clear thought in my head
When will I be loved
When will I be loved

Let's dance in the dust
Of another one of our days
I hope that tomorrow
I will find a way
I'll find a way

To your phone calls, four walls, at night fall in your bed
Now my bruised ears can just hear this one clear thought in my head
When will I be loved


Lyrics Analysis

My crown of roses,
Is filled with thorns
And the sleeve where my heart is
Is old and worn
I guess the time of my life
Is running late
And I don't know how much longer
I can wait


Lines 1, 3 and 5 are all describing something nice and this is contradicted by lines 2, 4 and 6 which describe how they are bad. Lines 1 and 2 are saying that something good that he used to have, the crown of roses, is no good any more because it is filled with thorns. Lines 3 and 4 could be suggesting that the love he used to have or the relationship he used to have is no longer, it is old and worn. Lines 5 and 6 are saying that the time of his life when he is happy in a relationship has not come yet and it will soon be too late, lines 7 and 8 are saying he doesn't know how much longer he can wait to meet a partner and be happy.

For your phone calls, four walls, at night fall in your bed

So my bruised ears will not hear this one clear thought in my head
When will I be loved

Carrying on from the verse before he doesn't know how much longer he can wait for his dream girlfriends phone calls, to move in with her and to be in her bed at night. Then lines 2 and 3 of this verse are just saying how he has this reoccurring thought in his head asking himself when he will be loved, he doesn't want to ask himself this any more, he just wants to know the answer.


The older I get

The younger I want to be
Why do I fall
So Easily

The older he gets the younger he wants to be because as he gets older, he is running out of time to find his dream girlfriend. Him asking himself why he falls for people so easily suggests he has not had a very good love life so far and he falls for people that break his heart and let him down.

For your phone calls, four walls, at night fall in your bed

Now my bruised ears can just hear this one clear thought in my head
When will I be loved
When will I be loved

This is the chorus again but he is now relating it to previous relationships. In the first line this time he is asking himself why he has fallen so easily in previous relationships for their "phone calls, four walls, at night fall in your bed". Lines 2 and 3 are now saying that all he can hear now in his head is him asking himself when he is going to be loved, he is blaming this on his previous relationships, he got heartbroken from them and now he doesn't know when he will be loved again. The extra "When will I be loved" really shows how much this means to him and how it is on his mind all of the time.

Let's dance in the dust

Of another one of our days
I hope that tomorrow
I will find a way
I'll find a way

There is a change in tempo of the song for this verse, the tempo raises and where the song up to this point has reflected unhappiness in the artist, it is now showing a glimpse hope of hope and belief in the artist. This hope is shown in the lyrics where he is saying he will find a way, he then repeats the line to assure himself.

To your phone calls, four walls, at night fall in your bed
Now my bruised ears can just hear this one clear thought in my head
When will I be loved

The tempo then drops again to close the song, the chorus is repeated but the hope is till there. In the first chorus he was aiming it on his next relationship in a negative way, then the second chorus he was aiming it at previous relationships in a negative way, and in the last chorus he is aiming it at the next relationship in a positive way, positive that he will find a way to make it work. 

The Song 'Erick Baker- When Will I Be Loved'

The song we have chosen to make a video for comes from an unsigned solo singer from an acoustic/folk genera Erick Baker. We found the artist on the website www.unsigned.com and were attracted to his genera and style of song. He sings the same sort of genera of music as James Morrison or Adele. Erick Baker had 3 songs on the website that we listened to and eventually we decided on his track 'When Will I Be Loved'. We chose this song because we thought the lyrics told more of a story than the other two songs did. The story of the song was about somebody heartbroken and throughout our research this is what we had learnt most about so we had a lot of ideas that we thought we could make a good video for this song.

Auteur Theory

I am going to analyse one director through a number of his videos that he has shot to see what different techniques he uses in all of his videos. The director that I am going to analyse is Robert Hales, he is a music video director and graphic designer from the UK. He has directed music videos by artists such as Jet, The Veronicas, Fuel, Stereophonics, The Donnas, Justin Timberlake, Nine Inch Nails, Miley Cyrus, Gnarls Barkley and Crowded House.

There are a few similarities between the videos that the director likes to use. Firstly, we can see that Hales likes to use a black and white effect on his videos. Janet Jackson, The Jonas Brothers and N.E.R.D all have the black and white themes throughout. Another similarity is between the video of The Jonas Brothers and N.E.R.D. These two videos follow the theme of a performance at a gig. It looks like footage from one of their concerts has been put together to create their videos. Hales also likes using special effects, green screening and camera trickery, he uses these in the video of Gnarls Barkley, Justin Timberlake, Janet Jackson and N.E.R.D.
These are just a few links to show how 1 director likes to use different effects through the different videos he directs.

Goodwin's Theory of Analysis

Andrew Goodwin in his book on the rise of MTV, 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' (1992), identifies a number of key features which distinguish music video as a form:

• Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (with the visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics).
• Relationship between the music and the visuals (with the visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music).
• Particular genres having their own music video style (such as live stage performance in heavy rock).
• There is a demand on the pert of the record company for lots of close ups of the main artist/vocalist.
• Iconography developed by the artist that might become part of their image.
• Reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, but also in systems of looking.  
• Inter-textual references.

When analysing music videos for research, I have made sure I have considered Goodwin's 7 points in my analysis. This has helped me to understand the video better and understand why the director shot the video the way he did, with the mise-en-scene used, camera angles used, links to the lyrics, music and visuals used. I have used Goodwin's theory in the video analysis' below.

Textual Analysis and Star Analysis of Adele

Star Analysis of 'Adele'

Adele was born to a single mum in Tottenham in 1988. Adele started singing at the age of 4 and claims that the Spice Girls were a major influence to her music career and they gave her the love and passion for music. At the age of 11, Adele and her mother moved to West Norwood in South London. West Norwood is the subject for Adele's first record, "Hometown Glory", written when she was 16. After moving to South London, she became interested in R&B artists such as Aaliyah, Destiny's Child and Mary J. Blige. Adele graduated from The BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon in May 2006. She recorded a 3 track demo for a class project and gave it to her friend who posted it on Myspace, It was very successful and this lead to her being contacted by XL Recordings. She didn't know if they were genuine because the only record label she had heard of was Virgin Records. Adele eventually got signed by XL Recordings in September 2006. Her breakthrough song "Hometown Glory" was released in October 2007.She became the first recipient of the BRIT AwardsCritics' Choice and was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2008 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2008.

Adele released her debut album '19' in January 2008, it entered the chart at the top spot. She named the album after the age she was when she was recording the album. It didn't stay at the top spot for long but after an appearance on 'Saturday Night Live' the album topped the iTunes charts. At the Grammy Awards in 2009, Adele won awards in the categories of Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. She was also nominated in the categories of Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Adele was also nominated for three Brit Awards in the categories of Best British Female, Best British Single and Best British Breakthrough Act. In 2010, Adele received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for 'Hometown Glory'.

Album Cover of Adele's debut album '19'.

Adele released her second studio album '21' on 24 January 2011. '21' made number 1 in 18 countries, including the United States. Up until June 2011, Adele had sold 2.5 million copies and 992,000 digital copies of 21 in the United States, making it the best-selling album in both categories in the first half of 2011. The album also hit number 1 in the UK album chart selling 208,000 copies in its first week making it the highest selling January release in the past five years. The album spent 11 consecutive weeks before being knocked off the top spot by 'The Foo Fighters- Wasting Light'. However a week later, the album regained the top spot and stayed there for a further 5 weeks. In July a single off of '21' called 'Someone Like You' set a record having become the first song to sell over a million copies in the UK this decade. In September the album sold over 3 million units and Adele became the first artist in the UK music history to hit 3 million sales of an album in one calender year.

Album Cover of Adele's second album '21'

Textual Analysis of 'Adele- Chasing Pavements'

The video that I am analysing is 'Adele- Chasing Pavements'. This is a single off of her debut album '19'. The video is directed by Matthew Cullen and set in Hyde Park in London. The song belongs to a Soul/Blues/Pop genera. The characteristics of these genera's that this video has is that it is set outside. Also the clothes worn by the characters add to the characteristics of the genera.

A re-occurring link between the lyrics and visuals are where the lyrics say 'Should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements'. These lyrics happen in the chorus of the song so they come up a total of 6 times during the duration of the song. Most of the video is set around a strip of pavement that has the two casualties from a car accident on, every time the chorus is played and the lyrics are sung the shot cuts to a birds-eye view of the couple laid on the pavement who then perform a laying down dance routine. 

Most of the song has a very slow tempo with very little background music behind the voice, this is represented on screen with the visuals being slow tempo. Movement in the shots and cutting between camera shots are slow to go along with the pace of the music. However, the tempo of the music, amount of background music and volume of the music all increase for the chorus, this is represented in the visuals with the birds eye view of a dance routine being performed by the couple laid on the pavement, this shows an increase in tempo because there only slow movements for most of the video with no performance aspects but when the music increases for the chorus the performance aspect is introduced with the dancing.   

Throughout the video, there are often close ups shots when the artist singing along to the track. She does not do this for the whole video, only parts. At the 0.11 in the video is where the singing starts, this is where the first close up is shown. The close up here shows the seriousness of the lyrics and grabs the attention of the audience as soon as the music starts. You could say that the record company may be using close ups as a way of selling the track, to sexualise the artist. A lot of Adele's songs are about her being heartbroken and looking for love, this is the image of the artist that is being offered.

The artist could be believed to be on sexual display in this video due to the close ups and the amount of time the artist is on screen. For people who find the artist attractive, the use of a lot of close ups will help sell the music. However, the artist is not wearing very revealing clothing and there is not any dancing or anything else which would suggest that the artist is being sexualised. The video is based on a car crash and for a lot of the video the artist is looking at the casualties of the car crash and just watching what is happening to them. It is almost like she is narrating on the video and not playing a part in the action that is happening.

This video is partly narrative based and partly concept based, 90% narrative to 10% concept. The narrative based aspect to the video comes from the car crash, There is a couple that crash into a tree and it ends up that they are both laying on a pavement by the tree. When the chorus of the song is played the two laid on the pavement perform a little dance sequence while laying down down, at this point a birds eye view shot is shown so it looks like they are performing a normal dance stood up. They then get help from paramedics once they have gone back to their original state after the chorus is played. The concept part of the video comes from the line 'Should I give up'. The people involved in the car crash are the characters that illustrate this line. every time the line is sung, they go from a state of no movement looking very injured after they have been involved in a car crash, to moving and dancing, not giving up on each other.

To summarise the video, it is a very quiet video which allows the audience to concentrate on the music and lyrics in the song rather than having to concentrate too much on what's happening in the video. It is a simple video that is very easy to understand. The video mainly focuses on the story of the couple that are involved in the car crash, however it also has elements of lip singing in it.

Star Analysis and Textual Analysis of 'James Morrison'

Star Analysis of 'James Morrison'

James Morrison was born in the town of Rugby in 1984. He grew up surrounded by music with his mother a keen listener of soul music and his father a fan of folk and country music. His uncle got him into playing the guitar as a child and he pursued his interest in this throughout his childhood. After years of covering songs by other artists he started to write his own music. He attributes his distinctive voice to a severe bout with whooping cough that nearly killed him when he was a baby. Doctors gave him a 30% chance of survival from this illness, and if he did survive there would be a high chance of being servilely brain damage. There was one time where he went blue and stopped breathing, doctors had to resuscitate him four times. He used to get bullied at school for being so into his music rather than being interested in sport, this all changed when he moved to Cornwall in his teens where people accepted his passion for music and he gained confidence. When he got a bit older is where his musical career started to break through where when working in Derby, he found an Irish bar that had an open mic night on Wednesday and Sunday nights, he met Kev Andrews at one of these nights who later helped produce James' demo tape.

James Morrison released his debut album 'Undiscovered' in July 2006. The album topped the UK album charts within the first week of its release selling over one million copies around the world making him the UK best selling male solo artist on 2006. In 2007 he was nominated for 3 BRIT Awards: Best British Male Solo Artist, Best British Breakthrough Act and Best British Single. He managed to win the Best British Male Solo Artist award. There was a total of 2 top 10 singles from this album.

Album Cover of James Morrison's debut album 'Undiscovered'.

James' second album was released in September 2008. 'Songs for You, Truths for Me' reached number 3 in the UK album chart and managed to stay in the top 10 for a total of 5 weeks. 20 weeks after its first release, the album found its self back in the top 10 at number 4 and then the next week at number 5 again, this helped boost the album up the Irish album chart all the way to the top spot making it his second number 1 album. He worked with a lot of different people in his second album including a duet with the Canadian superstar Nelly Furtado on the track 'Broken Strings'. This song managed to get to number 2 in the UK singles chart and was the highest charting single on the album.


Album Cover for James Morrison's second album 'Songs For You, Truths For Me'.

On September 26th 2011 he released his third studio album, 'The Awakening' it managed to get number 1 in the UK Album Chart.


Album Cover for James Morrison's third album 'The Awakening'.

Textual Analysis on 'James Morrison- Undiscovered'


The video I am analysing is 'Undiscovered' by the pop rock artist 'James Morrison'. The song I am analysing is from Morrison's debut album 'Undiscovered'. The genera of the track is pop rock, the only way this genera is really shown in the video is with how James Morrison is dressed.

The video shows quite a few links between the lyrics and the visuals. The first this happens is 0:46 in where the lyrics say 'I just want you to find me' and at this time in the video the star man accidentally bumps into a woman and it is like the woman has found him just like it says in the lyrics. However, the video contradicts these lyrics just after when the woman actually walks off away from the man. Another example is at 2:35 where the lyrics say 'Were all the same as each other', at this time, the video shows the man discovering a little window where his heart is just as everybody else in the video has had, this shows that he is the same as everybody else just as the lyrics are saying. One last example of this at the end of the video at 3:12, this time the lyrics contradict the video, 'I'm not lost, no, just undiscovered'. In the video the man actually gets discovered by the same woman as in the start of the video, the two then walk off together, this shows the contradiction where the lyrics say undiscovered but the video shows him being discovered.

There are not many links between the music and the video. The only one that that was obvious is at 2:50 the music changes slightly where a lot of backing vocals are added for the chorus. The rest of the video has just James Morrison's vocals and this links to the video by there being mainly only the one single man, however where the backing singers start to kick in there is suddenly lots of people all in the video and it is all quite hectic and busy just like the music.

There are a lot of close ups of James in this video which suggests that the record company may be trying to sell the music on the looks of the artist. Women that think James Morrison is good looking would like that this video has lots of close ups of his face. The artist is being presented as heartbroken, it is like he is singing about himself in the song with a character playing his role in the story within the video. He is singing about not being discovered yet by women, saying he needs to find a woman. This may also help towards the selling of the track with women feeling sorry for the artist and buying the record. Most videos by James Morrison involve him doing a lot of singing to the camera, this is a star image motif that is shown across most of the videos.

I get the impression that the artist is on sexual display from this video. There are a lot of close ups of his face during the video which could be seen as a selling point for the artist. However, nothing else but the close ups in the video suggest this, it is not also represented by anything like the costumes, dance routines or anything else.

This is a narrative based video. The story to the video mainly involves the well dressed man and the blonde woman that bump into each other near the beginning of the video. When they bump into each other there is a spark between them but they both walk off in opposite directions, the man thinks he should go back for her so he turns round but because she is walking off he thinks better of it. The man starts to walk off again and walks off screen. However, he re enters the other side of the screen, he soon realises that he can not leave. various other people enter the screen and everybody has a small window on their chest. The man just has an old looking, dirty, broken heart in his window. There are lots of other people that are shown such as young couples with bright, gleaming hearts in their windows. He just wants to find love to complete his heart again and at the end of the video this is what happens and he manages to leave the place with the girl that he missed out on at the beginning of the video. I think this is 100% narrative based.

In summary, this is a narrative based video all about a man trying to find love. This is used because a lot of people could relate to the video and it shows the man eventually finding love which gives everybody relating to the video hope that there is someone out there. The video is very effective in the effect it gives to the audience.

Star Analysis and Textual Analysis of 'The Script'

Star Analysis of 'The Script'
The Script are an Irish alternative rock band from Dublin. Based in London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic, the band released their eponymous debut album in August 2008.

Two of the members of the band started off in their own band called 'mytown' formed in 1996, their work quickly got noticed and the band were invited to Canada to work with some major record producers such as Dallas Austin, Montell Jordan and Teddy Riley. The band were then based in the US for many years after this. However, they moved back to their hometown of Dublin where they recruited Glen Power for their new band. The trio managed to Produce three songs in the space of one week. The band signed to Phonogenic in 2005, and released an EP on Last.FM. The band's influences include a diverse group of artists that include U2, The Police, The Neptunes, Timbaland, and Van Morrison, all of which contribute to their distinct sound.

The Script released their debut single "We Cry" on 14 April 2008, it was given 'song of the day' by Jo Wiley on BBC Radio 1. The track managed to get to number 15 in the UK Singles Chart and number 9 in the Irish Singles Chart. Their second single, 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved', was released on 15 September 2008. The single reached number 2 in both the UK and Irish singles chart. The band released their debut album on 11 August 2008, this was named 'The Script'. The album reached number 1 in the UK Album Chart with sales of 20,240 copies. The album spent three weeks in the top ten and was the eighteenth best selling album in the UK of 2008.The album also went to number 1 in Ireland. The Irish office of Sony BMG music presented the group with their first multi-platinum disc for over 600,000 sales of this album.
The Script received an award at the World Music Awards for 'Best Selling Irish Act' of 2008.

'The Script' album cover.


The second album was released by the script on the 13th September 2010. 'Science and Faith entered both the Irish and the UK album chart at number 1 selling 70,816 copies in its first week in the UK. The album also managed to reach number 2 in the Australian album chart and number 3 in the US album chart. It was a huge success worldwide.


Album cover from the second album released by The Script, 'Science and Faith.


Textual Analysis of 'The Script- Before The Worst'


The video I am analysing is 'Before The Worst' by the the Irish alternative rock band 'The Script'. The song is from their debut album 'The Script'. This video is directed by Paul Minor. The song has an alternative rock genera and this comes across in the video with the clothes that each of the band members are wearing and also the instruments used in the video.


There are not many links between the lyrics and the visuals in this song because a lot of the video involves the band members performing a sound check before a concert. The only link I noticed in the song is the song is talking about before the worst and the video uses the concept of 'before'. This is shown when they are doing the sound check 'before' the concert in the video, and he is in Ireland 'before' everyone else when the streets are empty.


There are not many relationships between the the music and the visuals in the song. There are small parts where the camera cuts to the beat of the song, this happens at some points in the video when the lights go down and there are spotlights on behind the band. After this part of the video the lead singer is in Ireland without any people there and it gives a very calm feel, this is used because at this time in the video the music is an instrumental so it is also very calm. this is an example of the video changing pace with the music.


There are a lot of close ups with all of the band members in the song. The band is aimed at mainly women because a lot of woman find the band members attractive, this is a big selling point for the record label and the band, this is why they include a lot of close ups in the video. All videos by 'The Script' seem to have the concept of a heart broken guy. The lead singer always seems to have relationship problems and this has also been included into the lyrics of this song.


The majority of the video is of the band performing a sound check on stage in an arena before a concert. They may have used this idea in the video to promote themselves as a bend and promote their concerts. People could see this video and decided that the band would be great to see in concert from the scale of the venue that they are performing at in the video. They also could have used a concert setting to give the audience an idea that they are a major band. It suggests that they want to be seen as a major artist that plays at huge venues in front of thousands of people.


I get the sense that the artist is on sexual display in this video, there are a lot of close ups of the lead singer and this would appeal to the bands target audience because a lot of women find this man attractive. The fact that he seems single from the types of songs that he sings also helps because women think maybe they have a chance to be with the lead singer. This would help them to sell singles.


This music video is both performance based and concept based. The performance based aspect of it comes from them doing the sound check before a concert. They are up on stage as a band performing the song just as they would be doing when performing the song in the concert. The concept based aspect of it is where they keep everything being before as I have already mentioned, when they are doing the sound check before the concert in the video, and he is in Ireland before everyone else when the streets are empty. I think that it is more performance based than concept based but it does have elements of concept in it.


To summarise this video up, I would say that it focuses a lot on the fact that the lead singer has broken up with his partner and is now single, they also show a lot of close ups of him. They use these two techniques to appeal more to their target audience, putting the band on sexual display will appeal to the women and the fact that he is not good with love will make the audience feel sorry for him. This is all used to target a female audience and get a lot of sales. I think this video is very effective.