Music Video Revision Pack

MEDIA STUDIES REVISION

MUSIC VIDEOS

There will be TWO questions …

One will be 9 Marks and may ask you about one music video.

One will be 20 Marks and may ask you to refer to both.

Time yourself accordingly. 

Roughly one minute per mark.

No Matter what the question is YOU KNOW what the marker is looking for:

Media Language and Media Representations.

Reference to a theorist or two.

So, what are we trying to prove?
That Media Producers make choices to REPRESENT an artist through MEDIA LANGUAGE.

Start by re watching Billie Jean.
Representations of Michael Jackson  as a brand and performer created by the Billie Jean Music Video; 

1. 1.)  Smooth
2. 2.)  In demand 
3. 3.)  Untouchable
4. 4.)   Famous
5. 5.)   understandable
6. 6.)   explanation
7. 7.)   objectified 

    Rewatch Letter to the Free.

Representations of Common created by the Letter to the Free Music Video;

1.)  Moral

2.)  Cares about key issues

3.)  Using his music to raise awareness

4.)  Political

5.)   Seen as objects not people

6.)   they are irrelevant

7.)   together/community

Next you have to back it up with Media Language;

So take some notes...

Letter to the Free

Cinematography	Mise En Scene	Editing
very slow crane shots show that they are drifting through life as they don't have a purpose anymore. establishing shots show where they are and that their is nowhere to run or hide from the situation.  We don't see anyone's face clearly (no close up shots) so we don't see their emotions .The USA sees black people as faceless and not human. the more unrecognizable they are all viewed the same by whites. the use of the long shot makes the artists appear small in the frame, implying their insignificance in society	The video is completely in black and white, displaying the seriousness of the situation and shows how old and long this inequality and racism has been going on for. They need equality They are dressed in really dark clothes  Everything is dictated with the writing on the wall which says "no excessive noise". Its contradicting because a basketball court should be noisy. Restricting black people from their rights, treated differently  A lot of the framing is behind bars	The black box is so en-captivating by there just being a fully still black box in the middle, the editing is still and the background is more or less empty with it just floating around The video is quite dull and it black and white which suggests separation and their differences. they don't belong together The Black box signifies how they are treated like objects. Also, there is a Jesus Cross on it and Jesus was treated unfairly like the blacks are today.

Billie Jean

Cinematography	Mise En Scene	Editing
it pans with him almost like it has to move to keep up with him.  the camera is stationary for the detective.  shot reverse shot- the different stories of the two people.	Micheal is a fully formed person we can see very little features shows that he is everyone.  they are two dimensional people shows that people are looking and watching him to mes up so they can get some attention.	lighting is used to show that he is untouchable. it is in black and white until he comes into shot to show that he is bringing light to the darkness. we see his feet first but the detective we see his face straight away. shows that he is more important then the other man. camera flash could be the paps with them not catching the real him split screen freeze frames to show that he is a star cuts between him spinning to show that we can't keep up with him.

What might they ask you about?
The social, political and historical context...

Go back to your notes on the documentary 13^th….

1 in 17 white males vs 1 in 3 black males likely to be incarcerated in the US. What about ALEC and the media surrounding the SUPER PREDATOR. The CCA profiting from prisons…

Go through and underline any key words about Media Language or representation that might get you some marks… 

The political context of Letter to the Free explores the mass incarceration of African-Americans. It focuses on the lack of freedom they have in prison, and the prejudice from stereotypes they receive for being put there in the first place. This context also represents the artist Common in a positive light as a campaigner for the issue that Black Americans were incarcerated in state prisons at an average rate of 5.1 times that of white Americans. This is reinforced through editing, cinematography and mise en scene.

Now have a go at writing your own example…

The political context of letter to the free 

Go through and underline any key words about Media Language or representation that might get you some marks… 

The topic of racism is presented as outdated through the use of cinematography since the whole music video is in black and white. This connotes how racism has been around for years, since before film and video footage even had colour. It also links to the times when the black civil rights movements were in an uprising in the 1960’s. Even today, things are still the same - black and white. This reinforces the idea that racism is alive and may continue to grow in the shadows of society.

Now write your own example try editing or mise en scene….

The main visual effect in the 'Letter to the free' is a black, inanimate object which is floating around the prison. This highlights that idea of injustice as from that use of editing, it suggests that the prisoners are nameless and will forever be trapped in prison, floating around aimlessly. The artist being inside the prison suggests a consensus with the prisoners creating the idea that he is a victim of the system himself. 

What was happening at the time?

Here is a timeline of the history of music videos… 

Plot Billie Jean and Letter to the Free on the timeline…

You might be asked how the music video genre has changed over time. 

A music video has always served as a promotional tool for an artist. (Media Representation)

Billie Jeanis promoting Michael Jackson as a brand and a performer (his dancing etc he is ‘untouchable’) whereas Letter to the Free promotes Common as caring for others (he is ‘of the people.’)

Some questions for you to practise on...Practise Question 1;

Music Videos are a tool that use media language to create representations about artists. Discuss with reference to your two close study products

Here’s how to answer this…

Music videos are seen as a promotion or advertisement of the artist. It creates a representation of an artist to market to an audience. This is reinforced through editing, cinematography and mise en scene.  

1.)        Letter to the Free promotes Common.

(back this up with evidence from cinematography, editing, mise en scene) 

2.)        Billie Jean is promoting Michael Jackson as an artist.

(back this up with evidence from cinematography, editing, mise en scene) 

Can you get Steve Neale in there? Can you reference Roland Barthes? (What does the black box signify?)

on other blogger document

Practise Question 2;

Steve Neal says Genre is instances of Repetition and difference. How does this apply to one of your Close Study Products?

Here’s how to answer this…

Music videos are seen as a promotion or advertisement of the artist. It creates a representation of an artist to market to an audience. This is reinforced through editing, cinematography and mise en scene.  Letter to the Free by Common Feat Bilaal effectively borrows conventions from other music videos to create a unique product.

Examples of how Billie Jeanmakes suggestions about the artist. (Reinforced through editing, mise en scene, cinematography.)

Examples of how Letter to the Freemakes suggestions about the artist. (Reinforced through editing, mise en scene, cinematography.)

on other blogger document

Now try these;

How does Common ft Bilaal’s; Letter to the Free use Media Language to make suggestions about the political context?

How does Billie Jean represent Michael Jackson as an artist? What does this have to do with the historical context?

To what extent is Michael Jackson’s Billie Jean an example of intertextuality?

What do the exam board say?

Product: Music Video – Letter to the Free – Common ft Bilal

Media Language  Detailed study of Letter to the Free should help students to develop an understanding of how music video can serve a range of functions while communicating multiple meanings.  Analysis should include:  • Mise-en-scene analysis  • Cinematography  • Semiotics: how images signify cultural meanings  • Aesthetics  Narrative  • How does Letter to the Free appeal to its target audience?  • How is the narrative being constructed by the song lyrics reinforced?  • How does the narrative position the audience?  • How can the narrative invite a range of responses?  • What pleasures does the narrative offer the audience?  • How is the narrative incorporating views and ideologies?  • What is the role of Common in the narrative?  Genre  • Identification of the conventions of the Performative music video.  • How music videos serve the needs of media producers  • How music videos meet the expectations of audiences  • Genre theory including Neale  Media Representations  Letter to the Free explicitly focuses on the history and contemporary experience of African Americans and allows for an exploration of the effect of social, cultural and political context on representations of ethnicity.  • Representation of ethnicity, with focus on how Common is a black man exploring black culture-specific issues.  • Use of specific historical and contemporary experience to construct a political narrative and argument  • The effect of social and cultural and historical contexts on representations of ethnicity • How representations invoke discourses and ideologies and position audiences • Representation of gender within the video and in the context of wider representations of women in the music industry • Representation of place • Common as celebrity persona • Theories of representation including Hall • Theories of gender performativity including Butler • Drawing on theories of Postcolonialism (Gilroy) Social, political, economic and cultural contexts Common is an Oscar and Grammy award winning hip/hop rap artist who wrote Letter to the Free as a soundtrack to The 13th – a documentary by Ava DuVernay named after the American 13th amendment (the abolition of slavery). His output is highly politicised, existing in the context of a variety of social and cultural movements aimed at raising awareness of racism and its effects in US society (e.g.: Black Lives Matter). The product can also be considered in an economic context through the consideration of if and how music videos make money (through, for example, advertising on YouTube). Product: Music Video – Billie Jean– Michael Jackson  What needs to be studied? Key Questions and Issues  Media Language  Detailed study of Billie Jean should enable students to demonstrate appreciation and critical understanding of the historical development of music videos and allow for social, cultural and political comparison with contemporary CSPs.  Analysis should include:  • Mise-en-scene analysis  • Cinematography  • Semiotics: how images signify cultural meanings  • Postmodernism  • How developing technologies affect media language  Narrative  • Construction of a narrative and links to song lyrics  • Narrative appeal and pleasures offered  • Audience positioning and invited responses  • Narratology including Todorov  Genre  • How the music video genre uses intertextuality and hybridity to establish meanings  • The historically relative and dynamic nature of genre.  • How music videos serve the needs of media producers  • How music videos meet the expectations of audiences  • Genre theory including Neale  Media Representations  The music video promoting the Michael Jackson song Billie Jean was the first to breakdown MTV’s racial barrier as the first video by a black artist to be aired in heavy rotation  • Analysis of Billie Jean can help develop an understanding of the processes of selection and combination which construct versions of reality • How representations invoke discourses and ideologies and position audiences  • Representation of gender within the video  • Representation of time and place  • Michael Jackson as celebrity persona including self representation  • Theories of representation including Hall  • Theories of gender performativity including Butler  • Drawing on theories of Postcolonialism (Gilroy)  Historical, social, political, economic and cultural contexts  Billie Jean is of historical significance in that it is most often referred to as the product which came to define the music video genre and the MTV generation. It was the first music video by a black artist to be featured on heavy rotation by MTV. It can be seen to reflect the changing social, cultural and political sentiments in relation to ethnicity in relation to music artists and society at large. The product can also be considered in an economic context through the consideration of if and how music videos make money (through, for example, advertising on YouTube) and how this has changed over time.   .

TO ADD-

GILROY-