Adele - Hello

Although I have decided on my song and have already begun to plan what I envisage for my video, I feel that a post on Adele's new song and video 'Hello' from her album 25 is vitally important in contemporary media practise as she has made such an impact with this piece of work. 'Hello' is the first release by Adele in three years, following the release of 'Skyfall'. Adele was very careful with the marketing strategy for her single, to be followed by the album. The profile of the album was kept low, and was unexpected, a very different strategy to other artists who promote their forthcoming albums on social media and advertising for months before a single is released, for example Justin Bieber's 'What Do You Mean'.


Adele kept the release under wraps, a promotional advertisement of the video was viewed on the 12th October, in an advertisement break of The X Factor on prime time UK television, a clever tactic in of itself given the estimated 6.8 million viewers watching. The clip itself was only a 30 second promo of her new material, as can be seen from the screen shot the clip was very minimalistic containing only the lyrics of the song written in white, to contrast the black background - whilst the audience listened to Adele singing the first part of the song. This was an incredibly clever marketing technique as it built hype, the buzz surrounding Adele and her music was created a full ten days before the release of the song.

This is the only post Adele made on her social media before the release of the song 'Hello', it is so effective given its honesty, Adele connects with her fans through her realism and the personalisation of the letter makes the fan feel connected to Adele and her life - all creating hype surrounding the release of her song/ album. The song 'Hello' was released on the 22nd of October 2015 and broke several records. The result of Adele's marketing tactics and the effect of keeping the audience in suspense resulted in explosive gain for Adele and the video currently has over 222 million views. 'Hello' broke the Vevo record for the most amount of views in 24 hours, with over 27.7 million views, eclipsing Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' which previously held the record. Perhaps most impressively is the other record of reaching 100 million views on YouTube within 5 days, a record previously held by Miley Cyrus for the controversial, 'Wrecking Ball'.

There is definitely a sense of synergy within Adele's work, her album covers are a prime example of this as they show a sense of progression. The same style of shot is used, an artistic close up or extreme close up is the focus of the cover to emphasise Adele's status as the artist. The editing of the albums are important also, much of Adele's work and her album covers have a black and white effect, there is convergence between this and the sepia effect throughout Adele's 'Hello'. A black and white effect is very classic, and minimalistic and this has become a kind of motif for Adele, therefore the new album cover is an example of convergence, it is instantly recognisable to fans to be the work of Adele, and is a continuation of Adele's successful 'branding' as an artist.  

Permission

Having chosen a song that I love and would like to use, it is vital that I get the original artist, Ludovico Einaudi's permission for me to use his work to avoid any issues with copyright, ownership and plagiarism. Einaudi is represented by Decca Records, a subsidiary of one of the Big Three, Universal Music Group. Therefore, having researched the procedure for gaining permission to use a song, I will email Decca Records to ask for permission to use the song 'Nuvole Bianche' by Ludovico Einaudi.

The above screenshot is the email that I sent to Decca Records, the email contained a list of information that is required on the website and I was sure to emphasise that my music video will not make a profit. I also commented that Ludovico Einaudi will be referenced on my blog, and stressed to be the true artist of the song.

-Artist
-Title and Year of Recording
-Link to Recording/Album
-Catalogue Number
-Country Track was published in
-Description of Use

The above list is what Decca Records published on their website as key things to include in the email when requesting permission to use one of their artist's tracks.

I received a reply from Decca Records, I am free to use the song as long as the video is not published in a public domain. Therefore, as a result I will not be posting my finished music video on my blog but it will be copied on to a private DVD. However, I will be documenting the process with regular posts and screenshots.

The Original Artist

Ludovico Einaudi

The artist whose work I will be using is Ludovico Einaudi. Einaudi is a an Italian pianist and composer who works as a mainly classical composer, but incorporates elements of different musical genres such as pop and rock into his pieces to keep his music relevant. Einaudi has a large online presence. Einaudi has a very informative, extensive website which gives his fans lots of information. The website is in Italian, given Einaudi's nationality, but this is not an issue as google automatically translates all writing to English. 

The link for Einaudi's website is below; 

http://www.ludovicoeinaudi.com/default.asp

The website is fully functional, it is well set up with clear topic headings and sub headings to take the viewer to different sections. 

Einaudi has a live feed with news of concerts, upcoming albums, tours, Television appearances and events that he will be attending which is a vastly beneficial feature. 

There is a section on the website which is entitled, 'Bio' this consists of his family background, experience in the industry and influences for his music.

The contacts section of the page allows the audience to contact his management for bookings and different concert offices. 

The music section has links to the albums available to buy, the score music which can be bought to play, the soundtracks/ scores and videos on Youtube which Einaudi has composed for, and lastly a list of Einaudi's works. 

Lastly, the media element of the website, has links to photos, a discussion forum for fans, a press section which details Einaudi's reviews/ interviews and videos of Einaudi's such as interviews and time lapses/ performances. 

The website contains informative videos such as this which give a behind- the -scenes look at the artist. The clip above contains Einaudi explaining the inspiration behind his new track, and playing exerts of it for the camera. 

Interviews with the artist

The music blog, 'The Seventh Hex' interviewed Ludovico Einaudi regarding his album, 'Elements' published in August 2015. The interview discusses the creative process which allowed Einaudi to create his newest album; how Einaudi is inspired by other artists and how, despite his massive success he tries to stay true to the simple idea of communicating emotion through his music, that he used in the beginning, and throughout his career. 

Please follow the link to the full interview below,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPIVMT9Tr6U 

Einaudi has often been interviewed in other forms of media, such as online in magazine articles and newspaper spreads. To promote his newest album 'Time Lapse', Einaudi was interviewed for the Times, whereby he was called "The inventor of 'atmospherica'". The interviewer also noted how Einaudi brings a fresh, modern twist on classical music, which makes it relevant to the music scene, Adam Sweeting noted that, "somehow Einaudi’s music manages to bridge the gap between old-fashioned melody and harmony and the teeming rootlessness of this confusing 21st century"

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/classicalmusic/9984996/Ludovico-Einaudi-The-inventor-of-atmospherica.html

Social Media Presence 

Part of Einaudi's relevance to modern society is his interaction with fans via social media. Einaudi has utilised this tool to his advantage, having various pages and accounts such as Twitter, FaceBook, Soundcloud and a YouTube account. For example, the image below is a screenshot of Einaudi's Twitter page which he uses for promotion and updating fans with the latest information about his concerts. 

Original Video

The song that I have chosen to use for my music video is 'Nuvole Bianche' (meaning 'White Clouds). The track has no official music video, given its classical nature, I feel that this is a benefit to my work as there can be no direct comparison between my video and an original. The videos for the song on YouTube which has been created by fans, often feature natural imagery. The video which is connected to the link below, is interesting as the creator has used time lapse scenes of natural settings to create a beautiful landscape which accompanies the song. Moreover given how the song I have chosen is slightly unusual in that there is no vocal accompaniment and therefore no lyrics, I have attached the sheet music to give a visual representation of the song. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcihcYEOeic

The sheet music for Nuvole Bianche

Screenshot from a fan made video 

The Male Gaze

The male gaze is a theory put forth by Laura Mulvey in her 1975 essay entitled, 'Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema' within the essay Mulvey addressed the representation of women within film and how women are frequently sexualised given the dominance of men in shots and how the audience usually watches something from the perspective of a heterosexual male, but also how the woman is always the subject of the male gaze - women are positioned to please in a voyeuristic manner.

Mulvey's theory relates directly to the music industry and how women are presented in music videos as women are frequently the subject of the male gaze within a male artists video or make themselves the subject of the male gaze through the camerawork of their own music videos as 'sex sells'. Controversial music videos such as Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball' have been criticised for their conformity to the male gaze theory and sexualisation/ objectification of women.

Anaconda

WARNING - This video contains explicit content. 

Female artists such as Nicki Minaj have also utilised the male gaze theory to promote their music. Minaj parodies Sir Mix-a-Lot's track 'Baby Got Back' within the video and follows the sexual nature and provocative dancing which evokes the male gaze. The camerawork of the video focuses on shots of Minaj's body and minimal clothing, her dancers and the provocative routines are use intentionally to ensure the audience views Minaj in socophillic manner. Minaj ensures that she is the subject of the male gaze from the audience, when performing to the camera and then equally she is the subject of the male gaze by the artist 'Drake' who appears in the video. 

-Minaj becomes the object of the audiences' male gaze by the angle of the camera, her seductive stance, and the focus on her eyes and lips, typically associated as the most attractive part of a woman to the heterosexual male audience and complying with the male gaze.



- Minaj subsequently becomes the object of artist, Drake's male gaze. The positioning of this sequence is important as the male is given a chair and status/ dominance, whilst Nicki crawls along the ground instantly devaluing her and making her the subject of Drake's male gaze. This is encouraged by Minaj and her provocative stance/ clothing.

Blurred Lines 

WARNING - This video contains explicit content.

Male artists such as Robin Thicke have been criticised for objectifying women in their music videos and adhering to the male gaze theory. The video contains the artists interacting with and staring at, three models in limited clothing (topless in the original video) with plastic wrapped around them in some cases - the use of the plastic highlights the sexualisation/ objectification of the woman and shows them to be (in accordance with Mulvey's findings) present purely for the voyeuristic pleasure of the male artists and male, heterosexual audience. The models in the video are both the subject of the male artists' male gaze in which they leer at the women, blowing smoke in their faces, counting out dollars and dancing with them, however the woman are presented as enjoying this which conforms to the theory of the male gaze in which women are pleased to be the object of sexualisation.


- The positioning of this close up shot is designed to make the model the object of the male gaze. The emphasis of the shot is of the model's bright red lipstick, drawing the audiences' eyes to her lips and the subsequent seductive placement of her finger - this positioning conforms to Mulvey's theory of women being positioned in a socophillic manner to please the male audience.


- This shot is a clear indicator of how within music videos women are often the subject of the male gaze, from either the (male, heterosexual) audience or the other character in the shot. In this case it is clear that the model is the subject of Robin Thicke's male gaze as is evidenced by his stance towards her.



- Lastly, this shot conforms to Mulveys' argument that within film/ music videos women are presented in a sexual manner by camera shots which linger on the woman's body and encourage the male gaze to occur, like within this shot which precedes to have the toy car roll down the models back emphasising her curves.

Viral Music Videos

When looking at music videos I feel that it is important to research the videos with the highest views and those that have gone 'viral' to analyse why this is, what has made these videos so liked by the audience, and subsequently whether I should take inspiration from these and attempt to mimic certain elements within my own music video.

As can be seen from this screenshot the top 5 most viewed music videos on YouTube are;
1. Psy - Gangnam Style
2. Justin Bieber - Baby
3. Taylor Swift - Blank Space
4. Katy Perry - Dark Horse
5. Katy Perry - Roar

1. Gangam Style - Psy

The K-Pop song was published on Youtube in 2012 and has over 2 Billion  views. The song holds the Guiness World Record for the most liked video on Youtube and has become a part of popular culture. Gangnam Style is a showcase/ performance based music video which is massively popular for its unique and unusual nature and the dance sequence which is a big feature of the video is replicated by fans and flash mobs alike - even political leaders such as the UN secretary have confessed their love of the 'gangam style' dance.

2. Justin Bieber ft Ludacris - Baby 2010

Despite having 5 million dislikes as opposed to just 3 million likes, Justin Bieber's 'Baby' comes in second for the number of views with over 1 Billion Youtube views. The video is a representative of Bieber's explosive popularity, predominantly among teenage girl although a good number of those views are from his critics also. The video itself is a classic hybrid of performance and narrative, it conforms to numerous generic conventions of the genre. The video uses fast paced editing, cutting to the beat of the music and the lighting is fairly low key with strobe lighting to give the desired 'party' effect seen within various pop music videos.

3. Taylor Swift - Blank Space 2014

Taylor Swift is currently the top female artist in the charts, with her album 'Red'  going quadruple platinum and her current album '1989' has gone platinum already, her songs are frequently in the billboard top 10, if not number 1. Swift is known for her narrative music and correspondingly many of her music videos such as 'Blank Space' are narrative also. Blank Space has over a Billion views and although predominantly narrative and performance the video contains an elements of the showcase given the over exaggerated nature of swifts' reaction to her cheating love interest; including attacking his car, ripping portraits of him on with a knife and stabbing a cake which precedes to spurt blood. The showcase nature of this is an intentional decision by Swift and she is parodying her representation by the media of being heartbroken given many of her songs are written about past loves and relationships. The nature of the video, its content, cinematography and exotic location make it so interesting and has undoubtedly contributed to the large number of views.

4. Katy Perry - Dark Horse 2014

Katy Perry's Dark Horse is from her massively popular album, 'Prism'. The song reached number 1 in the United States and reached the Billboard top 10 in 20 countries. The video follows Perry's usual pattern regarding her music videos - many of Perrys' videos are narrative with performance elements, the video for 'Dark Horse' is consistent with this changing between a Cleopatra narrative and a performance sequence. The video has over a billion views and ultimately the mise-en-scene of the video is what makes it so spectacular. The video conforms to generic conventions of the genre in its use of lighting and CGI to create an effect. The video is marked by the audience by its use of colourful imagery, and the narrative is carried consistently by the use of costume, make up and set which all enhance the ancient Egyptian theme.

5. Katy Perry - Roar 2013

Impressively, Katy Perry's 'Roar' also is listed in the top 5 highest views of Youtube, the video has over a billion views and is also off of her album 'Prism' - highlighting its explosive popularity. The music video for 'Roar' is unique, it follows a strong narrative throughout and the creative elements of cartoon, animation and CGI all aid the appearance of a jungle story. The video centres around Perry learning to survive in the jungle following a plane crash and thrive on being independent which strongly relates to the lyrics of self empowerment "You're gonna hear me roar". The mise-en-scene of the video are vital in creating the scene, the mixture of low and high key lighting show Perry's transition and the set, costume, acting and make up all connect to the narrative of the video and follow the consistency of the the theme. It is the strength of the narrative, colourful set and CGI which make the video so appealing to the audience.      

Ultimately, after researching these viral videos and what has made them so popular I have found that attention to detail, consistency within a narrative music video and miss-en-scene are key components to focus on and make the video unique and entertaining. Therefore, when it comes to creating my own music video I will ensure that I look back on these videos and take inspiration from them to enhance my finished product.

Artists That Have Influenced Me

The inspiration for music videos often come from the artists, I therefore felt that it would be helpful to compile and contrast 2 of my favourite artists as they often have a specific style that is consistent with their music genre seen throughout their videos.

Gabrielle Aplin

Gabrielle Aplin is an English indie/ folk artist who, despite her massive success continues to write and star in music videos which are very 'British', this is a contrast to other English singers who go to America after gaining success and their music and videos take on a very 'Hollywood - esque' feel such as in the case of Charli XCX. Aplin is therefore fairly unique as many of her videos contain shots of the countryside (like the photograph to the left, taken from her hit video ' Please Don't Say You Love Me') and focus on lights and the narrative which I connect to and believe to be effective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxNYvk_0Onw

I particularly like the music video for Aplin's cover of Frankie Goes To Bollywood's 'The Power of Love', the video is simplistic but the use of location, artistic props; of dried flowers, stained sheet music, silk sheets and the camerawork/ angles that focus on the piano and the artist is unique and transfixing.  The use of fairy lights and candles creates an ambient feel and overall despite its simple nature it is a very well shot and carefully choreographed music video which appeals to the audience and keeps our attention, despite it being purely performance based with no narrative elements.

Demi Lovato 

Demi Lovato is a totally different kind of artist to Gabrielle Aplin. Lovato is an American pop artist who is massively popular in both the US and the UK. Lovato has had many hits in the Billboard top 100 with her albums going gold and platinum. Lovato's videos tend to be fairly simplistic in nature, (such as the photo to the right taken from her hit 'Skyscraper') and frequently conform to the generic conventions of a music video, the use of an exotic location and high key lighting/ bleaching to set the tone and series of close ups and different camera angles are typical of a music video but the lack of frequent cuts and slow pace editing gives the effect of continuity editing which is not so frequently used in music videos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_8ydghbGSg

I especially enjoy Lovato's video for her hit single 'Heart Attack'. The video is slightly alternative to her ballad like songs and the accompanying videos but conforms to many of the generic conventions of the music video genre. For example, the editing of the video conforms massively given the frequent cuts to the beat of the music and fast pace which matches the tempo. The video is predominantly a performance music video but contains elements of the showcase given the alternative shots of Demi emerging from black paint, and shots of the paint on her hands which she precedes to wipe over her face - a certainly unique sequence! I particularly liked the use of mise-en-scene within the video, the contrast of black and white throughout in the costume and set of the video is extremely artistic and the effective contrast of low and high key lighting is effective in grabbing the audiences' attention.

Looking at, and researching some of my favourite artists has been extremely beneficial as I have analysed parts of their videos which I liked, I have noted techniques in terms of lighting and a consistent theme which make them so popular and I intend to mimic certain elements (such as the lighting effect of bleaching and the involvement of musical instruments in the video) of my favourite artists'  work when creating my own music video.