The Band - The Birds & The Magicians

                                                             Betty - Vocals

                                                           Adge - Drums

                                                             Oscar - Guitar

Jean Luc - Guitar

Choice of Band and Song

At first we were slightly daunted at the task of finding a band as no one in our group knew anybody that did music let alone were in a band. We found a first band that wasn't really a band they just did cover songs of more famous artists. It was the best we could come up with and we were quite disappointed with it. Luckily a mate from our old school and ironically the actor in our film knew the lead singer of a band. The Band are called 'The Bird and The Magicians'. We  spoke to the band and found out their myspace page. On their myspace were all there songs. After listening to the songs we realised that the song we wanted to do was called 'Spread Your Wings'.

Music Video Timeline

Music has advanced so much over recent decades with new genres appearing and the birth of the music video. One of the first music videos was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

Since the very first music videos they have advanced a lot. another landmark in music videos later on was Michael Jacksons Thriller.

Now every song has a music video, not all of these are ground breaking in a way that the two I have mentioned were but as time goes on music videos will advance more and more history will be made.

Music Video Analysis - Maximo Park 'Apply some Pressure'

 This Music video is Maximo Park's Apply some Pressure.

Genre
Maximo Park are an alternative/punk band.

Conventions
This video clearly shows off the alternative genre. The alternative genre is a sub genre of rock. This title refers to music that doesn't really fit into mainstream genres. This is a genre of originality and the video shows this well. The video is a darker video than the indie genre which fits in with the alternative genre. This video includes something called the male gaze. The male gaze refers to an on screen representation of a woman showing off her sexuality. This is shown on screen and in the lyrics as the lyrics mention @like to see you in that dress' referring to the woman on screen.

Narrative/Performance
This video is entirely narrative, although it shows the band performing this is within the narrative. This video show the band but focuses on the lead singer within the narrative. The narrative is a magician on stage. The lead singer is the magician and it shows him in different positions in boxes and in drawers. This is a strange concept as it doesn't directly refer to the lyrics. This narrative is strange but it lets you get an insight into the bands thinking, especially the lead singer.

Filming
This video has a quick editing pace which fits with the song well. This video isn't as inventive in the filming as the two videos before it, because the video is filmed very structurally with a few basic shots like a long shot of the whole band. There are some more effective shots littered in amongst these standard shots. These shots for example are like looking from a birds eye view down into a drawer with the lead singers head in. I chose this video to analyze because I think that our filming structure will be similar, with a few basic shots and some more inventive ones mixed in.

Representation
Through the video this band is represented as a band that are individual and different. This is because of the content of the video. The lead singer has the biggest representation because the rest of the band are in the background for the majority of the video. Their personalities are clearly not truly reflective because they are acting but you can get an insight into their thinking of the video. However this is a clear representation of the alternative genre.

Opinion   
I think this music video is great, I love Maximo parks music and think that this video works really well. You can watch and get lost in it which is always a good thing.

This does clearly represent the alternative genre and is not contrapuntal.

Music Video Analysis - Kasabian 'Underdog'

 This music video is Kasabian's Underdog song.

Genre
Kasabian are also an Indie/rock band and this is another indie song.

Conventions
This video is the band performing on stage. Every band do this, however indie music videos often involve the band playing their instruments in a basement. However the video does show the band backstage leading up to the performance and after it. This isn't the most typical indie video you will see.  The footage is also a little bit grainy and grey which is a typical colour of the indie genre along with the light browns.


Narrative or Performance
This video is mainly performance on stage which really isn't the typical indie video. This shows them off as being rather professional and doesn't show off their personalities. However the narrative shows them in a different light a bit more real allowing you to feel closer to the band. This isn't empahasised as much as in other indie videos but it give another dimension to the video.

Filming
This video is filmed more professionally than the kooks video in the style of filming with some very structured footage. However a bit of the performance is filmed from a camera behind the stage. This doesn't allow you to get close to the band in one way but does on another. Even though you can't see their faces you are seeing the crowd from their perspective which is good so you can see what they see and maybe feel a bit of what they feel while on stage.

Representation   
The band although indie they have a different representation to the kooks. They are represented as more professional through the performance part of the video and in the narrative they are not represented in the typical indie way of having fun and just enjoying it but they are in the clothing they wear and the hair styles again. The fun they are shown too have is through their performance on stage jumping around and celebrating after their performance.

Opinion
Although not the most stereotypical indie video it is still a good watch and you do feel the excitement through the band and you do know that they are an indie band while you are watching it.

This music video isn't the most indie video in the indie genre out there but it does get across that it is indie and it is not contrapuntal.

Music Video Analysis - The Kooks 'She Moves in her own way'

 This is the music video for the kooks song she moves in her own way.

Genre
The kooks are an indie/rock band. This song is indie.

Conventions
This music video follows the typical conventions of the indie genre. This video is very relaxed and shows the band off to be having fun pure and simple. The film has a light brown colouring to it which is typical of a lot of indie videos.


Narrative or Performance
This music video is both narrative and performance, however it focuses on the narrative as there isn't a structured performance. The narrative focuses on them touring in their bus and almost following their lives on tour. They get out at different places (beach, nightclub etc) and get filmed simply mucking about and enjoying themselves. In amongst this their are performance sections where they are singing and playing their instruments. this doesn't follow a structure as throughout the video they are singing in different locations.

Filming
The video is filmed so that it seems like they are filming it themselves. This isn't true because they are all on camera. It works well as you feel that you are watching behind the scenes footage. This makes the video feel as if it doesn't have a generic music video structure and is put together randomly. This reinforces the indie genre as is different and not generic they're doing it because they want to.

Representation
The band is represented fairly stereotypically in the fact that they are wearing the typical clothing of the indie genre. They are also displaying typical hair styles and the easy going nature that they show is all part of the indie genre.

Opinion
I think that this is a really good video and you can really relate to the band in the narrative sections of the video, they come across as a bunch of friends doing this because they love it. They definitely come across as an indie band when watching.

Everything in the music video is a typical representation of the Indie genre. There is nothing in the video that is contrapuntal to the genre.

CD Sleeve Analysis - The Kooks Inside In Inside Out

This is the CD sleeve for The Kooks Inside In Inside Out

Genre
The kooks are an indie band and this is an album cover for one of their albums.

Conventions
This CD sleeve is a dark grey colour which is very similar to there music videos colour, this creates cohesion across their products. The band are represented on the front cover in a typical indie way of having them looking like they are practising sitting down and having a laugh. This is done on a lot of indie CD sleeves and is almost a trademark.

Representation
The band are represented the same as in their videos where they aren't really structured it seems as if the photo was taken when they weren't looking and didn't know. That effect is used by a lot of CD sleeves and videos in the indie genre.

Opinion
In my opinion this CD sleeve isn't the best because it has a plain white background I think that to be a good CD sleeve you need something to look at and that will catch your eye. I think that the two CD sleeves I analysed before this are better.

CD Sleeve Analysis - Eminem Encore

CD Sleeve Analysis - Eminem Encore

                                 Front Cover                                                               Inside Sleeve

Genre: Eminem’s music is traditionally rap, A fast flowing music style. He has worked with other genres but is most famous for his rap. This album cover is on one of his more famous rap albums.

Connotations: This album cover is a deep blue colour, blue normally represents calmness and is more relaxed colour than others. This is a complete contrast to the music within this album. The artist is wearing a dark suit which makes him blend more into the background. Darker colours are more eerie which matches the characters style and the lyrics within his music.

Representation: In this album cover the representation is clear. The front cover shows the artist bowing and appreciating the audience, however I have included the inside sleeve in this analysis because it shows the reverse shot which shows him with a gun. The representation of the gun is common in rap and creates a good contrast to the representation of the character. This album cover gives him a contrast in representations, on one hand he seems to be like a normal person appreciating the fans and on the other hand it seems that he is losing it and possibly violent. The second representation is very stereotypical of rap as many videos and album covers include the use of a gun.


Technique: This album cover shows a performance based picture. A lot of Eminem’s music video’s are performance based. The videos often are narrative based while showing him performing.


Mise-en-Scene: The mise-en-scene of the CD sleeve is what you would expect from a music artist. They are on stage bowing to the audience. The front rows of the audience are included to make sure you see who he is bowing too. Alone this would be normal if you then compare it too the inside sleeve of the reverse shot the key focus is the gun, this gives you a completely different outlook on the representation of the character.


 
Opinion: In my opinion this is a good CD cover as it has a contrast from the front cover to the inside sleeve and it isn’t just a picture it poses a question and is more intriguing than other CD sleeves. It seems to me that looking at either cover is looking from different perspectives, the front cover is the audience and listener perspectives and the inside sleeve is the artists perspective. The album cover does meet the expectations of the genre and the music the artist has on the album.

CD Sleeve Analysis - Razorlight

CD Sleeve Analysis - Razorlight

Connotations: Razorlight is classed as Alternative/Punk music. This album cover shows the artists all together against a white background. This is mirrored in what the black clothes they are all wearing. All of the matching could show tat they are together as a group as one.

Representation: The fact that all of the artists are on the front cover alone without any animation or picture could show that they want their fans to recognise them. They don’t hide themselves and just show a picture, this allows the listeners to relate to them more and feel as if they know who they are following. The four artists are all wearing black against a plain white background this could show that they want to be recognised for their music but they all want to be represented as the same that they are all equal.

Opinion: In my opinion the Razorlight album isn’t as good as the Eminem album because it isn’t as intriguing. However it is simple and has an effect that works.