Laura Mulvey’s ‘Male Gaze’ Theory is the idea that the audience are watching film through the eyes of a hetrosexual man. The scene tends to focus on the curves of a woman body, for example. The theory suggests that male gaze relates to the status of objects; men seeing women as if they are nothing more than an object of pleasure for them. As shown in "Make a Move On Me" by Joey Negro.
Looking at this theory, in relation to our music video we do not feel that the "Male Gaze" will be presents, this is because the actress within the video will only be playing a small part, the theory probably isn’t as significant as it could be but whenever the actress is on screen we will try to show her in an almost sexual way to engage our audience and provide both escapism and perhaps even relation while doing so.
Finally, we will attempt to create an equal balance between the dominance of the two characters, whilst trying to stick to the conventions of the ‘Male Gaze Theory’ as much as possible.
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band).
The genre of our music video is indie, which usually has music videos that follows a story. This can relate to anything from a love story to a success story. Our music video is going to follow the theme of a love story, with two main characters, one male and one female, in a relationship. Although this may not conform completely to the characteristics needed, it will be pretty close. For Example in "Call on Me" by Eric Prydz, which is a dance track, we see females in a dance studio, dancing to the music.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
We aim to match some of the lyrics with the visuals but we do not want to do this throughout the video as we feel that this would look tacky and would also be hard to stick to and pull off as the lines only last for around 2-3 seconds. By creating a narrative we feel that we can implement certain lines to to create a video that does link with the lyrics. An example of this is in "Sun is Up" by Inna.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
In our video, we are aiming to have the music and visuals match at certain points. We plan to speed the pace of our shots up when the pace of the music increases. This may include jump cuts or simply speeding up the pace of the clip. Alternatively we may slow the clips down when the pace of the music slows. Either way we will change the pace of the clips to match the music. This is shown in "Earthquake" by Labrinth when the bass drops the image on screen disperses.
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style).
We aim to include lots of close ups with our actors to brand them accordingly for the record companies, we may develop motifs when we introduce the characters/artist as we show them, this may be through a symbol on their clothing or an element of colour correction when editing, for example a red or blue tint when we see the main male actor. This can be seen in "Hood Economics" by Tinie Tempah when we often see a close up of him miming the lyrics to the song.
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
Hopefully we will be able to include looking at screens within screens although following a love story may not allow us to undertake this apart from looking at phone or computer screens. I do not feel that we should undertake this unless we can make it look good, so we will need to do many practice shots before this is confirmed. We can see this element being used in "This Is War" by Thirty Seconds To Mars, the actors are being observed through CCTV.
6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos etc).
In relation to intertextuality, we may take ideas from Romeo and Juliet, especially the 1997 film version as this will be easy to relate too. This could be quite easy to relate too because it is shown as a modern day love story, the boy and the girl want each other but because of various reasons they cant have one another. This is brought to a head when they die for one another, which would be a very idea to use in our love story. Intertextuality is used in "Goodbye Mr A" by The Hoosiers, they are relating to comic books of the past, in what seems to mainly relate to Batman.
The figures for having a narrative storyline within a music video were very positive. Our main set of ideas did have some negative feedback with some opposition but this was due to a few of our classmates believing that the idea may be too cheesy, which of course, we want to avoid. Finally, we found out that escapism would be the main reason for the participants to want to watch our video. To achieve this we will be using our characters not only provide this, but to provide the audience with a means to relation. Taking all of this information on board we aim to give the audience the bestb possible music video possible.
1) In general, why do you feel you watch music videos?
2) What are your favourite genres of music?
3) What is your favourite music video?
4) Why is this your favourite music video?
5) On a scale of one to ten, how much do you enjoy videos that tell a story?
6) We are planning to create a music video for The Fray's 'You Found Me'
that would depict a relationship and would force you to side with either of
the characters, whilst trying to avoid clichés.
Furthermore we would aim to leave the audience shrouded in mystery until
the very end, does this sound like a music video you would watch, and
why (not)?
For the first question that we asked our participants of our questionnaire, the general feeling that we received was that people watched music videos for the fantasy that they showed and to gain escapism into this world. This being one of the major parts of the Uses & Gratifications Theory we will therefore be looking to provide a big element of escapism; which will make the strength of our plot and narrative imperative to the success of our music video.
Indie, Rock and R&B were the three most popular genres of music among our participants, and since The Fray’s ‘You Found Me’ is classified between Indie and Rock we will be musing a very popular genre of song. We were also told that creativity, location and the mise-en-scene were the most important aspects of the participants’ favourite music videos, meaning that our planning process will be of utmost importance and we will definitely keep these elements in mind.
The average of the scale of one to ten was exactly eight that means again our idea seems to be popular, but a more explicit gauge of this is found within the last question. As our AS Media idea was not adopting a popular genre of film, this meant that we were at a slight disadvantage before we had created our film opening, but here a more popular genre may play into our hands and allow us to be more creative and engage our audience in a more positive way
The responses to the last question were varied to say the least. The majority of responses indicated to us that they would watch our video but it would depend on the how "Cheesy" it was and effect of the music video in itself. In addition to this, two further answers questioned how the audience would be forced to pick a side within the relationship presented to them and another answer stated it would have to be thoroughly entertaining. Therefore we will have to bear in mind its effect on the audience and to avoid clichés at all times, but the responses of our target audience have been undoubtedly positive and this data will be useful when creating the video.
The song that we have chosen to make our A2 Music Video for is “You Found Me” by The Fray.
We feel that the target audience for this song can vary; we have found that the song appeals to girls between the ages of 14 to 16. This is because they may be finding love for the first time and developing feelings for others in relation to love. We also feel that the song could relate to both males and females between the ages of 17 and 25. They may be university students or post graduate workers. This may even include city workers for example bankers, office workers and administrative clerks.
With this music video we are aiming to:
Aid Identification
Offer Entertainment
Aid Social Interaction
Offer the opportunity of Escapism
Our target audience are likely to fall into the Social Demographic groups of E to C2 because they will be earning very little or nothing at all, although they may be well educated, they may not be able to show this due to the employment that they are in.
The genre of our song is under Independent Rock. Our target audience may listen to other bands such as: The Killers, Snow Patrol, Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys, Keane, The Feeling, The Fratellis, Oasis, Radio Head and, I am Kloot.
By using Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory we have found that, through this video the most important factors within the hierarchy of needs that we need to address are; Self-Esteem, Morality, Respect of Others and Love and Belonging.
At the start of this music video we think that this is going to be a mellow, quiet song because of the piano that is being played and the individual singer dressed all in black. From the beginning we see elements of black and white, for example on the piano and through the titles which introduce the band’s name and the name of the song.
The video and the song then step up a gear through the introduction of guitars and drums, which we see the band playing as the music changes, again the theme of black and white is seen but this time on the floor, which looks as if it would not be out of place in a 60’s diner. There are many close ups and zooms of the band throughout as well as over the shoulder shots, showing one guitarist while we focus on the one in front of him, giving us an idea of the faced paced music and the emotions of the musicians.
We then see more figures dressed in black and white, through medium shots and close ups, suggesting to us that in fact these people represent chess pieces and that is why we see the common theme of black and white. The idea of the video being set on a chess board is reinforced when we see what seems to be a king of the black side of the chess board sitting on his throne being protected by other chess pieces; this is shown through a medium shot giving us the chance to see who this really is. This is again represented on the white side of the chess board.
The camera flicks between the kings as they sing and we see other chess pieces fighting it out, to gain ground just as you would in real life. The pieces are being controlled by the kings from a chess board being handed to them by a servant, this is shown through a medium to low angled shot, signifying their power.
Throughout the video we still see members of the band through the usual close up and medium shots. The narrative is very repetitive until the video ends when the two powerful kings come face to face through a medium shot. It is very obvious that throughout the video, black and white is a common theme and that not everything is as it always seems. The video does not tend to relate to the 'Male Gaze Theory' by Laura Mulvey as there are no obvious female roles in the video. On the other hand, Andrew Goodwins theory in relation to music videos is shown in this video, the story that we follow is through a game of chess, giving us the idea that life isnt as straight forward as it seems, there are no clear relationships between lyrics and visuals and music and visuals, there are many close ups of the band, although this is only really of the lead singer.
This Is War’ 30 Seconds to Mars:
The video starts with a quote from H.G Wells telling us that if we do not end war, it will end us. This makes the viewer wonder whether this is really true and how serious the effect of it could be.
The video then goes into a satellite image view of the world, making the viewer feel as if they are there seeing what is actually going on, this also gives the idea that you are always being watched, wherever you are. The satellite finds a military vehicle, which has members of the band dressed as actors in driving through the desert in full combat uniform.
We then see a soldier’s silhouette against the sunset. This adds effect because a sun set is usually thought of as being in a nice place, for example on holiday, yet it also has connotations with romance and love as couples watch the sun set from a high point, although of course this is not the message in this video, because it is set during conflict. There are many medium and close up shots of the vehicle as it drives at speed; this also includes pans as the vehicle speeds past the camera. We also see close ups of the actors whilst in the vehicle giving us a visual representation of their emotions.
This then changes to thermal imaging camera of an insurgent dropping a weapon, showing us that battles are not just fought by men, but machines as well. The video then goes into a series of pictures that correspond with the lyrics to support the song. We see a Second World War battle with “soldier” written in the bottom left hand corner. This theme is then continued with more images of different scenes. For example we see civilians rushing about with the word “civilian” placed on the screen which is followed by an extremist sporting the words “martyr” and then “victim” with people running away.
This gives us the idea that it is not only soldiers that are hurt throughout war but others are affected too. Throughout the clips we see small segments of the actor miming words to the camera to remind us that this is in-fact a music video. Throughout this music video we continually see pictures with lyrics on as mentioned earlier. This shows us different people’s views on others as well as war, it persuades the audience to believe what the band are telling them through visual and verbal communication. The video is very repetitive showing clips of the speeding vehicle and the soldier against the sun set.
Throughout the video we also see many clips of battles that have taken place between America and probably Iraqi troops. There are clips of explosions, gun battles and artillery cannons firing at the enemy. This gives the audience the idea again that battles are no longer man against man.
The video follows this pattern of showing us the main character along with his vehicle and then clips of battles that have taken place, this all relates to showing how human beings are affected by war. I would say that overall this music video focuses more on the narrative elements of the music videos rather than performance as we do not see the band playing but one figure miming lyrics.
The video does not tend to relate to the 'Male Gaze Theory' by Laura Mulvey as there are no obvious female roles in the video, most notably becasue women cannot be frontline soldiers. On the other hand, Andrew Goodwins theory in relation to music videos is dominant in this video, the story that we follow is of a solider in the desert, most probably Afghanistan, and the war that he is in. There are clear relationships between lyrics and visuals becasue many of the lyrics are represented in actions and words that appear on screen. Music and visuals also have a relaionship because the series of images shown change with the pace of the music, there are many close ups of the lead singer as he seems to be playing the lead role in the narrative of the story.
‘I Predict A Riot’ Kaiser Chiefs:
The video starts by showing us the band setting up in front of large spotlights and speakers. We are shown this through a series of close ups and panning shots as microphones are attached to stands and guitars plugged into amps.
This is integrated into a series of short clips, mixed with shots of people stealing pillows from numerous places, such as shops and bedrooms. We see this through medium shots as well as close ups of pillows of all shapes and sizes. This links in with the title of the song, it seems as if a riot is being "predicted" when items are being stolen.
We also see many close ups of elements within the band, such as canted angles of the instruments being played and close up of the drummers feet whilst he is playing the bass drum. We then continue to see more people with pillows, but this time they are commuting via public transport or walking in groups. This is shown through medium shots and close ups as well as some long shots.
These are on our screens for very short amounts of time, but it would not be right to class them as jump cuts as they do not focus on one person travelling in one direction. This again relates well to predicting a riot as it seems as if many people are coming to one place, but in this case the “riot” is a gig. Again we see many shots of the band mainly through close ups and medium shots giving us an idea that this video is mainly focusing on the performance category of music videos with elements of the narrative included, because it mainly focuses on the band rather than telling us a story.
As the video continues we see many more clips of the band through the usual proceedings of close ups and medium shots with some canted angles thrown in for good measure. The video then changes and joins together the narrative and the performance to make the video look like a concert, it is also here that we find out the reason for the pillows that have been stolen and taken to the concert. A huge pillow fight breaks out between the audiences supporting the name of the song “I Predict A Riot” the feathers that break from the pillow lining symbolise the damage and mayhem that is being caused without actually breaking or damaging anything, creating meaning through the mise-en-scene. The effect of this on the viewer is that they can see destruction without danger. Throughout the pillow fight, slow motion is used to show emotions as well as natural phenomena watching the impact of the pillow hitting an individual and seeing the feathers scatter.
The video does not tend to relate to the 'Male Gaze Theory' by Laura Mulvey as there are no obvious female roles in the video becuase although in parts of the video when we do see females, they are often dressed in a fashionable to satisfy a male. In relation to Andrew Goodwins theory of music videos, the story that we follow seems to be the publicising of a concert that erupts when it is on supporting the song name of "I Predict a Riot" there are no clear relationships between lyrics and visuals and music and visuals, there are many close ups of the band, including all members with instruments.
