Institution and audience
- This video would be consumed through focused rather than ambient viewing - as there is an interesting narrative to it. This video would not be played on music channels as it is not mainstream and neither is the artist. Instead it would be viewed over the web using media such as YouTube.
- This is an example of amplification, because the theme of 'another day' is carried throughout the video. Also some of the lyrics 'all your worries leave your mind', tie in with the title of the track to further amplify the audio through the visuals, and also in the way that the character becomes cooler after waking up everyday which reflects the title 'another day'. The video is also in a way commercial for the artist because the ending scene sees the main character joining Modestep playing on stage as way of promoting the artist. The only idea the video represents is that through determination you are able to become what you want which is presented by both the lyrics and the visuals.
- There is a band image being constructed in the video as well as a social message. The bulk of the video contains the social message of never giving up and that you can achieve something if you try hard. The band image therefore ties in with this and constructs the band as one that has worked very hard, like the character in the video to achieve their status. Some of the visual techniques used to show this are the use of slow motion during key turning points in the character's journey. For example: where he throws milkshake over the bully after we see the bully throw milkshake over him on the first day. This use of slow motion helps attract the audience's attention to the key point in the narrative. Also the use of costume and make up helps to emphasize the point that the character is becoming cooler, as he starts to slick back his hair, starts wearing sunglasses, and his overall costume changes.
- According the Dyer's work, (Stars, 1979), the band's star image is built as one of a person rather than a commodity. This is because we follow the story of one of the members and then see him perform on stage rather than just a stage performance for the whole video. The stars are most definitely seen as extraordinary though as they are framed on stage performing as opposed to in a public place, but retain their image of being ordinary through being dressed normally and being part of the boy's story. The audience is therefore positioned against the mainstream of fitting in as they see things from the point of view of the child getting bullied, rather than the mainstream of just fitting in. According to Bordwell and Thomson, (Narrative theory, 1997), audience positioning occurs to put the audience on one side of the story. This is certainly the case here.
- The dominant social group represented in the video is teens. The video portrays the struggles of teenage life - trying to fit in with the norm whilst keeping your parents happy. The teenagers are represented as both good and bad with characters like the bully and the main character. Adults are represented as practically useless throughout the video, with the main character waking up his dad using an electric guitar, and him also making the headmaster run out his office.
- So far as the ideological discourse of the video goes, men are definitely represented as dominant over females as iconography. Laura Mulvey, (The male gaze) would argue that this reinforces the patriarchal nature of society through close ups of female body parts (dismemberment), and teacher's uniforms being used to make the women appear more sexy and vulnerable. On top of this, two of the female adults are seen to being sexually dominated or taken advantage of by the main character with no real consequence which further reinforces the view of male dominance over not only women, but adults too. Teens are represented as much more powerful than adults as the only time an adults gets their way is when the dad throws the guitar out the window. Apart from that, the teen character is able to steal from shops, sexually dominate women, wake up his dad with an electric guitar, and make his headmaster go crazy. This pretty much sums up adults as powerless against teenagers. The dominant value being reinforced here is that society is dominated by men whilst women are still seen as sexual objects. However, a view that's being challenged here is the one that teenagers are more powerful than adults. This is certainly not the case in real life as there are all sorts of laws protecting teens from doing what adults can such as the legal smoking age and the fact a child cannot leave home until the age of sixteen. The band might do this to reinforce their image of being rebellious and in touch with their predominantly young audience.
Institution and Audience
- This video is very mainstream and would be viewed both on music channels and over web 2.0 through social networking sites and YouTube. It would be viewed ambivalently as there is no real narrative, it's all performance based. This means the audience will be aware of what is going on, i.e. the dancing and singing into the camera, (breaking the fourth wall), but will not be playing as close of attention as if it were a narrative.
- The video is an example of amplification. During the video dance moves mimicking the action of spraying champagne can be seen, as well as a scene where champagne is actually sprayed towards the end. Also, the words 'club' and 'party' are mentioned multiple times, hence the video is set in some sort of club or party.
- This video seems to be purely commercial. Multiple times during the video, brand names are clearly highlighted by the camera for example: the close up of the badge on the car at the start; and the side-on shot of Jesus wearing Beats headphones. The constant filming of the 'La Freak' champagne is not actually a brand however. Also, every single character in the video bar one or two, seems to be reinforcing the LMFAO branding, by wearing the animal print/black leather costumes associated with the series of LMFAO videos. This is promotional towards both the star image of the two artists and the online clothing store in which consumers are able to purchase replica clothes from the videos, (partyrockclothing.com).
- There is no real message in the video. It seems the only purpose of the video is advertisement and helping to construct the star image of the artists. The band image being constructed is one that conveys lively, modern, and joyful senses, which ties in with the mainstream image for the dance genre. This is achieved by bright, animal print clothing coupled with popular street dancing seen throughout the video. The key reference to popular culture is the name of the artists themselves - LMFAO, meaning Laughing My F*cking Ass Off, a common text abbreviation among teens. This then helps them reach out to their target audience with every music video released. Also popular brands among young people such as Beats headphones are present in the visuals which helps create the 'down with the kids' identity of the duo.
- Use of lighting with lots of lens flare makes the artists appear extraordinary as most of the time they seem to be back lit, coupled with the out of the ordinary costumes this reinforces that they are to be seen as commodities rather than normal people. The scene where they meet Jesus also backs up this point as the video sees them dancing with Jesus at the end as if they are on the same level as him - this helps sell themselves as products because their audience will want to become like them. Also, this ties in with Dyer's theory, (Stars), which states that ultimately the consumer is never satisfied and is left wanting more. This is certainly true in the case of this video because not only is this video the middle part of a series of three music videos by LMFAO, (Hence the introduction at the beginning), but the consumer then feels they must dress like the artists to become like them - which is the role that partyrockclothing.com plays in the sale of the artists as objects.
- Finally, the ideological discourse flows with the mainstream views - especially to the dance genre, (one example being the video for Fredde Le Grand - Put your hands up), of men being dominant over women. Although the video sees plenty of male and female backing dancers treated equally throughout, the group of five or six vampire girls are shown to make provocative movements such as stroking the artists. On top of this, a group of men, including LMFAO are framed squirting champagne over the vampire girls to ward them off. This could be interpreted as an action code that gives the impression of males physically oppressing women. This video is seen to challenge religious views and institutions, because Jesus appears as a bit of a joke through the video. Firstly he's seen advertising Beats headphones which is almost definitely against the Christian view, as Jesus was seen as a savior and historical figure, not a marketing object. Secondly he can be seen dancing in the end of the video, which is not with the conventional calm, wise view of Jesus either.
Institution and audience
- This video would be consumed both on music channels and online through services like YouTube. Although it is mainstream enough to appear on music channels, the main bulk of views would come through web 2.0 because it's not as mainstream as ohter videos that appear on music channels. Also the group has a big online profile which would be another reason for the online views outweighing the music channel consumption.
- The video would most definitely be viewed in a focused manner, because the narrative actually relates to a real life series of events. Also the pre-music part of the video helps to engross the audience into focusing on the rest of the video.
- The video is an example of amplification of the lyrics because they contain lines such as 'Oh, I'm not giving in' and 'I'm gonna be stronger'. This relates to the first part of the video where the boys witness domestic violence and seem trapped and depressed in the house, before getting out and having fun. Apart from that, the rest of the video seems a bit more disjunctive to the lyrics as the boys take seperate paths which doesn't relate back to the lyrics at all.
- The video does not appear commercial in any way. Little to no brands are seen during the course of the video. the point of the video lies purely in telling the story and getting the meaning across to the audience - this is seen in the pre-music section that involves domestic violence. The audio even stops at one point in the middle of the video to highlight a key point in the narrative. This proves that the main aim of the director was to tell the story behind the video rather than create a star image. Also no shots of the band are seen which although it could be argued that this slots in to Dyer's work (Stars), of the audience left wanting more , it does not as the band are not present in the visuals in the first place to 'lure in' the audience so to speak.
- The purpose of this video is to promote and raise awareness of the story being told in the video. This is clearly evident as the visuals take precedence over the actual track. For example: the pre-music build up at the beggining which lasts for 45 seconds and the scene in the middle of the video where the music actually stops to highlight a key turning point in the narrative. The group is never present in the video, but they are associated as 'good hearted' so to speak as the audience are put on the same side as the characters in the video who use the music to get through home troubles and have fun. This links to Dyer's work (Stars), which says the artist is present but not present at the same time. So whilst the music video is disjunctive, a star image of the group is still being constructed subconsiously.
- The ideological discourse in the video challenges current ideologies such as the age one, of which the mainstream ideology is that adults yeild power over children. This is certianly not the case in this video because the children are seen stealing and escaping the adult shopkeeper. Also they steal a wallet from a passer by and later on in the video they both join and are accepted by groups with adults in (a gang and a dance troop).This is showing that kids and adults are possibly on an equal level, whereas in reality adults maintain power over children. The narrative also reinforces the belief that money doesn't buy happiness or friendship. One of the shots earlier on in the video is an extreme long shot which peds up to show a city with skyscrapers behind the slums. The framing is used to contrast the two locations and show the slums as poor and derelict. Later on in the video the boys are smiling and really enjoying themselves despite their poverty. Also we are reminded by this in the closing shot of the video when we see the two brothers with their arms around eachother whilst still in the slums.
George this is excellent analysis so far. Please change the title of the post to Analysis of Music Video. You need to put the sub headings in to facilitate understanding, ie genre, audience...
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