Promotional Media Photos & Initial Promotional Photos/Initial Ideas

First Promotional Media Photos


The following pictures were to be used as part of our original idea for our video, which was subsequently changed due to time restraints.










Initial Promotional Photographs

We next adopted a completely different idea. We went from a traditional music video idea to an artistic one. The video would have been set to a possible Coldplay record and it would have attempted to make the audience think and have an influence on them with its abstractness and subtly clever ideas. The video would have been about the solitude yet romanticism of isolation. It would have focused on solely one character throught. In terms of Sven E. Carlsson's theory, this would have been a "narrative clip" meaning that it would have been ultimately a short move set to a musical backdrop. According to Carlsson, a true narrative clip contains no lip-syncing or performance of the song.

Even though we really fancied making a comedy video because it was something we had not tried but had curiously wanted to, we were excited about the idea of a narrative clip because we believed in doing so we could use our film production skills to make a video that incorporated many technical and skilled elements of film production that would showcase the best of our abilities. We went out and took some initial promotional photographs as a means of inspiration and testing for the look of the proposed idea.

(Click on for full size)







We used a combination of effects of Macromedia Fireworks to create these images and we were quite pleased with the zeitgeist we had created for a potential film. Eventually however, the idea fell through due to lack of a rock solid plot-line and an improved idea regarding the comedy genre we had wanted to see if we could pull off.


Initial Ideas




Our original idea that we preliminarily finalised on was an idea that involved a stripping 'audition' set against a performance of "You Can Leave Your Hat On" by Joe Cocker. It would begin with a short sequence of acting without the song to establish the scene and then the music would begin and the performance would be used as a multi-strand narrative along with the comedic stripping audition story-line. In relation To Sven E. Carlsson's music video theory, this idea would have been a "conceptual clip" which means it integrates a visual story with a lip-synced performance of the song. We eventually had to pack this idea in because it required too many actors and where we may have been able to get willing victims, we did not want to be too dependent on too many other people because if they let us down, did not take it seriously or were simply not good at the part then it could have been detrimental to our finished product and grade.

Media Theories

Aswell as researching music videos, DVD covers, album covers and adverts i also want to look into Media Theories, as this will help our group create a more realistic video.

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin identified several different key components that make up music videos, such as:

* Genre-related styles and iconographies evident
* A link between lyrics and visual aspects – with visuals “illustrating, amplifying or contradicting” the lyrics
* A link between music and visual aspects – with visuals also “illustrating, amplifying or contradicting” the music
* Voyeurism often evident with female characters
* Several close-ups of the main vocalist
* Intertextual references to other media texts occasionally present


Alot of these are evident in music videos, depending on genre, narrative, and the aim of the record company.

Laura Mulvey – “Male Gaze” Theory (1975)

Theory from British Film Theorist, Laura Mulvey. The theory states that women in film are often objectified from a male point of view, and seen only as objects for their beauty.

Blumler and Katz – Uses and Gratifications (1974)

Audience-based theory, by researchers in the 1970’s that questions audience’s purposes for consuming different types of Media. The theory is broken down into four different reasons:

* Diversion – for the audience to escape everyday life and routines.
* Surveillance – for information about what is going on in the World around the audience (for example news and weather)
* Personal Relationships – for emotional and interactive purposes (for example, relating to characters in soaps/television programmes)
* Personal Identity – audience exploring their own personal problems (through characters in television programmes)

Emanuel Levy (1990)

Theory from American film critic, Emanuel Levy, who conducted research into Hollywood film stars, between 1932 and 1984. From his research, he theorized that female stars considered beauty and youthfulness more than male stars.

Steven Archer

Steven Archer’s theory for music videos is that “There needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between narrative and performance in music promos. It needs to market both the song and the band”

Sven E. Carlsson

Sven Carlsson’s theory of Music Videos analysis suggests that a music video communicates to audience through both audio and visual elements, in which messages and values are shown through the music, the lyrics and/or the video itself. He also theorised that there are two different types of Music Video:

* Conceptual Clip – A video containing more of a narrative, or an artistic style.
* Performance Clip – A video where the main artist is shown dancing and singing throughout

This can be developed into more detail, by analysing each type more closely. In certain Music Videos, the artist is often seen as materialized, into a Commercial Exhibitionist, which is the main selling point of the music, as opposed to the song itself. Another type of singer is the Televised Bard, who acts as a singing storyteller, who relies upon voice as opposed to more personal traits of the Commercial Exhibitionist, who relies upon body, costume etc. The final type is the Electronic Shaman, whom is often not seen in videos, and relies on their voice alone.

Stuart Hall – Encoding/Decoding (1973)

Audience-based theory, by cultural theorist Stuart Hall, that questions audience’s acceptance of consuming different types of Media. The theory contains three possible outcomes:


· Negotiated reading – the reader partly understands and accepts the ideas the text conveys, however they adjust certain things to fulfil their own personal interests and experiences.

· Dominant (or “Hegemonic”) reading – the reader/viewer accepts and agrees with the ideas that the text is conveying.

· Oppositional (or “Counter-Hegemonic”) reading – the reader understands the ideas that are being conveyed, but rejects them due to their own personal morals and beliefs.

Keith Negus – Popular Music in Theory (1996)

His theory challenges the idea that many people have about relationships between the culture of today's youth and popular music. He states that this music is particularly popular in younger audiences, with the artists making the music of a considerably older generation. This can be applied to bands such as Paul McCartney, Donny Osmond and ‘The Rolling Stones’. Negus also states that popular music is “inherently rebellious”.


Hopefully these theories should help us to achieve our desired music video and print products.

Initial Storyboard & Lyric/Shot Analysis

The following initial storyboard for our music video:



















Lyric/Shot Analysis

BEGINNING SHOTS – Opening title of “You Can Leave Your Hat On by Joe Cocker” fades to black.

Aerial shots of three characters sitting on sofa – slowly change to different angles of the same shot. Mid-shot of all three characters as central character leaves the room. Cuts to close-up of stripper stripping. Fades to black as the music begins. Mid-shot of stripper re-entering the room, cuts to mid-shot of guitarist and singer, which then quickly cuts to aerial then over-the-shoulder shot of the stripper/characters on the sofa.

Extreme close-up of stripper quickly changes to extreme close up of singer. This quickly cuts to a close-up and panning shot of guitarist playing guitar, before cutting to mid-shot of guitarist and singer. LYRICS BEGIN:

Baby take off your coat (Extreme close up of singer – switches to mid-shot Stripper starting to undress)
Real slow (Extreme close up of singer singing)
Take off your shoes (Mid shot of singer and guitarist)
I'll take off your shoes (Close up of Guitarist playing guitar)
Baby take off your dress (Extreme close up of singer singing)
Yes, yes, yes (Mid shot of stripper continuing to strip)

You can leave your hat on (Mid shot of stripper cuts to mid shot of Singer’s shadow on wall)
You can leave your hat on (Close up of time-lapse of bath cuts to close up of Stripper)
You can leave your hat on (Close up of bath switches to extreme close-up of Singer)

Go over there, turn on the light (Close up of guitarist playing guitar smaller close up shots appear at the side of the guitarist)
Hey, all the lights (Over the shoulder shot of guitarist – other smaller close-ups of guitar appear around the guitarist)
Come over here, stand on that chair (Mid shot of stripper removing shirt switches to continuation of guitarist multi-shot)
Yeah, that's right (Mid-shot of singer and guitarist – Switches to mid-shot of stripper)
Raise your arms up in the air (Extreme close-up of microphone swinging in the air, and the singer then holding the mic still)
Now shake 'em (Quick-cut mid shots of Stripper and Singer/Guitarist)
You give me reason to live (Close-up of singer’s shadow)
You give me reason to live (Close-up of bath)
You give me reason to live (Mid-shot of singer/guitarist)
You give me reason to live (Extreme close-up of singer singing)

Sweet darling, (you can leave your hat on) (Close up of singer’s shadow quickly cuts to mid-shot of Stripper and guitarist then to mid-shot of singer/guitarist)
You can leave your hat on (Close-up of singer’s shadow quickly cuts to extreme-close of singer singing)
Baby, (you can leave your hat on) (Close up of bath cuts to mid-shot of stripper and guitarist dancing)
You can leave your hat on (Extreme close-up of singer singing quickly cuts to mid-shot of guitarist and stripper dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Extreme-close up and zoom in of Guitarists face)

There’s no way. (Extreme close-up of guitarist zooms out to mid-shot of guitarist and stripper)
(You can leave your hat on) (Mid shot of guitarist, stripper and singer dancing changes to close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
You can leave your hat on (Close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Extreme-close up of singer singing)
Give me the reason to live (Close-up of stripper switches to Close-up of singer, stripper and guitarist dancing)
(You can leave your hat on) (Mid-shot of Singer, Stripper and Guitarist quickly switches to extreme-close up of singer’s shadow)
You can leave your hat on (Singer’s shadow switches to close-up of stripper and guitarist dancing)

FINAL SHOTS – (Mid-shot of guitarist, singer and stripper switches to close-up of stripper)

CREDITS – Consist of a collaboration of quick cut close-ups of each actor, which culminates in a final mid-shot of all three before the camera fades to black.

For our music video we have used a variety of different shots, mainly close-ups and mid-shots. The close-ups of the stripper we have used help to objectify the character, which contrasts the ideas of Laura Mulvey’s “Male Gaze” theory, as the audience are shown the stripper through a feminine viewpoint. We have also used a lot of mid-shots, as they are the only way in which we could fit in multiple characters at one time. A lot of the editing we have used is very quick cut, and in time to the music, which will make it more effective.

In accordance with Andrew Goodwin’s theory, we have used some of what he identifies as key aspects of music videos in ours. We have used several close-up shots of the vocalist throughout the video, and have also established links between the content of the lyrics with the actions of “the Stripper” character. We have also used genre-related styles, for example the use of humorous expressions on characters’ faces, which reflects the parody genre of our video. We have also contrasted one of the key aspects of Goodwin’s theory however, as we have used no female characters, and have instead used the idea of voyeurism on “the Stripper” character.

The fact we continually switch between the Stripper and the two performers means our video follows the theory of Steven Archer. Archer theorised that a music video should have a clear link between narrative and performance that promotes both the song, and the artist. The main narrative of our video is of the stripper gradually undressing, which is coupled with the performance of the singer/guitarist.

Location Report & Risk Assessment

The following two documents are reporting on where we shall film and the risks that need avoiding whilst filming:

Location Report






Risk Assessment

The Target Audience...

The target audience for our music video is probably people aged between 16 and 24. Due to the inclusion of a male stripper in the video, it is probably also more likely to be aimed at females. According to Laura Mulvey’s theory of “Male Gaze” and the objectification of females, our video totally contrasts this, as the male stripper is viewed from a more female perspective, and is objectified accordingly.

Many people in our target audience will hopefully view our finished music video from a Preferred or Negotiated Reading, according to Stuart Hall’s Encoding/Decoding theory. As the video has a clear narrative there is not a lot for the audience to consider about the video, which will aid us in getting the preferred reading.

As it is a song by Joe Cocker, the video is likely to attract interest from fans of his. Also, as a version of the song was featured in the film, “The Full Monty”, our video could attract viewers from the film, to see whether we replicate the moves of the film or have created a new routine.

As the content of our video is amusing, we are likely to be viewed by our audience for diversion purposes, in accordance with Blumler and Katz “Uses and Gratifications” Theory. As the video contains mostly amusing content, the audience are likely to have very little scope for character relation, particularly as the characters are not developed in much detail through the video, and the audience are not shown any of their personality.

The age of people that we believe will be least attracted to watch our video are males aged between 40 and 65. We believe this because they are not likely to appreciate the comedy aspects of our video. Because of this, the audience are likely to view our video from an Oppositional viewing, in accordance with Stuart Hall’s “Uses and Gratifications” Theory, and therefore are likely to totally reject the ideas we are trying to convey.

The song that we have used for our music video, Joe Cocker’s “You Can Leave Your Hat On” became particularly popular in the mid 1980’s, along with the release of the film “9 ½ Weeks”, which was of the erotic drama genre. The song featured in a famous strip scene in the film, which is the reason many people associate the song with stripping, alongside the suggestive content of the lyrics. Conforming with stereotypical views of youths around that time continuing to experiment sexually, the film the song was associated with is likely to have been aimed at a relatively young audience, possibly late teens to mid-twenties. Because of this, the song is likely to have been popular with youth, which agrees with the idea of Keith Negus, who theorized that popular music that is popular with younger audiences, is made by older artists. At the time the song became popular, Joe Cocker was already well into his fourties, making him a singer of an older generation, therefore agreeing with Negus’ ideas.

Cast List, Prop List & Costume Report

Our video will star the following people:

Mitchell Hickman as "The Stripper" / Backing Dancer





Robert Glass as "The Singer" / "Friend 1" / "Dancer Number 2"





Ben Scott as "The Guitarist" / "Friend 2"





(Those in bold are cast members main roles.)


Prop List

The following are props that we will need for our music video:

• Guitar
• Keyboard
• Headphones
• Microphone

We will also need standard household items, such as mugs, chairs, a table, a sofa and a television remote, which will help us to create the sense of realism early on in our video.

Costume Report

The only character in our film that really needs a costume is "The Stripper". For this character we will use smart business attire, with as many layers as possible to prolong the strip sections. The character will need to wear the following attire:

• Female Underwear
• Shirt
• Tie
• Vest
• Smart Trousers
  
• Smart Belt

"The Singer" character will not need a specific costume, however he must wear a pair of headphones (listed in the Prop List).

The "Friend" characters (seen at the start of the video) will need to wear casual attire, however there are no more costume restrictions for them.

With Laura Mulvey's "Male Gaze" theory in mind, we have decided to focus on a more feminine viewpoint throughout the entire Music Video, which is why we will be using a male as "the Stripper". Therefore we will be going against the ideas of Mulvey, even though we have no female characters in our video.

Along with contrasting the ideas of Laura Mulvey, we will also contrast the theory of Emanuel Levy, as the character who is stripping in our video does take pride in his appearance and youthfulness, and is of the male gender.

By contrasting these two theories, we are seeming to demasculinate (if that's a word) the Stripper character, as is evident in the idea of making him wear female underwear. We hope that this lack of masculinity in a male will add to the amusing tone of our video, particularly as it is a parody and this is the effect we wish to achieve. In accordance with Stuart Hall's Encoding/Decoding model, we will hopefully still achieve a "Hegemonic Reading" from the audience, and they will hopefully be amused by the content of our video.

By using casual clothing for the two "friend" characters, and applying the "Uses and Gratifications" theory, the audience are liable to think that the video will be used by them for Personal Relationships or Personal Identity purposes. However upon the entrance of the Stripper, they are likely to feel more of a sense of Diversion, and escapism, due to the humorous content. By lulling them into a false sense of what the video will be about to start, we hope to amplify the amusement in our audience, when the stripping sections begin.

Our Questionnaire Results

We have managed to finally collect the results of our questionnaire, and have formulated tables and graphs below. The main problem we encountered with this part, was the fact that it took so long to collect the results in and make the graphs, and once again we find ourselves behind the deadlines we originally set from our Production Schedule. We will endeavour to work hard in the coming weeks with hope that we can manage to stick to the deadline.