Genre Characteristics

The Cutaway

The Cutaway’s are a band consisting of six twenty-somethings from London, Wimbledon. The Cutaway have a unique sound which has developed over the years, seeking influences from bands such as, Arcade Fire and Wolf Parade.

Related artists:
Bombay Bicycle Club
Bombay Bicycle Club are an English indie rock band from Crouch End, London. The band is composed of Jack Steadman, Jamie MacColl, Ed Nash and Suren de Saram


Arcade Fire
Arcade Fire is an indie rock band based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists of the husband and wife duo of Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, along with Will Butler, Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, Jeremy Gara, and Sarah Neufeld


The Decemberists
The Decemberists are an indie folk rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, fronted by singer/songwriter Colin Meloy. The other members of the band are Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen


Metric
Metric is a Canadian indie rock and New Wave band founded in 1998 in Toronto. The band has also at various times been based in Montreal, London, New York City and for a short time Los Angeles


Wolf Parade
Was an indie rock band formed in 2003 from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Nada surf
An American alternative rock band. Formed in 1992, the New York band consists of Matthew Caws, Ira Elliot and Daniel Lorca.

From these related artists you can see that The Cutaway are mainly influenced by American Alternative rock bands, however they have adapted to make a unique sound with a fusion of British and American Alternative rock.

The Connotations of Jelly Festival

The festival in which my consumer of my chosen unsigned band would go to is, Jelly Festival. Jelly Festival celebrated its fifth birthday earlier this year (2012). Set in the North Norfolk countryside and just a few miles away from the Norfolk Coast, makes it an ideal setting setting for a small-independently run festival in the heart of summer.

Looking at Jelly Festivals advertisement poster and website, we can see that by the short-cuts to social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as the latest 'Tweet' made on Twitter, by this we get the impression that this is aimed at a younger audience. Not only do the social networking links give the impression that this festival is for a younger audience, the sky blue background with white 'fluffy' clouds looks very childlike and connotes a playful, innocent side. The simplistic block colours of the hot pink navigation banner on the sky blue background make it an easy website to navigate, which appeals to an older, less technological audience.

On the poster, the use of Victorian fonts make it look very circus-like and give the impression that it is a sort of fun fair, as does the footer of the webpage.
The Victorian graphics of birds and hot-air balloons connote that it is a care-free festival, taking an easier, laid back approach, rather than the promoting of partying hard and staying up all night. The use of this appeals to an elder audience. As well as the graphics of birds and hot-air balloons, we can see that the use of nature, such as, butterflies and bees connote that it is a festival embracing the summer, giving it a relaxed feeling and look to the festival.

Overall the connotations of Jelly Festival attract a certain target audience of middle class, "yummy-mummy's", aged 35-45, and a  younger audience of leafy suburb 17-22 year old who are looking for a non-mainstream festival in which is local, safe and has bands ranging through different genres, such as, acoustic folk and dance, electro dubstep DJs.

Why has there been an increase in the amount of music festivals in the UK?

Due to the proliferation of illegal downloads in the music market, there has been a loss in the revenue stream, coincidentally caused by the increasing consumeration new technologies available. Identity, expression and fragmentation have resulted in niche festivals being formed, showing a great diversification of audiences from mainstream to indie culture. Corporate companies put their sponsorship into mainstream festivals such as V Festival, where as boutique and up market festivals provide new lifestyle experiences. At festivals there is a feeling of collectivity and being part of something, segmentating the audience into different festivals.

Analysing Madonna's 'Vogue' Music Video- Using Goodwin's Theory

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

- Madonna's genre of music is pop. The name of the song, Vogue, is a highly stylized, modern house dance. Evolving from the Harlem Ballroom Scene in the 1980s. Madonna was very clever at catching onto popular underground crazes of the time, popular in the gay community, which could be why Madonna used an all men dancing cast. Critics noted the way Madonna used her postmodern influence to identify the new underground subculture movement to the masses. Typically in a pop music video it has a choreographed dance routine with the main artist taking centre stage with backing dancers.


2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

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- Goodwin noticed a similarity and direct contrast with what is shown in the video and the lyrics of the song. In this video we can see the choreographed dancing, named Vogueing, and the lyrics matching, (1st image: Beauty's where you find it, Not just where you bump and grind it) & (2nd image: Come on Vogue, Let your body move to the music, Come on Vogue, Let your body go with the flow, you know you can do it.) The use of this connects the audience to the video and does not need to much thinking power.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals

- This is where beats or rhythm of the song are edited in time to the visuals of the video. At the beginning of the video we have a smooth beat with a little drum of a bongo and then a click of the fingers: drum drum, click, drum drum, click... as the beat of the song carries on the visuals change to a different clip of someone slowly moving on every click of the beat.

4. The demand of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artists.

- One way in which record labels like to sell their artists, particularly females, is to show them regularly throughout the video (often in a provocative manner). The use of close-up provocative shots is a way of enticing a male audience. In this video we see the iconic fashion item which is Madonna's, cone bra, expressing her femininity.

5. Voyeurism- Frequent notion of looking

Throughout the video Madonna has extreme close up shots looking into the camera, which gives a direct approach, as if she is singing to the audience.

6. Intertextual reference

The whole video is shot in black and white taking stylistic inspiration from the Art Deco movement in the 1920s and 30s, it has the look of films and photographs from the Art Deco movement, making it look unique stylised. It also plays homage to the numerous Golden Era Hollywood actresses and actors. Later on in the video Madonna goes on to, almost rap, about famous actresses and actors from the 1920s and 30s.

Not only is the look of the video inspired by the Golden Era in Hollywood in the 1920s and 30s but a lot of the scenes in the video are recreations of photographs, taken by photographer Horst P. Horst.

Water Scene- Planning

Myself and Charlie decided to have a scene where the girl falls backwards into the water, this clip will appear a couple of times in different editing styles. The idea of using water is very dreamlike and can also be seen as claustrophobic because you are being submerged in the depth of it, as well the song has lyrical reference to water, "And now she's gone, forever she's lost, In the arms of the ocean".

How we intend to use the clip:

• Slow Motion
  This will make it easier for the audience to see what is happening, every little detail of the guy's dreamlike state.
• Normal Speed
• Rewinding the Clip
  The use of this will show things in reverse, as well as giving us the option whether to have her coming out of the water or falling into it.

Dream Like- Water Photography

As we do not have the equipment to film under water we will use multiple cameras to catch the fall at different angles:

Other music videos using water in a dream like effect:

Friendly Fires- Jump in the Pool

Directed by: Price James

"Dreamy, delicious, aquatic… the ironic pop is supplied by Friendly Fires, the delightful visuals by Price James on a mythical vibe..." taken from http://www.promonews.tv/2008/08/19/friendly-fires%E2%80%99-jump-in-the-pool-by-price-james/

Hooting & Howling- Wild Beasts

"Hooting & Howling is equal parts statement of intent and the celebration of a state of mind." taken from Youtube

Never Been Alone Lyrics

Mother, Oh she's gone...
We lost her in the fog
The moment took her well
And now she's gone, forever she's lost
In the arms of the ocean

Clasp me to my chest
Protect you from the wind
And now we've got you we won't let go
We've never been apart, we've never been alone

We met on the stairs of the lusty lager air
Pages from the book you wouldn't let go
Spiral stairs and the curls of your hair
Lets you the heart of the moonlit

Ooohh the haunting sound
Of the rustle on the ground
Cemetery darkness that wouldn’t let go
We've never been apart, we've never been alone

Mother, oh she's gone
We lost her in the fog
The moment took her well
And now she's gone
Forever she's lost
In the arms of the ocean

You'll never be happy if you don’t let go
Love your just a liar underneath those clothes
You'll never be happy if you don't let go
Love your just a liar underneath those clothes
You'll never be happy if you don't let go
Love your just a liar underneath those clothes

You'll never be happy if you don't let go
Love your just a liar underneath those clothes


Mother oh she's gone
We lost her in the fog

Starting Over

Unfortunately my original partner, Mandy for last year and this coming year decided to change sixth forms and I have to start again. Myself and Charlie both decided that we would work well together and are now working together.

After the original shock of having to start over, myself and Charlie have worked well to agree on a band and have gone for the band that I originally found back in July, the band, The Cutaway. I asked for permission back in July and they were more than happy to let me make a music video using one of their songs.

The track that we have chosen is called, Never Been Alone:

Afrika Shox Analysis

The band, Leftfield are a British duo and their music is an integrated genre of music, meaning you cannot put a certified label on it, although, it could be defined as Electronic, Dance and Progressive house music. Leftfield included the use of guest vocals throughout their music, like other contemporary artists such as The Chemical Brothers and Underworld, whom also are an integrated genre of music. This genre of music came about in the 1990s, originating from America in underground venues it came about by using synthesisers and other electronic musical instruments.

‘Afrika Shox’ was the 1st single released from the album, ‘Rhythm and Stealth’, featuring vocals from Africa Bambaataa. In the video, the ‘main character’ is black and moves to the beat of the music, this could reinforce that the music video is giving you an almost history to black slavery in America. The man is in contemporary New York, dressed like a slave, looking bewildered, if you’ve never experienced urban scenery it would come as a huge culture shock, which is obvious by the way in which the man moves. This could be because the director wanted the two aspects of dance and slavery together which accentuates the culture shock to this man, as white people continually ignore him and pretend to be oblivious to his pain. This links to the poem, ‘Limbo’, written by Edward Braithwaite because the different styles of dance like Limbo dancing originated from slavery, “the dark deck is slavery… the drummer is calling me… the music is saving me”. The quote, “the music is saving me” could mean that the only thing keeping the slaves going is the rhythm of their rowing and how music is needed to keep this on-going torture ever so slightly bearable.

The location in which the music video is shot is New York, with its straight edges, urban scenery and underground venues, which link to the underground genre; all add elements to making it a more daunting place for the lost man to be in. The first shot is of a high-rise building, the shot pans down from the building and then levels with the ground, this could represent the intimidating views and buildings in which the character is experiencing. It could also represent the hierarchy of the capitalist society of modern day, which implies that he is lowest of the low and of least priority meaning he is insignificant.

The mise-en-scene is an urban and busy area, which may not be the sort of place in which this character has come from, which would most probably be a rural landscape. The lighting is noir and the shot has been de-saturated to create an urban feel, leaving the police cars red flashing lights to be the bold stand out colour, maybe signifying danger.

The second shot is of a police car patrolling the streets. The red flashing lights could represent the police stamping their authority on the public and how they must not ‘step out of line’, other cars move out of the way for the police car which shows that the public know who’s in charge as well as showing a sign of respect by moving out of their way.

As the shot pans from an underground car park with dim lighting, it abruptly pans into a dark alleyway, the shot is voyeuristic as it approaches the character, it could be classed as a point of view shot as it gets closer and closer to the man. The claustrophobic alleyway is surrounded by damp brick walls which act as a cage around the man. The shot changes to a POV (point of view) shot from the man as he looks into the sky. The lighting is chiaroscuro, as he looks up into the sky there is very little daylight, this could represent the only way out so he must hurry. 

As the character leaves the alleyway and crosses the road, we can see that his physique is very tall and thin and that he is not dressed well, compared to the white men in suites that he is passing. The way in which the character carries himself is unsteady and shaky, as if he is unbalanced and has not been walking for very long.

The man becomes unsteady and falls to the ground, he looks around, giving the impression that he is looking for some help. The shot then cuts to a flashing sign saying, ‘walk’, this acts as a command to the man, telling him to get up and go. The idea that a sign could give human instructions makes it frustrating and almost patronising for the man. This again reflects slavery and the dictating manors that the slaves would have had to go through, it is as if the man cannot get away from being ordered around.

The next shot is of a white man looking up from his newspaper and watching the struggling man trying to get off of the floor, however he does nothing to help and his facial expressions give the impression that he is disgusted and possibly a shame to society and white middle class men. The colour of someone’s skin should never make an impact on your impression on them.

The mise-en-scene in this scene is very simple. The non-ambient lighting makes the place look dingy and gloomy. Whilst the man watches the white men dancing in the underground car park, he looks confused and worried. This could be because some dances originated from the slave trade. The fact that there are white men dancing could make the man feel as if his culture and identity is being taken away from him.

The last shot is the most significant shot in the whole video. The shot is of another black man in ‘tribe’ uniform and other various accessories. He is the only man in the whole video who realises the man needs help and actually offers him help. The low angle point of view shot gives the impression that the man recognises this strange ‘tribal’ uniform and almost see’s him as a saviour. However it can appear intimidating as the man leers over him and with strange stick. 

In reference to Goodwin’s music video analysis there is not necessarily other music videos to link this too but like I previously said  you can link it to the poem, ‘Limbo’. Another link is the lyrics and their link to visuals of the video, for example, “Lets get electrified” could symbolise that everything around him and his culture is getting disturbed, like the electric fences around  him are caging him in and trapping him within the danger of New York, which links back to the idea of him being a slave upon arrival.

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin, a director of music, identified a number of key features that we as an audience look out for in music videos, these are:

• A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
  - Lyrics can be amplified throughout a music video, either through a sheer sudden or shocking visual such as a death or crash, which is an important part to the song, either the chorus or the bridge, e.g: a sudden death to end the song. You can translate the lyrics into visuals, e.g: running away, then the lyrics say, "running through the woods". Another way in which the relationship between lyrics and visuals can work is through contradicting lyrics and visuals, this adds a clever element to the video, e.g: the lyrics being: "I will always love you" and the visuals being a montage of different clips of the person destroying items of that certain loved one.
• A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.- There will always be a link between visuals and lyrics, no matter how little or big. A way in showing this could be through a storyline narrative, this is by visually displaying the story that the lyrics are telling. Another way could be via instruments and the way the rhythm links in the with cuts of the video, e.g: fast cuts, montages or slow motion shots to go with a slow beat of a drum.
• Genre-related style and iconography present.
• Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist.
  - In many music videos the importance of making the artist or band the main focal point of the music video makes them easily recognisable to their fans. Close-ups create a connection between the artist and the audience.
• Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.
  - Many modern artists and bands use female sexuality to seduce the male audience for publicity reasons. The trick of this has been used throughout history and is an effective technique.
  
  
• Intertextual references to other media texts may be present.
  - In Kanye West's video, Gold Digger there are intertextual references to pin-up girls throughout his video. The use of this widens the audience and attracts the audience whom are into pin-ups.