Movie Trailer Analysis - Films of 2015 & Audiences

The Martian

Conventions: a sci-fi movie, set in space and based on realistic-based, scientific possibilities. This is established by the setting and theme of survival in space.

Film language: camera angles consist of mostly establishment shots of the landscape and close-ups, bringing in the environment and the characters to screen.

Structure: starts with an establishing shot of the planet Mars, and ends with a close-up of Matt Damon in a space shuttle, emphasizing the location and character as the main points in this story.

Advertising techniques: posters and billboards, especially early reviews that gave critical acclaim, helped set in tone a well received product that earned Oscar buzz. The tagline, "Help is only 140 million miles away" and "Bring him home" was also used during the promotional campaign. 20th Century Fox launched a viral marketing campaign for The Martian. On June 7, 2015, NASA astronaut Michael J. Massimino shared an in-universe video diary depicting Damon's character and the other crew members. 

Audience: adults are the major demographic, especially those with interests in the science community and pre-existing franchises.

Effect: interests in sci-fi and science itself will draw in an audience with similar interests.

Legend

Conventions: crime-drama movie, focusing on the true story of the Kray twins, who are considered legendary criminals in the London underworld of crime.

Film language: mostly close-ups and medium long shots establish a personal tone that fits the claustrophobic atmosphere and theme of the editing and changing events. Like one of the twins, it is fast to react and schizophrenic.

Structure: opens with a establishing tone in a fancy club of sorts, perhaps a speakeasy, then ends in a more personal tone focusing on the brothers relationship, with one of the brothers standing with a bouquet of flowers as the last shot.

Advertising techniques: On 13 June 2014, the first image of the film was published, featuring Hardy as the Kray twins. A promotional poster attracted publicity because it made a two-star review from The Guardian appear to be a four- or five-star review by placing the two stars between the heads of the Krays.

Audience: predominately British due to the story surrounding the Kray's being mainstream criminals who were caught in the public eye. Mostly young adults and perhaps seniors and middle-aged individuals familiar with the tales of the Kray's adventures. Those with an interest in crime-drama movies will also be attracted, particularly those with an interest in biographical movies.

Effect: the trailer does attract me due to Tom Hardy starring in the lead role, as he is an excellent actor. Plus the history surrounding the activities of the Krays intrigue me.

Eye In The Sky

Conventions: action drama, thriller with military concepts involved. It details drone warfare and the consequences it has, both morally and geopolitically.

Film language: the pace of the shots and are slow in build until the action begins to come alive, then it has parts that are slowed down in order to add contextual details to the movie.

Structure: opens with a meeting in a conference-like movie with military and intelligence officials, and ends with a shot of the drone over-head of a desert-like terrain. Not much of the film or plot is exposed as the cuts are quick and fast-paced. It slows down for some bits in order to have contextual dialogue add to the story.

Advertising techniques: a very basic campaign consisting of promotional material such as posters and TV ads, as well as interviews with the cast and directors plus producers.

Audience: adult demographic, perhaps middle-aged and appeals to those with an interest in warfare and the aspect of drone warfare, as well as current political and foreign affairs.

Effect: somewhat interested in the premise and background. The actors are well know and acclaimed drawing intrigue and critical impression.

Top 20 Films in the UK & Republic of Ireland, 2015

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - sic-fi, space opera, appealing to fans of both the genre and the ski-fi. Personally would watch being a fan myself, plus the movie would bring in old fans as well as disenfranchised ones after the prequel trilogy. Demographic would consist of children (produced under Disney), teens and young adults, as well as older fans of the franchise. 
2. SPECTRE - spy thriller that has an already established franchise including a dedicated fanbase. Demographic would include adults and middle-aged men and women, possibly seniors who are fans of the James Bond character. 
3. Jurassic World - sci-fi adventure that again has an already established franchise behind its back, having to follow a trilogy of movies. Mostly appeals to the demographic of kids due to the synergy and marketing campaign it underwent, as well as fans of the franchise. Not very fond of the franchise thus not at all bothered with seeing it personally. 
4. The Avengers: Age of Ultron - Marvel's signature movie, an action-packed, superhero filled film that appeals mostly to children, teens and young adults. Have seen and approve of its quality. 
5. Minions - a spin-off animation of the well-received Despicable Me movies, it focuses on the yellow henchmen of the aforementioned movie's main character, and their origin. Based to appeal to kids. Personally not at all interested in the product. 

Audiences

The audience is the people who who watch and consume a media text, namely a movie. Different films will have a different set of audiences Not everyone will want to watch the same movie. Films can have a primary (main) audience, teens for example, and a secondary audience like older people. The primary audience is often referred to as the target audience. the secondary audience are not of the concern of the media producer, so long as he or she can make profits back from their main audience. 

Some sci-fi movies are mainstream - they appeal to a very wide range of people. Hollywood movies are often mainstream and appeal to a lot more people via funding. Some sic-fi movies would be niche - they appeal to only a small group of people, or certain demographic. Independent and low-budget movies may be niche. They are not under pressure to appeal to everyone, so they can be more unusual than take more risks. 

Demographics is one way of dividing up an audience into the certain groups. each group is assumed to have similar ideas and interests. Marketers would use this data to target, advertise and promote. Demographics include:

• Gender
• Age
• Occupation
• Region/location
• Ethnicity
• Other key aspects

Personal data:

• Gender: Male
• Age: 17
• Occupation: Student
• Region/location: Sunderland, England
• Ethnicity: White British
• Traits: humor, charisma, friendly personality
• Hobbies/interests: reading, writing, politics

BBFC classification: based on demographics of age. It assumes that certain films are only suitable for certain age groups. The categories include:

• Suitable for all (U)
• Parental Guidance (PG)
• Suitable for 12 years and over (12A/12)
• Suitable for 15 years and over (15)
• Suitable for adults only (18)

From the BBFC's website - It is important that the BBFC’s classification standards are in line with what the public expects and that its decisions take account of what the public finds acceptable at each age category. Therefore every 4-5 years, the BBFC carries out a major public consultation exercise to find out what the public thinks about the age rating of films and videos before they are released and whether the BBFC’s classification standards meet public concerns.

The BBFC adjusts its standards and criteria in response to any changes in public attitudes.

These standards are laid out in the BBFC’s Classification Guidelines which can be downloaded below. The Guidelines detail what is acceptable at each age category, from U to R18. They also set out the laws and principles which impact on the BBFC’s work.

There are two key principles, laid out in the Guidelines, under which we operate:

• to protect children and vulnerable adults from potentially harmful or otherwise unsuitable content
• to empower consumers, particularly parents and those with responsibility for children, to make informed viewing decisions.

Media Texts & Audience Consumption

When an audience consumes a media text (be it through books, TV or film) they usually go on to tell their friends and family, helping advertise it whether it be good or bad. Audiences consume certain texts due to a pre-existing love of the product (i.e. Force Awakens) or because they are interested in the premise or genre. 

Different media texts would include:

• Books
• TV 
• Film
• Posters/Billboards
• Adverts
• Promos/Trailers
• Magazines/Newspapers
• Radio
• Games

Going back to vertical/horizontal integration, should you mold a product from the ground-up, it can be expanded along all these different media platforms. For example, a book series is adapted for a TV show, then turned into a movie, with radio ads, trailers, billboards and posters helping promote it. Magazines and newspapers would offer reviews and perhaps a game would be released alongside the finished product.

There are 3 theories of audience that can apply to help us come to a better understanding about the relationship between texts and audience.

1. The Effects Model or Hypodermic Model
2. The Uses and Gratifications Model
3. Reception Theory

The Effects Model - the consumption of media texts has an effect or influence upon the audience. It is normally considered that this effect is negative. Audiences are passive and powerless to prevent the influence. The power lies with the message of the text.

An example would be Fox News and its audience, who appear to a right-wing leaning demographic, mostly made up of seniors. This would appeal to their ideals and beliefs. In addition, the film Child's Play 3 was said to have had an influence on the murder of James Bulger in 1993. 

Hypodermic Model - here, the messages in the media text are injected into the audience by the powerful, syringe-like, media. The audience is powerless to resist. Therefore, the media works like a drug and the audience is drugged, addicted, doped or duped.

Mein Kampf is an example of a media text being used in order to further a political agenda. In addition, Nazi Germany utilized various propaganda films in order to promote their standards. 

The Uses and Gratifications Model - the opposite of the Effects Model. The audience is mean't to be active and use the text for itself, not the text using the audience in order to influence them. The audience uses the media texts for personal pleasure and gratification, as well as personal preference. Here the power lies with the audience not the producers. This theory emphasizes what audiences do with media texts - how and why the use them. The audience is free to reject, use or play with the media meanings as they see fit. 

This can be used for the following:

• Diversion
• Escapism
• Information
• Pleasure
• Comparison 
• Sexual stimulation

Since the audience is in control they are free to express their likes and dislikes. 

Homage in Music Videos

A homage is a sort of tribute to a specific person on work. In music videos, homage is commonly found among covers or even expressed in their structure and narrative.

30 Seconds To Mars - The Kill

As per Wikipedia: The video is a homage to the Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film The Shining based on the Stephen King novel. Several scenes are based on the film, such as when Shannon Leto enters Room 6277 and encounters the woman in the bathroom and another when Matt Wachter is served drinks at the bar by a doppelgänger apparition. The video culminates in an elegant ballroom in the same manner as the photo at the end of the film. At 2:07, the papers that Jared Leto has been typing are briefly made visible and the words on them appear to read, over and over, "This is who I really am." This is another allusion to The Shining, in which Jack Torrance types up pages and pages of the same line, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy", over and over in the same sense. The scene with a man in a bear costume, in a bedroom, is also from The Shining.

The music video features the band exploring a hotel which they are care-taking. At the start, Jared Leto states that they have the hotel all to themselves for three days; although, later on, after the first chorus, it comes on the screen saying "One Week Later", before showing the pages saying "This is who I really am". In the extended version of the video, the other band members complain that they have been at the hotel longer than expected and have canceled shows because of Jared's peculiar behavior, explaining the discrepancy.

A letter from the hotel owner tells the band to "Enjoy your stay and please stay out of Room 6277." Shannon Leto does not heed the warning and opens Room 6277. Following the opening of the door, each band member begins to experience the effects of the room opening throughout the hotel. Each member experiences the effects differently, but one thing remains constant for each individual – they encounter a version of themselves dressed in a 1920s style tuxedo with tails. Several other apparitions then take up residence in the hotel, dispelling the promise Jared made in the beginning of the video that the band will have the hotel all to themselves and that "there's not gonna be a single fucking soul". The video reaches its climax when Tomo encounters himself in bed with a man in a bear suit (another Shining reference), and immediately the band dressed in tuxedos are shown performing the song in the hotel's ballroom in front of a crowd of twins, dressed like the roaring 1920's, dancing with themselves. The theme of duplicity resonates throughout the video.

Concluding commentary: many easter eggs are found within the video (MARS being spelled out on one of the hotel doors), plus behind the scenes when you learn that Leto used the split screen visual he picked up from Darren Aronofsky on the set of Requiem for a Dream. The music video in 2009 was selected as the greatest rock video in the Kerrang top 100.

Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal 

As per Wikipedia: Jackson originally wanted to make the music video in the western genre, but he later decided after watching The Third Man with director Colin Chilvers to change it to a 1930s gangster style. Film was shot between mid-February and April 1987. Jeffrey Daniel of the soul music group Shalamar co-choreographed the "Smooth Criminal" video with Jackson and Vincent Paterson, who was a back-up dancer in "Beat It" and "Thriller". It was directed by special effects coordinator Colin Chilvers. The dance sequence of the video in the 1930s style lounge (and Michael's white suit and fedora) pays tribute to the Fred Astaire musical comedy film The Band Wagon.

Concluding commentary: the music video itself won Best Music Video at the 1989 Brit Awards and the Critic's Choice awarded Jackson the "Best Video" award and the People's Choice Awards for "Favorite Music Video" for that same year. 

"Live" Music Videos

Some music videos utilize live footage from recorded events such as concerts, making it far more cheaper and easier to profit.

Billy Talent - Viking Death March 

As per Wikipedia: The music video was released on the band's official website and on the band's YouTube channel on July 16, 2012. It is a live music video compiled from live footage that was shot during the band's performances at the Rock am Ring festival in Nürburg, Germany on June 2, and at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands on June 6. The music video was directed by Michael Maxxis and David Hogan.

Concluding commentary: this is a rather basic format, yet effective given the editing. What is also notable is that this is not an actual live recording as it uses the studio version of the song over a heavily-edited live concert.

Imagine Dragons - Demons

As per Wikipedia: Released on May 7, 2013 and shot in Las Vegas, Nevada at the band's performance at The Joint on February 9, 2013, the video features a mix of live footage of the band and a companion narrative. Various characters with personal hardships are depicted, including a grieving daughter, a man with marfans syndrome who stares at himself in a mirror, a victim of parental abuse and a military veteran. The clip ends with a dedication to Tyler Robinson (1995-2013), a fan of the band who died at the age of 17 in March 2013 following a battle with cancer.

Concluding commentary: much like the aforementioned Billy Talent, this music video is very simplistic in style yet also less edited and more natural in flavor. This is all natural recording from the actual performance and not the studio version released on the album.

Animation in Music Videos

Animation in music videos is used to express a specific theme or even the required promotion necessary for a band to expand it's mainstream appeal. It is widely popular among bands and can offer an interesting perspective to the song itself, as well as the message delivered.

Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know?

As per Wikipedia: The video begins with a black background and simple visuals of white sound waves (similar to the AM cover art) that vibrate in synchronization, first with the percussion and lead guitar, then with the lead singer, Alex Turner. As the band enters with the chorus, colored sound waves illustrate new voices. Simple sound waves then give way to fast-moving, representational line-drawing animations that morph between a variety of female, race car, race car engine, and road racing images. At one point, the undulating white line becomes the "trucker's mud-flap girl", seen in the single's cover art. The line drawings are interrupted several times with flashes of full-color animation, several that recall the surrealistic style of Robert Crumb. The increasingly complex video creates, by turns, a somewhat jarring and psychedelic experience, in a style not unlike the Gary Gutierrez animations that were featured in The Grateful Dead Movie (1977). The video ends with the familiar white line becoming two crossed checkered flags, which join together in a single line with the "AM" initials.

Concluding commentary: the music video for "Do I Wanna Know?", directed by David Wilson with animation agency Blinkink, was first released onto YouTube on 18 June 2013. As of July 2016, it has been viewed over 330± million times. This shows how widely popular the animation in the music video truly was.

Tool - Prison Sex

As per Wikipedia: The video for "Prison Sex" was created with stop-motion animation techniques, and was directed by the band's guitarist Adam Jones (who had previous experience in art direction and animation, including work on the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park) and was edited by Ken Andrews. The video was removed from the MTV playlist due to its disturbing content. "Prison Sex" was also nominated for 1995's MTV Music Video Awards' Best Special Effects category.

The video primarily revolves around a battered white humanoid, robotic-like doll figure trapped in a room full of cabinets that contain other humanoids, such as a caterpillar with the main humanoid's face, a jar with a wasp inside, a robotic character with a little child's face that twists and turns, and a being made out of what looks like meat and feces. During various points in the video the main character is confronted by a larger black humanoid who causes the doll to go catatonic. While catatonic, the black figure molests the doll via a paintbrush, fondling parts of the doll, and then some. In the beginning of the video, the black figure severs the doll's legs (even though they still move by themselves) and hangs them out of reach of the doll. By the end of the video, the doll subjects itself to the abuse by painting itself. In the final shot, it is revealed that the doll was in its own cabinet the whole time when the black figure closes the cabinet door.

Concluding commentary: the music video drew controversy and thus publicity. MTV stopped airing the "Prison Sex" video after a few viewings — due to a symbolic dealing with the sensitive subject of child abuse. Maynard James Keenan, who wrote the lyrics, has been quite clear about his antipathy towards his stepfather during early interviews about the song. 

Target Audience & Demographic

The target audience is a particular group at which a product such as a film or advertisement is aimed. Meanwhile a demographic is relating to structure of populations or a particular sector of the population. 'Audience' is a key concept throughout media studies, because all media texts are produced with an audience in mind. 

An idea can be formed by merely just trying to appeal to a certain demographic, and this can include the following:

• Race
• Age
• Gender
• Sexuality
• Location
• Hobby/Interest
• Religion

Twilight is a good example of media texts being written and produced for teens and young adults. It was based off of a series of books that later translated to the big screen.

This website will help in researching target audience and demographics in the UK. These statistics show weekly, monthly and yearly audience viewings. This week's top ten viewed programs on BBC One consists of The Great British Bake Off, as well as Eastenders. The most popular program from this week so far (in the UK) is The Great British Bake Off. Views are at approximately 13,290,000 million.

Based off these statistics, the best programming from August was that concerned with the sports genre, as the Olympics is having its aftermath affect, as well as other programs like Question of Sports making its mark.

In media terms the audience is any group of people who receive or consume a media text. They receive the text via media carriers such as newspapers or magazine, as well as TV, film, radio, internet etc. Audience is a part of the media equation - a product is produced and an audience receives it. TV producers need an audience for their programs, so they can finance them and make more that the audience likes. Advertisers need an audience who will see or hear their adverts and then buy their products. 

A media text is planned with a particular audience in mind. They must think of the age, gender and what their interests of their target audience is. The TV audience varies throughout day and night, and both TV and radio broadcast 24/7. How do we know who is listening or watching at any one time? This is where audience research becomes important. A media producer must know who the next potential audience is, and know as much about them as possible.

GUARDIANS - Trailer

Opens with a 6+ indicating that this movie is indeed attempting to appeal to children as well as teens and young adults. The action sequences and modern music, as well as it being a fantasy sci-fi also appeals to teens. It looks like an X-Men trailer, more or less. The title is similar to that Marvel's Guardian's f he Galaxy, with an ensemble set of superheroes, only that they are Russian. With it being dubbed due to it's Russian dialogue, it may put-off some viewers internationally.

The Great Wall - Trailer

Matt Damon stars, giving the movie instant star power and making it appeal to an international audience, as well as it being a historical-fic, action drama in China, which furthers its world-wide appeal. This will be mostly drawing in a older target audience, from adults to perhaps middle-aged people. Game of Thrones actor Pedro Pascal also appears in the movie. The slow-build up in action will also draw in an audience that prefers that sort of play on the product. Coming off of the critically acclaimed role he had in The Martian, Damon will no doubt bring in his fan base who want to see him in his next project. Demographic would be around 25-45 years of age.

TV Presenters: 4 Examples

4 examples of TV program presenters from the lifestyle genre would include the following:

• Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear)
• Jamie Oliver (Jamie's 30-Minute Meals)
• Fiona Bruce (Antiques Roadshow)
• Nick Knowles (DIY SOS)

The lifestyle genre involves various programs that range from cooking, home-building, fashion as well as cars. The task is to analyze these 4 different presenter's styles and what makes them unique in how they draw in their audience. First we will start off with former Top Gear presenter, Jeremy Clarkson.

Jeremy Clarkson - Top Gear

Here is an exemplar clip.

Clarkson comes off as very whimsical in his tone and relaxed in his pace and speech pattern, making for a friendly atmosphere. This is despite the disaster of the car rolling other. Clarkson's reaction is rather tame, and his tongue-in-cheek remarks make it as if the situation is normal. This makes the presentation rather laid-back yet engaging, thanks to the voice over providing some context and humor. The camera angles are professional and slick, which make for a documentary like-feel for the audience; however, the sense of style does not overshadow just how relaxed it makes the viewer. This is despite Clarkson constantly rolling over in a "Reliant Robin" car. In addition, his conversation with fellow Robin riders come off as very real and familiar, as his tone is not scripted and is the same as his tone when talking in the car to the camera. Plus the camera in the car being so close makes for a claustrophobic atmosphere yet you never feel pressured, as you are not there yet feel oddly familiar.

Jamie Oliver - Jamie's 30-Minute Meals

Here is an exemplar clip.

At the beginning of the clip, Jamie welcomes the audience and introduces them to knife skills. This brings off a somewhat masculine tone as he describes the knife as if it were being used as a deadly weapon, describing it as "teeth", "jaggerd-edges", "break bones" as well as complimenting their look and size. However this contrasts Oliver's tone of voice and delivery, as he tends to stumble a bit in his speech and come-off as direct towards the camera yet also remain local. This makes for a relatable sort of relation between Oliver and his target audience, which can range from parents to middle-aged men and women. It is straight forward and direct. His language is rather plain and is mostly descriptive of the knives and their techniques, and not much else, making it easy to understand and take in what he is saying. Oliver is rather fast in his pace of talk but his easy-to-understand dialogue makes it far more easier to process what is being taught.

Fiona Bruce - Antiques Roadshow

Here is an exemplar clip.

Bruce's style of presentation here on the Antiques Roadshow is similar to that of her work on the BBC and even Crime Watch; however, there are many tweaks and changes that are noticeable. The clip starts off with Bruce in the garden of Hanbury Hall where she delivers some context to the house's history, explaining to the audience in a very detailed, well-researched and formal tone. The style of presentation is similar to that of the BBC's interviews and filming when on location, making for a formal and modest presentation. Bruce's experience no doubt helps then, given the circumstances. The voice-over is also similar to that used by the BBC and on Crime Watch, with the difference in tone being that it is far more educational than it is informative. This makes for a more relaxed presentation from Fiona, and the added classical music in the background, as well as the surroundings, make for a much calmer environment. Fiona's slow speech pattern yet well-detailed and structured manner helps make for a modest setting. The target audience would be mostly seniors and older adults, as the topic of the show focus on antiques and classical relics from the past.

Nick Knowles - DIY SOS

Here is an exemplar clip.

Much of the spotlight focuses on the family and their home itself, as Knowles acts more as a friendly guide if anything. This is accustomed at the end of every show of DIY SOS, as the finished product is showcased for the camera. Knowles dialogue comes off as very normal and colloquial, making for a familiar feel for the audience. The voice-over is more formal and specific on the architecture, which makes for a more scripted pattern. However come the actual on the ground filming, Knowles is unscripted yet rather informative to the couple and the camera. When interacting with the family he is also slow in space and plain spoken, making for friendly conversation.

Parody in Music Videos

Below: "Weird Al" Yankovic

Perhaps the most prominent parody musician is musical satirist "Weird Al" Yankovic, who has done numerous parodies of various musician's works and arts. Here below is a parody of Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise": 

The original version of the song was used as a promotional tool in order to boost awareness in the 1995 movie, Dangerous Minds. Footage from the movie is used in the video itself, and the whole video has a serious tone reflecting the corruption of youth and the influence and environment can have on an impressionable individual:

"Look at the situation they got me facin'

I can't live a normal life, I was raised by the streets

So I gotta be down with the hood team

Too much television watching got me chasing dreams..."

These lyrics are altered to the following in Yankovic's parody:

"...in fact I wish him well
'Cause I'll be laughing my head off when he's burning in hell
But I ain't never punched a tourist even if he deserved it
An Amish with a 'tude? You know that's unheard of..."

Coolio's version spent 12 weeks in the top 2 spots of the Billboard Hot 100, making it his most successful single to date. The song has also been consistently ranked as one of the best Hip-Hop songs of all-time in numerous articles; such as being listed at #69 on Billboard’s Greatest Song’s of All-Time, and being ranked #28 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-Hop.

Yankovic's version of the song parodies several concepts from the original music video, although it is relatively tame when it comes to sharing the originals themes or darker tone. Yankovic's version of the song peaked at No.22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Singles Sales in 1996.

Blink-182's "All the Small Things" was a hit when it was released in early 2000, and parodied the following boy bands:

• 'N Sync - Tearin' Up My Heart
• Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way
• 98º - Because Of You
• Britney Spears - Sometimes

The video is a mockery of the typical cliched boy band's found at the time. However, Blink-182 founder Tom DeLonge apparently wrote this song (alongside bassist/singer Mark Hoppus) about his then-girlfriend and eventual wife, Jenna Jenkins. His anecdotes—like the one about her leaving flowers on the stairs, are actually true. The video was named "Best Video" at the 2000 Kerrang! Awards, as well as nabbing "Best Group Video" at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards.

Narrative in Music Videos

Narrative is the way that different elements in a story are organised to make a meaningful story. Some of these elements can be facts as in a documentary, or characters and action as in a drama. In this case, we are looking for narrative in a music video. A perfect example of this would be the song "Stan" by rapper Eminem. 

As per the Wiki: "The song tells the story of a person named Stanley "Stan" Mitchell who claims to be the biggest fan of Eminem. Stan writes a series of letters to Eminem; with each verse he becomes gradually more obsessed with him, and when there is no reply he becomes progressively angrier. He finally creates a voice recording of himself driving his car into a lake, with his pregnant girlfriend in the trunk, as shown in the lyrics:

"So this is my cassette I'm sending you, I hope you hear it. I'm in the car right now doing 90 on the freeway. Hey slim, I drank a fifth of vodka you dare me to drive..... See Slim, (screaming) shut up bitch I'm trying to talk! Hey Slim, that's my girlfriend screaming in the trunk. But I didn't slit her throat. I just tied her up see I ain't like you. Cause if she suffocates, she'll suffer more then she'll die too. Well, gotta go, I'm almost at the bridge now—oh, shit! I forgot! How am I supposed to send this shit out? (Car tires squealing, big crash, loud splash.)"

The first three verses are delivered by Eminem as Stan while the fourth verse is Eminem as himself attempting to write to Stan and reason with the troubled young man, only to realize that he had already heard about Stan's death on the news." 

The story is believed to have been inspired by actual events; however, Slim Shady in fact wrote the song in response to his critics. He felt the need to disprove his critics, who said he relied on shock value and did not offer intelligent narratives in his songs. Stan is considered Eminem's most critically acclaimed song, even placing at No.15 on VH1's top 100 hip-hop songs of all time.

Disturbed's cover of "Land of Confusion" (originally by English rock band Genesis) offers and updated version of the song's theme and overall narrative. As per Wikipedia:

Vocalist David Draiman commented that the aim of covering the song was "taking a song that's absolutely nothing like us and making it our own." The line "And the sound of your laughter" in the original's bridge was replaced by "In the wake of this madness".

It was accompanied by a music video animated by Todd McFarlane, known as the creator of the comics series Spawn. McFarlane had previously animated the music videos for the songs "Freak on a Leash" by Korn and "Do the Evolution" by Pearl Jam. According to McFarlane, the music video is "a big view of the corporate world and how it all ties into just one big beast for me... The world is run by one giant thing, which is driven by greed and lust." 

In the video, the band's mascot (simply know as "the Guy") is first shown falling to the earth, and later shows military forces bearing the symbol of a dollar sign within a circle of white within a field of red, followed by legions of black-clad soldiers (reminiscent of Adolf Hitler's Schutzstaffel). The video then shows the Guy, escaping bondage from chains, as the military forces continue to assault cities and civilians. Later on, leaders of various nations of the world are shown sitting at a table with the same dollar sign on it. Eventually the Guy confronts the soldiers, and leads the people in rebellion. Flags of several powerful nations are then shown, with the final flag sporting the dollar sign. The Guy leads the rebels to the headquarters of the United Nations where they disrupt a meeting of the U.N. representatives. The Guy then leads the angry mob into a back room where they confront the real power behind the throne, a gigantic, bloated Fat Cat. The mob then drags him to the ground and once immobilized, the Guy destroys the Fat Cat, who explodes into a shower of dollar bills.

The themes of the song help form a narrative of revolution. "The Guy" rallies the people and seeks to overthrow a corrupt and tyrannical government that is seemingly losing power ("The men of steel, these men of power, Are losing control by the hour"). It calls for change through the actions of the people as one:

"This is the world we live in
And these are the hands we're given
Use them and let's start trying
To make it a place worth living in."

Types of Media Ownerships, TV License & Integration

Private Ownership

ITV is a privately owned company, while the BBC is publicly owned.

• a company whose ownership is completely private, a result of this is that it doesn't need to meet strict Securities and Exchange Commissions filing requirements that public companies require. 
• an example of one would be ITV.
• advantage = run purely on advertising funds, meaning that many companies that are desperate to advertise their product on TV, as TV is now the one of the most influential sources of current media. This means the more popular the channel is, the more money companies are willing to invest in, so private ownership companies tend to bring in a lot of funds and money.
• disadvantage = the BBC (regulated by the government under the Royal charter) is a public owner, before they create a new show they spend a lot of money on research to find out how popular the show would be, before funding even occurs. However if a private channel, like (for example) ITV liked a show, they could put funding into the show before a public opinion is made, which could mean the show could potentially fail. 

Examples of ITV programs include:

• Coronation Street
• Britain's Got Talent
• Emmerdale
• Downton Abbey
• Mr. Selfridge 
• X Factor

Public Service

The BBC is a publicly owned company, while ITV is privately owned.

• public service ownership is completely funded by the government with the TV license which TV owners have to pay. BBC is an example of this, because they are run by the government they have to cater to the publics wants and interests. This enables the audience and public opinion help influence programming and give feedback.
• advantage = because the BBC is designed to run based off of the public opinion, they can be altered into what they want. This means a wide variety of things that can suit a number of viewers.
• disadvantage = a majority of people are willing to subscribe to companies like Sky and Virgin Media and pay for them rather then pay for a licensed TV that only funds the BBC.

Examples of BBC programs include:

• Antiques Road Show
• Pointless
• Doctor Who
• Eastenders
• The One Show
• Strictly Come Dancing

Independent Ownership

Domino Recoding Company is an example of an independently owned British record label.

• an independently owned company relies on its own funding and financial state. Lots of bands or musical labels start off independently. 
• an example of a independent music label would be Domino Recording Company. 
• advantage = they have more control over what they create and put out there. This contrasts artists such as Adele, who are contracted and thus restricted in their products. 
• disadvantage = they don't produce as much money as other labels, and depend on their own funds. This makes them rather small and unable to compete with the larger conglomerates.

List of independent TV/film companies:

• Independent Film Company
• ISLAND PICTURES
• ITV Central
• pact.
• 1212 Productions
• Big Mountain Productions

TV License


A television licence or broadcast receiving licence is an official record of payment required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts, or the possession of a television set where some broadcasts are funded in full or in part by the licence fee paid. The Communication Act of 2003. 

Integration

Vertical Integration: when a media company owns different businesses in the same chain of production, distribution and exhibition. 

Horizontal Integration: is orthogonal to vertical integration, where companies integrate multiple stages of production of a small number of production units.

Synergy in Music Videos

Synergy: the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects. In media this term is used to describe a situation where different entities cooperate advantageously for a final outcome. With this definition, synergy in music videos can be seen as the offspring of another project, or vice versa. 

Left to right: the poster for the movie and the album cover.

For example, the album iLL Manors (by musician Plan B) saw it's songs used as themes in the movie sharing the same name. Both these products helped promote one another in time for their release. The movie itself was produced by Film London Microwave, BBC Films & Aimimage on a budget of $100,000, making back $453, 570 at the box office. In addition it received critical acclaim, scoring 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 28 different reviews. The album itself received a score of 83/100 on Metacritic, as well as achieving the No.1 spot on the Official UK Album Charts upon release in July 2012.

Here above is a clip from YouTube, the music video featuring scenes from the movie, thus promoting both products. The movie released on 6th of June, with the album being released on the 23rd of July 2012.

Left to right: movie poster and song cover.

Another prominent example is the use of Sam Smith's song "Writing's on the Wall" as part of the promotion of the most recent James Bond movie, Spectre. The song reached No.1 in various charts, including the UK Singles chart. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 88th AcademyAwards. The movie itself, being produced under Eon Productions (a subsidiary of the conglomerate Danjaq, LCC), had a budget $250 million, while drawing $880.7 million at the box office. The movie received a 65% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 307 sampled reviews. 

Here above is the music video, released on the SamSmithWorldVevo YouTube account, published October 4th 2015, released before the movie itself (being released in the UK on October 26th and in the U.S. on 6th November).

Surrealism in Music Videos

The two case studies we shall look at:

• Nirvana - "Heart-Shaped Box" (http://genius.com/Nirvana-heart-shaped-box-lyrics) 
• R.E.M. - "It's The End Of The World" (http://genius.com/Rem-its-the-end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-i-feel-fine-lyrics) 

The definition of surrealism: "a 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature which sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images."

With this we can look at both music videos with the lens of juxtaposing images, as well as analyzing the "unconscious mind". These images are thus abstract and may not have any relation to the music or theme emoted by the song itself. They are somewhat seemingly inspired by visions, illusions or even dreams. 

Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box

First off, we'd best discuss the background of the song of itself. As per Wikipedia:

Kurt Cobain wrote "Heart-Shaped Box" in early 1992. Cobain forgot about the song for a while, but began working on it again when he and his wife, Courtney Love, moved to a house in the Hollywood Hills. In a 1994 Rolling Stone interview, Love said she overheard him working on the song's riff in a closet. She said she asked him if she could use the riff for one of her songs, to which he replied, "Fuck off!" and closed the closet door. "He was trying to be so sneaky", said Love. "I could hear that one from downstairs." The couple shared a journal in which they would write lyrics; Cobain biographer Charles R. Cross noted that Love's songwriting sensibility informed Cobain's on the song. The song's name came from a heart-shaped box Love had given Cobain. However, Cobain had originally titled the song "Heart-Shaped Coffin".

Cobain said the song was inspired by documentaries about children with cancer. He told biographer Michael Azerrad, "Anytime I think about it, it makes me sadder than anything I can think of." Azerrad asserted in his biography Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana that despite Cobain's explanation, the song actually appeared to be about Courtney Love. Charles Cross wrote in his Kurt Cobain biography Heavier Than Heaven that with the lyric "I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black", the frontman "sang in what has to be the most convoluted route any songwriter undertook in pop history to say 'I love you'". After a performance of the song by singer Lana Del Rey in 2012, Courtney Love asserted on Twitter that the song is about her vagina. The tweets were deleted shortly after. Cobain said that the song's chorus of "Hey/Wait/I've got a new complaint" was him giving an example of how he was perceived by the media.

As for the music video itself (from Wiki):

The video begins and ends with the band in a hospital setting watching an old man being administered medication through an IV drip. The majority of the video takes place in a surreal outdoor setting that incorporates imagery from the film The Wizard of Oz. During the song's first verse, the old man from the hospital climbs onto a crow-ridden Christian cross. The second verse introduces a young girl in a white robe and peaked cap reaching for human fetuses in a tree, and an overweight woman in a suit with human organs painted onto it and with angel wings affixed to her back. In the video's final cut, the band is only shown performing in the outdoor setting during the choruses, where Cobain's face moves in and out of focus in the camera. While most of the video was devised by Cobain, Corbijn added elements such as the intentionally artificial crows, a ladder for the old man to climb onto the cross with, and a box with a heart at the top that the band performs inside of during the song's final chorus. Corbijn created another cut of the video featuring alternate footage during the final verse, including more shots of the young girl and the woman, and scenes of Cobain lying on his back in the poppy field, with mist surrounding him. 

Concluding commentary: clearly there are various interpretations of the songs, with some members of the band, and even Courtney Love, are not quite sure what it entails. Cobain himself says the song was "inspired by documentaries about children with cancer", who said it made him "... sadder than anything I can think of." This does not really help cover much of the imagery shown in the music video itself; however, Cobain himself devised most of the music video, with only certain elements added afterwards by video director Anton Corbijn. So perhaps we are right to trust Cobain's interpretation of the song and video, as he created much of it. 

R.E.M. - "It's The End of The World..."

Here is some background to the song itself (from Wikipedia):

The track is known for its quick flying, seemingly stream of consciousness rant with a number of diverse references, including a quartet of individuals with the initials "L.B." (Leonard Bernstein, Leonid Brezhnev, Lenny Bruce and Lester Bangs). In a 1990s interview with Musician magazine, R.E.M.'s lead singer Michael Stipe claimed that the "L.B." references came from a dream he had in which he found himself at a party surrounded by famous people who all shared these initials.

The music video as per Wikipedia:

The music video was directed by James Herbert, who worked with the band on several other videos in the late 1980s. It depicts a young skateboarder, Noah Ray, rifling through an abandoned, collapsing farmhouse and displaying the relics that he finds to the camera.

Concluding commentary: "Overall, the song it decries various aspects of society that Stipe has a problem with. It does so with rapid-fire references to religion, media, patriotism, the Soviet Union, continental drift, and more. As a result, it’s hard to follow the song without a copy of the lyrics (and these annotations)." This is in context of the time period. Being released as part of their album in the year 1987, and makes reference to the corruption in the U.S. government with a reference to the Iran-Contra Affair, describing it as “government for hire”.  The Iran-Contra Affair revealed the Reagan administration sold no less than $30 million in arms to Iran (there’s never been a full accounting) and diverted most of the money to a covert operation in Nicaragua. Throughout R.E.M.'s career, its members sought to highlight social and political issues. According to the Los Angeles Times, R.E.M. was considered to be one of the United States' "most liberal and politically correct rock groups." The band's members were "on the same page" politically, sharing a liberal and progressive outlook.