Pastiche in Music Videos

Pastiche: openly imitating past artist's works, often with satirical intent.

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen

Concluding commentary: imitating theatre styled themes as well as referencing several artists, the music video also complies live audience performances and incorporates it into the music video. It humorously refers to the various styles of dance and theatre known as Scaramouch and the fandango. Meanwhile, Galileo Galilei (Italian mathematician) is referenced as well as the character Figaro from The Barber of Seville. In addition, the demon Beelzebub is named and referenced as a character in the song, including the phrase Basamla (translated from Islam as, "In the named of God"). The combination of works of fiction, as well as real life characters such as Galilei during the "Opera" part of the song, make for a imitating picture. “Figaro” is probably an allusion to Mozart’s classic opera The Marriage Of Figaro. “Bohemian Rhapsody” has an intense, operatic style, especially in this middle section. 

Dare To Be Stupid - "Weird Al" Yankovic 

Concluding commentary: a musical pastiche of the band Devo. In an interview on VH1's Behind the Music, Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh stated in reaction to the song that: "I was in shock. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. He sort of re-sculpted that song into something else and... I hate him for it, basically." Yankovic and his band wear the yellow radiation suits from Devo's cover of The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" video throughout. Many of the performance segments of the video are modeled on the "Satisfaction" music video, including the man having a fit on a wallpapered wall and floor. This is a parody of dancer Craig Allen Rothwell, nicknamed "Spazz Attack," who was featured in Devo's video with his signature flip onto his back.

Referencing in Music Videos

Referencing: openly imitating the previous works of other artists, usually for humor or as a tribute.

Smooth Criminal - Alien Ant Farm

Concluding commentary: a cover song of Michael Jackson's hit single "Smooth Criminal", it not only pays tribute but also references several other works of the legendary pop artist. For example, the monkey is a reference to MJ's pet monkey, Bubbles. Also the glowing pavements are in tribute to the music video "Billy Jeans", another single by Michael Jackson.

Tonight, Tonight - The Smashing Pumpkins

Concluding commentary: the original idea for the music video was for a Busby Berkeley-style video, complete with "people diving into champagne glasses". The second idea for the video was that as the band played on a surreal stage, the camera would go into audience members' eyes and the viewer would see that person's vision of the song. The third and final concept, inspired by Georges Méliès's silent film A Trip to the Moon, came from directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who got the idea for the video because the album cover for Mellon Collie reminded them of early silent films. Hence, the video was filmed in the style of a turn-of-the-century silent film using theater-style backdrops and primitive special effects. The couple escapes on a rocket similar to the one in A Trip to the Moon and land in the sea, where a merman resembling the sea-god Poseidon puts on a performance for them, including an octopus, singing mermaids, and starfish, before sending them back to the surface in a bubble. In the end they are rescued by a ship called "S.S. Méliès", in reference to the movie director.

Influence of Commercials in Music Videos

Commercials: used to promote and make aware of a product. The styles of commercials and advertising can influence the concept and construction of a music video.

Gold Digger - Kanye West

Concluding commentary: with this it is all about the glorification of sexualized media outlets such as magazines and models, drawing inspiration from "pin-up" cover girl models while portraying numerous fictitious magazine covers throughout the video. The titles of the magazines on whose covers the women appear reflect the correlating verses in the song. The video was shot in a widescreen letterbox format, using stylized art direction with few props.

Common People - Pulp

Concluding commentary: the style of video is similar to that of the widescreen letterbox format of "Gold Digger", and uses over-stylized visuals and colors in order to express it's message. The song itself promotes the lives of middle to working class individuals. The video also features a homage to the "Eleanor Rigby" sequence in the animated film Yellow Submarine, with everyday people stuck in repeating loops lasting less than a second.

Interpretive in Music Videos

Interpretive: using the lyrics to determine the style of the video. Almost a contra-dictionary theme between lyrics and music videos.

Tool - Parabola

Song lyrics:

So familiar and overwhelmingly warm
This one, this form I hold now.
Embracing you, this reality here,
This one, this form I hold now, so
Wide eyed and hopeful.
Wide eyed and hopefully wild.

We barely remember what came before this precious moment,
Choosing to be here right now. Hold on, stay inside...
This body holding me, reminding me that I am not alone in
This body makes me feel eternal. All this pain is an illusion.

We barely remember who or what came before this precious moment
We are choosing to be here right now
Hold on, stay inside...

This holy reality, this holy experience
Choosing to be here in...
This body, this body holding me
Be my reminder here that I am not alone in...
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
All this pain is an illusion

Alive!

In this holy reality, in this holy experience
Choosing to be here in...
This body, this body holding me
Be my reminder here that I am not alone in...
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
All this pain is an illusion

Twirling round with this familiar parable
Spinning, weaving round each new experience
Recognize this as a holy gift and celebrate this chance to be alive and breathing
A chance to be alive and breathing

This body holding me reminds me of my own mortality
Embrace this moment, remember, we are eternal
All this pain is an illusion.

Concluding commentary: the last section of the video was overseen by American visionary artist Alex Grey, who draws inspiration from his own work. The detail, including the eyes and symbols, are of his own creation. The band itself also draw heavily from his works. While the video may not be as clear cut as most (in terms of literal interpretation), the video uses many nature of mind symbols that link back to the story being told by the lyrics itself. 

"The song describes human existence and our own spirit and bodies in an eternal sense. It illustrates the idea that life is just a place to prepare our spirits for some kind of eternal cycle or state of being, whatever that may be." - TroTrombley, user on genius.com. 

The song itself is mean't to be teaching a sort of moral lesson, which brings in its name, a “parabola” is a U-shaped curve in a quadratic function. “Parabola” is a play on the title of the introduction section, titled “Parabol,” which is a play on the word “parable,” or a story with an intended moral lesson. This gives the video and song a literal meaning, despite the somewhat abstract images displayed. 

Katy Perry - Firework

Song lyrics:

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind
Wanting to start again

Do you ever feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards
One blow from caving in

Do you ever feel already buried deep
Six feet under screams
But no one seems to hear a thing

Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the fourth of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em falling down down down

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will glow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light
And let it shine
Just own the night
Like the fourth of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework
Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe-awe-awe

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
And it's always been inside of you you you
And now it's time to let it through

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on show 'em what your worth
Make 'em go "oh, oh, oh!"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y

Baby you're a firework

Come on let your colors burst
Make 'em go "oh, oh, oh!"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe awe awe

Concluding commentary: perhaps one of the more literal songs out there, "Firework" is a message delivered by Katy Perry, and is a rather simple one at that. We all have something great inside of us and something we hide; however, we shouldn't be ashamed of it, but instead embrace it and wear it like a badge of pride. Katy Perry herself says the song resonates with her and finds it to be her most favorite work of art written.

On Audiences & Media Texts: Personal Movie Project Task

In what ways have you consumed media in this past week?

- Interacting through the internet via Facebook and YouTube.

- Watching TV, notably the Louis Theroux documentary on Jimmy Savile. 

- Listening to music via the internet (i.e. YouTube).

The 3 different 'texts' I have used the most is:

1. Social Media - I use Facebook almost constantly in order to keep in touch with friends and family.
2. TV - the Louis Theroux documentary on Jimmy Savile, which I watched with my mum along the weekend.
3. Games - playing on my PS4, though not as much as I use to due to the constant work needed and need for sleep. However it is still a hobby of mine. 

Why study audiences?

1. By identifying an audience you can predict behavior.
2. A viewer can then adapt their own understanding of a text.

TASK 1

You are a producer of films in the UK that makes films for every age group and demographic. Create the following from images you can find on Google:

1. An idea for a new movie.
2. Create a genre.
3. Create an audience profile.
4. Create a slide show on PowerPoint with titles.

This has all been completed in PowerPoint under the name "TASK 1 Presentation - M.Tulip". The movie is a documentary drama concerning a post-nuclear world. Stars relatively low-key actors. M.A.D. stands for "Mutually Assured Destruction", a hint at the nuclear aspect the movie offers. The plot of the film is mean't be a following of the people and events after the exchange of a nuclear war, and foreshadows the impending nuclear winter as a result of the fallout.

TASK 2

Write an analysis (500 words) of your chosen film that you "produced" from the previous task. Include:

1. Audience theory models - which one is yours and why?
2. Demographics - how do they work with your film choice?
3. Genre - include evidence from other popular movies in the genre?

Analysis of "M.A.D." 

For me to discuss the idea of the movie "M.A.D.", I must first introduce the inspiration for such a product: Threads (1984). This was a movie produced and distributed under the guidance of the BBC, and discussed a possible scenario of nuclear war and the aftermath following such an event. It had a budget of just $250,000-350-000 and contained mostly low-key actors, including local actors. The movie was a documentary-like drama that wanted to realistically depict not just the horrors of nuclear war, but it's fallout. Thus the film is often praised for its realistic approach to the subject.

With that being said, it gives some context behind the thinking of my project. Most of the actors cast are relatively low-key or considered underrated. Plus, the genre of it being a film depicted in the style of a documentary, more focused on the causes and effects rather then the actors and casts themselves. Thus the audience model I would think most appropriate for this subject could vary to a degree, depending on how audiences take in the media text. For example, say if the movie were funded through the government via the BBC in order to promote the theme of nuclear war, then it can be seen as the Effects Model, as consumption will lead to questioning by the audience on the actual events of the movie, and thus get them invested in the message the movie brings.

Meanwhile since the movie is being produced and put out there (perhaps under the BBC), the Uses and Gratifications would also be an appropriate model that would perhaps encourage audience consumption. The audience would be free to indulge in the message being taught and use the media text to perhaps promote other material that, in turn, would also encourage the message of the movie. The movie itself, being eerily similar to Threads (at least in the abstract), would thus promote a cautious tale of what may come should we not avert nuclear annihilation. 

As for the demographic itself, this could range across various groups of people, though predominately adult audiences. Interests of the audience would be those with a fondness for world affairs, politics, social issues etc. The movie itself would be graphic due to its extreme depictions of a nuclear holocaust, thus a rating of 18+ would be in order. Going back to the Effects Model however, should the movie be brought to the public in a similar way as it was to Threads (i.e. BBC funding and advertising), it would act as a public promotion that appeals across demographics consisting of adult audiences. 

The genre of the movie is technically that of a docudrama, as the movie would contain similar elements to that of Threads such as contextual voiceovers and casual actors playing out every day, average, lower-middle class individuals. These people would be caught up in such catastrophes displayed in the movie, much like Threads. In addition, the castings of low-key actors in roles of somewhat average citizens would make them far more relatable to the audience themselves, as the predicted target audience would be that of the lower, middle and working class. These would be the individuals threatened by the aftermath of a nuclear war.

Group Task: Styles Of Programs

Three examples of presentation in lifestyle programs (as presented by the group):

1. Top Gear first ever Cool Wall
2. Jamie Oliver on knife skills - 30-Minute Meals
3. Antiques Roadshow - Hanbury Hall 1 - Introduction

The type of skills required by a lifestyle presenter can vary, depending on how scripted the dialogue is. These skills include the following:

• a good grasp and general knowledge of the field being presented.
• an easy to understand and comprehensible take-in of information, for the viewer. 
• friendly and relaxed reassurance for the audience, so they know they are safe. 

Additional notes from other groups:

• Quiz Shows - Pointless, Catch Phrase and Mock the Week. They plant questions in a formal yet friendly level. This makes for a witty and friendly atmosphere, and comes off as a conversation to the viewer. Neil Armstrong of Pointless comes off as humorous in his mockery of the contestants and their answers. For Catch Phrase, the host far less formal yet still interactive with live audiences and more knowing of his guests. As for Mock the Week, presenter Darah O'Brien has comedy guests on his show, as humor is integrated in the narrative making for a quick-paced feel. The country's best comedians attend in order to entertain the masses. 
• Game Show - The Cube: calming and encouraging contestants alongside an informative host. Rules are outlined and tips given in order to help the contestants. The action does most of the talking, with the presenter acting more as a mentor/guide. As for Family Fortunes, Vernon Kay is a very amble and engaging presenter, getting to know the contestants and audience both, making them more comfortable in their environment. The Chase's presenter meanwhile is on the side of the contestants, often sparring with the chasers. In addition, he has a very outgoing and expressive manner of presenting. 
• Reality TV - RuPaul's Drag Race sees contestants (predominately male) dress up in female, drag queen costumes. The presentation is exotic and expressive, with very sexual yet satirical dialogue. It is intended to entertain and make the audience laugh. A bubble like vibe, with the theme need not be taken seriously as the tone is far from serious. Contestants play dress-up. X-Factor sees the presenter give a very formal and scripted act to the live audience and those at home. There are dramatic pauses in between of the revealing of which acts shall remain on the show, giving a dramatic feel, putting audiences on edge. The tone is serious and formal. Punk'd sees unwillingly and unknown participants be pranked in pre-staged pranks. The host (Ashton Kutcher) is loud, obnoxious and sweary. The tone appeals to a younger audience as well as the fast-pace of the narrative. 
• Children's TV - Take Hart (1977) gave a posh and informal presenter, contrasting modern day children TV presenters. Most of the action speaks for the viewer, as a combo of stop-motion animation is used and the presenter's activities (along with background music) engage the viewer. Children would get bored of someone constantly talking so this works to great effect. Smart sees more of a childish and funny approach, as the presenter draws from the audience a lot. Plus the presenters all come across as friends, making for a relatable atmosphere. Mr. Maker is far more influenced by the child-like audience, as numerous sketches show interactivity, childish games and a playful tone. Weird background noises and music is used. Puppets are involved. Puppets.
• Documentary - the presenter acts as a guide and a scholar, offering knowledge from the field of expertise and educating their audiences. The audiences vary, with many subjects being covered under the documentary genre. David Attenborough offers a gentleman-like and mild-mannered presentation of his documentaries. Nowadays he rarely takes front and center for the camera, instead offering commentary. Nevertheless, the camera was never about focusing on Attenborough but the subject at hand. He offers a calming and relaxing environment; meanwhile, Ross Kemp is far more serious in his investigation and presenting, focusing on the dangerous aspects of the world, such as drug cartels and ISIS.
• Chat Shows - mostly reality based with celebrities and average people attending, be it as participants or viewers or both. Examples include Loose Women, Jerry Springer and Jeremy Kyle. Style of presentation would be very laid-back and interactive. They control the narrative and move the show along as well as continuing events on the show. 

Personal Audience Profile & Tasks

Name: Matthew Tulip

Age: 17-years-old

Nationality: White British, Caucasian male

Social Class: Lower-middle class

Occupation: Student at Bede College

Interests: Reading, writing, politics, gaming, swimming

Favorite Artists: Tool, System Of A Down, Rage Against The Machine - mostly rock, heavy rock and progressive art rock.

Favorite Retail Outlets: Grainger Games, Matalan, ASDA, Primark

Additional Info: I wish to be a writer, perhaps a journalist or author, as well as publish numerous works in the future. I have blonde-brown hair, blue eyes and I am very casual in my style of clothes. Genres I consider a favorite are westerns, sci-fi and historical.

TASK 1

Two films I watched at the cinema recently are Deadpool and 10 Cloverfield Lane. What were the reasons for watching these at the cinema?

Deadpool:

• the star(s) of the movie (3/5)
• the director (1/5)
• the poster (0/5)
• the genre (3/5)
• the title of the film (2.5/5)
• TV advert (2/5)
• recommended by a relative (5/5)
• radio ad (0/5)
• ad in newspaper or mag (0/5)
• mentioned on internet (2/5)
• wanted a night out (4/5)
• asked to go by someone (5/5)
• recommended by a friend (5/5)
• everyone else has seen it (1/5)
• like the soundtrack (2/5)
• saw the trailer (3/5)
• hear rumors about it (3/5)
• the special effects (2/5)
• sequel and you liked the first one (0/5)

10 Cloverfield Lane:

• the star(s) of the movie (2.5/5)
• the director (3/5)
• the poster (1/5)
• the genre (2/5)
• the title of the film (2/5)
• TV advert (2/5)
• recommended by a relative (0/5)
• radio ad (0/5)
• ad in newspaper or mag (0/5)
• mentioned on internet (1/5)
• wanted a night out (5/5)
• asked to go by someone (0/5)
• recommended by a friend (0/5)
• everyone else has seen it (1/5)
• like the soundtrack (0/5)
• saw the trailer (4/5)
• hear rumors about it (3/5)
• the special effects (1/5)
• sequel and you liked the first one (1/5)

TASK 2 - Reaction In 3 Words

The Girl On The Train reaction: intriguing, dark, involved. Seems mysterious and dark in tone, style and atmosphere, bringing in an uncomfortable yet confusing. Almost a borderline sexual undertone tot he premise. 

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them reaction: warm, magical and excited. Being a spin-off of the Harry Potter franchise, it already has a fan base buzzing; however, concerns will no doubt be rising.