This is the Lip Sync Video, me and my group made. Our song was The Winner Takes It All, by Abba, this song is very sad and powerful. So we decided to act on that and use dark tones and colours to work with this piece of music. The original idea was for me to pop out of nowhere and just sing the song, whilst Llawen was to be doing normal things, and be weirded out by me. Alas it came out very gay, nor that much of a problem because i feel, even if it is very cringe worthy to watch, it works with the music. Using Final Cut Pro I edited it down a lot to make sure everything wa fitting together nicely.
Music videos are designed to promote a band or singer, on multiple media platforms, ranging from T.V and Internet, to being able to be sent to iPods, Computers and the like. However they weren't always around, and at first it was only something used in palce of the actual musicians. Back in the 1950's bands and singers had to traverse the road all year round, traveling from city to city, from country to country. Usually playing the same song over and over again, this of course would get tedious very fast, so peopel started to experiment with 'Promo Videos'. These videos had the band playing on a stage, like a normal performance, but then it was recorded, copied and then distributed around the world. This mean't that the band members could stay at home and relax, not have to play the same song over and over, and people would still get to hear and watch these videos. People like the Beatles and Bob Dylan had jumped on the train ride, since they were so popular, and racked up some large air miles, this would be a breath of fresh air for them. So as the 1960's rolled around, the promos were being made, small budget of course, nothing fancy, just giving the people the music they want.
It is a very simple idea, but this got people going crazy, and soon The Beatles and other artists such as The Monkees and The Animals. As the 60's past by, nearly every household in the UK had a T.V, and The beatles were abusing this, making more and more multiple promos, each becoming more intricate then the last. By 1967, the famous Strawberry Fields video wa released, ranging in full colour, and none of it really being performance based. This video took promotional videos to a new level, using techniques from films; slow motion, reversed film, weird lighting techniques, and the camera angles were a tad off.
However this wasn't caught on in the 1970's and it seemed a lot of artists were still sticking to the basic performance based videos. This can be shown by Abba, who have a basic lip syncing song with a white background, and the group playing instruments and singing. David Bowie as well, with his hit single 'Life on Mars' was just him singing with a white background. This was probably because the industry felt that their audience would only want to see their artist performing the song, not mixed with pointless distractions. However bit hitters like the Rolling Stones, had mushc more imaginative videos, which usually consisted of chopped up clips cuttign from a city, to a concert and finally some post produciton effects are added.
Even though this is mainly focused in Britan and America, New Zealand and Australia' bands soon picked up the ideas and followed suite. Also with the development of technology and nearly every house and home in the UK having a T.V. Australia was a key element in the development of music video broadcasting as it began making shows to host these videos. Some were called," Sounds Umlimited and Kommotion". The british show Top of the Pops, had been showing music videos since the early 70's however it limited the amount of those it woudl show, thus not becoming massive world wide.
By the 1980's music videos were all over the place. Also with the development of technology and nearly every house and home in the UK having a T.V. However in 1981 eyes turned to America as the Music Television program was launched, or M.T.V as we now know it nowadays. On it the song, 'Video Killed the Radio Star' was the first to emerge on its broadcast. The fact that the title of the song was in a sense actually happening during that time was quite amusing, now people were listening less and less to their raidos, and were focusing on the T.V. MTV was the first 24 hour music show, and signified that Music Videos had gone mainstream and the show was perfect for popualr music marketing. Also during this time, technology had taken another leap forward, with the editing and recording equipment standards rising much higher then previously. It also ushered more wild and strange videos, the performance based idea was slowly disappearing. From this revolution, music videos then began a new era, where the Directors themselves start to become famous for their work, the Internet becomes video friendly and another new medium for peopel to watch them is opened.
Promotion
When somone wants to create a musiv video, one thing that must be in their minds, is how they would promote the video, and thus promoting themselves as artists. Usually if your backed by a record company, one would not have to worry about it, as they have the means and resources to 'spread the word'. The way they do this, is they start off small, maybe only releasing the single out for radio usage. Once that has built up a large enough fan base, they create the video, and then it is pushed out onto the TV Music Channels, like; M.T.V, or Kerrang. Obviously they place the video on the channels that support the songs genre, as that would reach the desired target audience faster then if not. The video will get air time, and from that people will start posting the video up on websites such as YouTube, and Myspace. Now this isn't just left up to the people to do, they may decided to go through the Internet first.
It all depends on how you want to reach your area, if the artist in question is not well known, then the Internet is the best way forward, as millions of people who like listening to new talent will pick up on the song and spread the word. If you give a first timer a sudden million pound video, it wouldnt just be horrible because the artist has no idea what is happening, and also the auidence will look upon it badly. Another way to promote ones music video, is doing a cover for a film, whether it be a student level of a big block buster, somone will hear the song, search for it and will find the video. Without a Record Label under your belt, it is near impossible to get your video onto the big monsters MTV and VH1. Even if your music is the freshist and most wonderful thing they have ever heard, it just won't work. Hence why big time artists like; Lilly Allen and The Wombats went through the internet, because that is where companies are now looking. Before one would have to send a tape or dvd containing the video, but now because the world is focusing on live streaming and downloading videos, the best place to find them, and distribute a video for one of yoru artists, is the net. Its free, open to all, and takes a lot less time to become known then radio, TV, or even movies.
Another way to promote a Music Video, is through interviews and live performances. Even though the percentage of people watching TV around the ages of 16-25 is very low, they tend to watch music channels more often. Or a particualr show which is based around those ages will contain music acts, for example the show called T4, usually runs on the weekends, and hosts a mix of 'teenage soaps' as well as exclusive music interviews and performances. If an artist was to get on that show and talk about their music, then play the song which was made into a video, people will hit the internet yet again to find the video.
Extension of Income
This basically means, how people can get the money to fund their music videos. This has a large range, going from relying on your record label to pay for it, or you yourself have to cough up the cash to get it sorted. In the year 2000, prices for a low budget Video were around about £150,000, of course only the rich and those under thw wing of the biggest labels could make them. But, people do not need bucket loads of money to make a music video, if a friend is a film student, wanting to beef their portfolio. They may do it for free, and only ask for a small cost to pay for extra items for set and stuff. Though £10,000 can be spent, if you know how to control your money.
But to be able to get the money, for maybe small time artists, its only through interviews with tv shows and magazines, performances around the country. That will get you the money needed to be able to make one, which would then improve your cash flow. Once the music video is made, of course you have just parted wit ha large sum of money however, because it has been made it is now ready to be sent across the world. You can upload it to the internet or to a music tv show, because once that is done everytime the song is played on tv, you gain royalties from it. After that people will see it, and enjoy it, more people will request it on the radio because they saw the video. Thus you gain royalties from the radio stations for each time they play it, and hopefully a record label notices you. From this they can mass market the video and other song you have created, thus you Income will increase, allowing you to make larger more grand videos.
Extentsion of Outlets
The number of outlets, that music videos can now have access to is amazing. Before in the past it was limited to just TV, then it reached Betamax and VHS, moving on from that DVD became the next new way to distribute them, and now the internet, ipods, the number of places they can be is growing non stop. You used to be able to by the song on video, or record it to video, so you could watch it at anytime you felt like. Then technology progressed, and we starting viewing our favorite artists and music videos on DVD, burning the clip onto the disk, or buying it from a retail shop in the high street. Then the internet came around, with the creations of iPods and the new format MPEG4. When the internet was able to stream videos live, it opened the doorway for massive video sharing sites like Youtube.
The fact that all of it is free, and you don't need an account to watch them makes it all the more popular. Record labels do have jurisdiction there and can remove any of the videos made by its artists at any time, if they feel their rights are being abused. This rarely happens, though it did happen last year, where the UK branch was abusing the rights, and all music videos were removed. This is why companies such as Spotify were created for people to listen to the music they love, without having to watch the videos. The internet is now only the tip of the iceburg for consuming Music videos, as people can download them to there computers, or better yet, their MP4 players. Thus in doing so, they could be watching your video and somone who hasnt seen it watches it as well, then they like it, and it spreads like wild fire.
This was their most famous song, which hit number 1 for 5 consecutive weeks. It has been used in multiple well known films such as; Digimon The Movie, American Pie as well as being covered by Weird Al Yankovic. The Video was created in 1998, the co-producer was David Lenoard and directed by McG- Joseph McGinty Nichol.
The video starts of in a setting just like the old German Caslte in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Which borrows heavily from that film, it then moves onto the Dukes of Hazzard, also Starsky and Hutch. At 0:14 in the video, the band is shown preforming the song, nothing amazing happens around them, but it also shows they are trying to hold onto the old promo vidoes of the past. moving on from that the real obvious refrence to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, apart from the numerous soldiers and colourful background, is a wind up toy doll, which is human sized. The doll moves her body in a 'Robot' fashion to the beat of the song, this happens at 0:26. Though the song just doesnt take its ideas from films, it also uses things from other pop songs. A prime example is the dancing devil group at 1:00, it isn't somethign that randonly appears, but focuses on the fact that in pop songs, woman dance around in a 'sinful' manner. At 1:30, the group uses The General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard, and the same Ford Gran Turismo from Starsky and Hutch. It gives them this car chase scene where Steven page has his head out of the window and continoues to give out the lyrics. Again this could have been done as a way to show that a lot of pop promos have cars either being showed off or being chased. The way they show the shots, is like a comic strip, the action is live and realistic, but in each 'box' different areas of both cars are shown. Towards the end of the song another band perfomace set is shown, but now infront of a coach, with everyone looking less smart.
The song works well with the video, because it is very upbeat and happy, and the video reflects that. The song itself is a large mess, a collaboration of references to famous artists, films and TV Shows. The group play this well, with the music moving quickly and fluidly to find random connections bewteen them, whether it be just because they ryhme or what they are based around is similar. The whole set always changing, from a magical land set from a fairytale book, to a more recent modern surbuban street, with large houses positioned all around. This keeps the audience's attention on the video and mainly on the band, because they are the only none changing thing in the video. Meaning people focus more on them the first time round and listen to the lyrics of the song, enjoying more. At 0:26, Ed Robertson talks about Aqua man, a DC comic hero, with his ability to talk to fish, he uses that as a jump board to connect to Chalet Suisse, a restaurant chain which would obviously work with fish. Then he connencts restaureant and fish to Sushi, which is a japanese delicacy. All that in just 4 seconds, a remarkable speed, and because its so fast, people will keep trying to listen to it, so they can find out what he says. At the beginning of the car sequence, at 1:34 a lyric going - Chickty China The Chinese Chicken, Take One Bite and your Brain Stops ticking. This is a reference to a line the rap artist Busta Ryhmes said in a song called Scenario, but also to the Bird Flu outbreak in China during that time.
The video is really up beat, as shown in comments made by people who have watched it.
Getwellkid- This Sums up how cool the 90's were
chickety china da chinese chicken....my favorite phrase of all time!!!!!!!!!! XD
reminds us all of the good times doesnt it?
The person may be being sarcastic, but I feel he is not, and that this is a genuine compliment, either way it shows that they are the fun side of the 90's and also its very sad cheesy side. This comment can work both ways as a positive and a negative for the song, as it can show how the past was an enjoyable time, but also that current generation are getting to old for that sort of thing. Overall, the song has been known in the current US chart- Hot 100 of the Decade as being in there, as well as featuring in a range of films. It made the band famous around the world, and most people of the current generation, if asked about it, or start hearing it will say they have heard it at one point. The target audience for this song would be aimed at around 16-25 year olds, with its pop culture like tune.
Flobots- Handlebars
In terms of who directed it, or such not much infromation can be found, no matter where I look. The group are owned by Universal Republic, which is a Division of the old Motown Republic group.
The entire video is animated, not using japanese techniques or silly cartoons. The animation is like it was all made up of cardboard, with the detail being very rigid, but through editing made flexible. The colours aren't very bright, like everything as been given an old touch to it, the shades being drained so it comes off like some old video. In terms of what it borrows from other media, it is a very original video, mainly taking what it knows from stereotypes connected to the lyrics as well as what is actually going on in the world. At the beginning we see our 2 main protagonists on a hill, watching over their city, then they ride down on bikes, not holding onto the handle bars, thus matching to the opening chorus and title of the song. This happens at 0:10 and in comparison to the rest of the song, represents the time of ignorance, as childeren when life is free, and no choices are forced upon you. At 0:21 our 2 friends have reached that stage and are shown 2 roads, wit ha sign post, one with a dove on it, and another with a corporate symbol upon it. This represnts the paths the 2 will take, one who will dive into the world of Economics, Industry and Politics. Whilst his friend will go into the more relaxed and creative side of the world, both wishing each other the best. From 0:27 to 1:04, we follow the street of the Dove, seeing the place in degradation. Not as in poor thrid world status, but the roads are broken up due to time, walls are dirty (represented by dark splotches). People aren't shown to be walking around quickly with jobs, they are all taking it in their stride, an american flag flapping in the wind signifying patriotism- The Land Of the Free- as its called.
At 1:04 we see our relaxed man talk to his friend through a video phone. The corporate man has a scared look upon his eyes at first, his world becoming dark, the colours now overly saturated, making it seem like some heavy gothic styled comic. From 1:10 to 1:34, we see how industry and the military affect the main city life. Surrounding him are adverts saying how a woman should look, a child pops out with a toy gun, a car emmiting lots of gas fro mits exhaust as a man throws his fag onto the ground. Pointing out how we liter and pollute our planet as well as forcing the idea of hate agasint others into the minds of young children. Moving on from that it shows how the man rises up in the company, till at 1:38 he is depicted as the President of the United States of America. A thought which people think about, how a high street chain or a powerful company will become so influential they will rise up and take power at the head of Government. Very interestingly at 1:53 it shows a dove (symbol of freedom) being attacked by a Falcon (bird of prey) with a Falcon fighter jet flying from behind. Representative of the whole'1984' of freedom being stripped for a militaristc state. From there onwards, it continoues on this theme, with the music becoming more heated as more freedom is removed. To the point where the relaxed man stands up against his old friend, with an army of rioters and rebels. As usual in the real world, some idiot in the police force is trigger happy, and soon all hell is let loose, with people dying all over the place. However the president himself is horrifed by what has happened, and even more so when his friend is shot down.
The lyrics of this song can be just as powerful as the visuals. Overall, it is only towards the end of the song where it picks up and everything becomes very violent and heated. The opening chorus of - I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars. no handlebars- works well with the openingsequence. It sounds like a child is boasting over this amazing feat, and is very innocent, and what is clever is Flobots use this theme, of boasting throughout the song. From 0:34 the bragging is focused on small non important things like - I can take apart a remote control, and i can almost put it back together. This would not effect your life majorly but to a kid, its an impressive skill. Movers,Shakers and Producers, Me and my friends understand the future- this is during the 'Corpoate Sequnce' the guy stating he knows what everyone wants, from where he stands, something that any child would boast majorly about. Though it may seem I'm waffling on about boasting, but this is what on a basic level, ths song is doing. The words it uses as well as the visual aspects, give it more flesh that creates a deeper meaning. At 2:12, it becomes very powerful, with the President talking about his strength, what he can do, his absoulute will. I can end the planet in a holocaust, in a holocaust- refreence to the power of the Nuclear and Hydrogen Bombs, which would scar the world, enviornmentally and economically. Capitolism at its most feared position, Dictatorship.
In terms of pubilc reaction, it was viewed on Youtube over 17 million times, after being out for 3 weeks it reached number 3 in the charts in U.S.A. The song causes people to think about what its meaning is, thus inspiring people to leave ignorance and start to learn the truth about things. Anyone who has posted this video up on youtube will have hundreds of people having their own different interpretation of the video but generally coming to the same conclusion. That society is beginning to become more and more like '1984' that the life of controlling your own path, is slowly disappearing from us. That we will soon be monitored nonstop, that Capitalism will go to far, and corporate big shots who have no clue about politcs will begin to take power.
Michel Gondry was born on May 8th 1963, and since then he says he has only aged to 12 years old. Mentally of course, Michel imagination is massive this can be seen in his work. This doesn;t mean he has childish things dotted around the place, but he focuses a lot in trying to create something individual. The plans for his work would seem to cost a monstorus sum of money, and would end up looking better on paper then on screen. However he has not been beaten yet, with his work been called amazing, the best video the group has ever done. He started working in 1986, creating music videos for a french band called,' Oui Oui'. His videos caught the attention of Swedish artist Bjork, and worked on her song Human Behaviour.
As you can see from the video, it is fully of weird and wonderful costumes and sets. It looks like something out of a childs fairytale book, with the house and costumes worn by the people in it being very simple. Everything also seems to be made out of felt, and patched together. Even Bjork herself looks like a young child, or even a young woman, who is lost in these mysterious woods. At 0:57, she is sitting with a large spoon in a bowel, moving it around as if she wasn't really wanting the food, yet behind her a small moth as suddenly grown to the size of her window and is flapping agasint it. 1:40, she suddenly falls from a tree and shrink in size, smaller then a blade of grass, her 'adventure' begins, running from a hedgehog, even having to duck in the middle of the road as a car drives over. What is interesting about the car is that the bear is driving it, making me think that this is more of a weird dream then a story. Since towards the end, the bear actualy beats up a hunter, and Bjork is on the moon calling out, making it seem like a radio tower. The video in itself is very odd, but it does seem like it could come from a dream. This was one of Michel Gondry's early works, becoming more and more noticed because of this video, he went on to give Bjork seven more videos as well as working with people such as the White Stripes, Foo Fighters and even Radiohead. What draws people to his work, is most likely the positive reviews he gets from them, but also because they tend to work with the song best and fit in with the lyrics brilliantly. Though some of his works are not from the top of his head, Michel has used his past life expereinces in them, espacially in the Foo Fighters hit single Everlong. This was also done in a dream fashion, but had every member of the group in it. The lead singer and the drummer were the 'main characters' in the video, whislt the basist and guitarist were the 'bad guys'. The lead singer starts the transition of the dream, with water being squirted on the screan, which matches the action of him pissing into a toilet. His costume is some punk/gothic hard man, who has come to the wrong party and is given wierd looks by everyone for his clothes. Confrontation happens between the female role {Drummer) and the other 2, the lead singer comes in and break the fight. His right hand suddenly swells to enourmous preportions and he beats them down with it. The hand bit was actuall a reccuring nightmare that Michel Gondry had as a kid, and he would have his mother rub his hand to prove him that it was normal. He keeps the strangness going as they leave to a large telephone, ringing, thus deafaning them. Something that is normal to us, when the phone goes off during sleep, everyone hates it as it blasts in the ear and hurts. Michel Gondry took it to another level and over exaggerated it.
However Michel Gondry is not just known for his music videos, no his wings have spread even further into the realms of Advertising, TV and Film. With his advertising career, Michel has worked for numerous companies, such as Levi, AirFrance, and Smirnoff. He is usually known for working with Levi and Airfrance more then anyone else, as he makes very interesting videos. One as such seems to be advertising the jeans, as well as placing a twist on the 'pocket-watch' pocket we now find in jeans. However even though he has recorded it in the style of a 1940's/30's film, it is very modernised with the change of how we precieve sex in soceity.
The end is done to put a smile on people's faces at the revaltion. Also it gives the jeans a sort of naughty factor, capable of hiding secrets in their pockets. Also through the long drive to the girls house, you could say it doesn't show the character feeling uncomfortable or loosing the item he bought. Meaning no matter how long the trip you won't be let down by this brand.
Reactions to this advert are also mainly positive;
Bjork-ish....:D. Gondry=compulsive creative genious. Love his work....respect. I hate commercials. But this is awesome. Occasionally, commercials can almost make you forget that their sole purpose is to get you to purchase some consumer good.
いまでいうダサカッコいいの走りとも捉えられる作品ですね。 It's cool!!
Even people who live in the far east, spain, america, all over if one clicks the see all psots to this video, they will see hundreds of positive comments in a mulitdute of languages. His work reaches out to everyone around the world with his far out ideas and concepts.
One of his most famous films, was called Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and is about a couple who erase their memoris of them even being together. The way the story is told is in a non-linear narration, meaning it is not told in the way it happened. So if somone was walking down the street, then a non linear way of explaning it would be startign from the middle of the walk or at the end and reversing it. This is how Michel Gondry chose to tell the people his story, about 2 lovers who have no recolection of each other, when they had been together for 2 years. The story also contains a bit of science-Fiction with a company containing the technology to erase memories from the human brain, which is where the main story is set, during the erasal of these memories.
The techniques Gondry used to show the removal of memories are a mixture of very dramatic ones to something a little more subtle. It ranged from certain things fading away like somone's name written on a card. The sound and picture quality becomes horrbile, like a poorely recorded shot or film strip starting to deteriorate. Other things like characters are continously swapped with themselves and a younger version, or people, cars even houses disappearing suddenly or collapsing. At one point the characters are made life size to the audience with a small world or the other way around, ususally done when they are trying to hide from things.
The film was nominated for 50 awards, and won 37 of them, including an Oscar for Best Writing/Original Screenplay. This film was recognised throughout major Film Festivals such as Deauville Film Festival and the Flanders International Film Festival. The film was made for 20 million dollars but grossed over 72 million, this is obviously showing that it was a big hitter around the world when it was released in 2004. Peoples reactions are things like;
-this movie was AWSOME
-man, i love this movie but it just makes you ache
-one of the greatest movie plots i've ever seen (aswell as one of the most confusing)
-This movie should be remembered as one of the best of this decade.
As you can see the reactions from the pubile are all about praise. Some say about they always cry at this film, it has also gotten people to think about what life is all about. Whether they follow these newly found thoughts is unknown however, it shows that people really connected with the film. Even if it was very confusing for some, they still enjoyed it immensly showing that Michel Gondry is also a fantastic Director.
Michel's target Audience will vary greatly, as it depends on the artist and the song he has to work with. For example Human Behaviour could have easily been accessable to children to the age of 8. Because of all the soft colours, mise en scene and the narrative in the video, the children might not be able to understand the song and its meaning, they still would enjoy the video. Moving onto the Foo Fighters Everlong video, it again could be watched by a young auidence, maybe a bit older at like 12, but still watchable. The target audience for this video would be aimed at people between the ages of 16-25, as it has the aspects of low budget teen horrors and action movies. In terms of his overall work, Michel Gondry could be classed as being able to reach the ages of 12 and up. Responses from the audience for his videos are usualy positive, even if they don't know its him, most peopel are enjoying his work. On Amazon.com, where they are selling his version of the 'Work of a Director' series, several customer said things such as;
Michel Gondry is widely acclaimed as one of the best - if not THE best - music promo directors ever.
This is a great DVD. If you like your music videos creative then this is for you!
Both of these signify the majority of the reactions to his work, however not all of them start of like this. A couple talk about finding Gondry through other directors such as Chris Cunningham.
When I heard about this series I was INSTANTLY excited. Finally, the chance to get my hands on some Chris Cunningham on DVD. So that was promptly ordered on Amazon. Hoping to also have the Spike Jonze one delivered to me as a choice Chrimbo present. And then there is this one, at first I thought 'I've not heard of Michel Gondry' and it was promptly shoved to the back of the priority purchases list
I'd only really heard of Michel Gondry because of some of the Bjork videos and the Chemical Brother's Star Guitar
In terms of common knowledge of the general populace, Michel Gondry is not very well known. The videos he makes are, but when it comes down ot who made them, people don;t really try to gain an interest. However, the reaction to the videos is positive, peopel talking about how creative the band were in making it. Then when people find out about the Director behind it and start watching more of his work, he himself gets the praise. So in the music world, Michel Gondry is an icon, with his work getting praised everytime.
