X-Factor case study

In our media studies class this week we had to assume we were a judge from X-Factor and we were placed in groups and I was part of team Gary.

Our first task was to Define the X-Factor in a sentence and our response was that it was a singing talent show.

We then had to say what we wanted to see this year from the contestants. Our response was a unique recording artist.

Lastly, we were asked what group we would like to have. We said we would want the boys because they are more likely to win and have a Christmas No 1 after the show.

We watched a few auditions from the first shows and had to say what feedback we would give them as they were standing on the stage. What would we be thinking from a professional point of view but we wouldn't neccessarily tell them whilst they were on the stage.

The auditionees were Janet Devlin, Frankie Cocozza, Goldie Cheung, 2 Shoes, The Keys, Jade Richards, Luke Lucas, Craig Colton, Amelia Lily, John Wilding, Terry, Winstanley and Misha Bryan.

One of the contestants were 2Shoes. From their audition we thought their audition was really good and they definitely had good recoding voice and they would fit into a genre.

From a professional point of view we thought that they needed an image overhaul and their fake tans needed to go if they were going to progress in the show because the looked a bit too much. Also, they needed to tighten their harmonising but it was pretty good at the moment.

Another contestant were The Keys. We thought their audition was really good and gave a lasting impression and they also had a good image so their audience would be teenage girls.

From a professional point of view we thought that they didn't fit a genre because they had everything going on from like RnB to hip hop so they would need to focus on one genre.

We then had to think if the contestants had anything special and if they were just singing they same thing we as audiences wanted to hear even if they sounded a bit different. We started talking about the culture industry and we looked at a theory by two men called Adorno and Horkheimer and this theory was taken from the book called Production of Culture/Cultures of Production Paul Du Gay, Sage 1997. Adorno and Horkheimer adopted the term 'culture industry' to argue that the cultural items were produced was the same to how other industries manufactured vast quantities of consumer goods.

They linked the idea of the 'culture industry' to the model of 'mass culture' in which cultural production had become a routine, standardized repetitive operation that produced undemanding cultural commodities which in turn resulted in a type of consumption that was also standardized and passive. They argued that form of music, art and literature produced today were the same thing and nothing was different and it had been corrupted by the production methods and regimes of industrial capitalism. This is because most record labels are privately owned and they will tell an artists like JLS who did not win X-Factor but are signed Epic records who will make them bring put records that will sell and change from who they were.

This video shows JLS when they first auditioned and the genre of music they sang was like soul and they harmonised a lot which made them look more original and gave them individualism.

This video is JLS's most recent video and after going through the X-Factor machine they sole purpose in making music now is for the record company they are signed to to make money they have stripped away all their individualism and made them into a group that teenage girls will like. The repetitive chorus of this JLS song and frequently recurring refrains makes each song more commercial and the more people hear it everywhere, the more they want to but an album or download the song. So Adorno and Horkheimer said it is all done for calculated commercial reasons so that the song will imprint itself on the listeners mind and provoke a purchase.
Adorno and Horkheimer also said that the songs produced today are not spontaneous and there is nothing special everything we hear on the radio is the same and watch on TV. Our brains as an audience is meant to reject anything that isn't familiar and listen to the things they want us to listen to.

Production Journal 2

After we had chosen our briefs and the song we wanted to do, we had to do a moodboard in our lesson to show an idea of what we wanted to do in our video music. Although, we didn't have a set idea and concept because we knew that it could change along the way when we were doing our storyboards, we still had to do show what we had already thought it would look like.

In our moodboard we, wanted the feeling of dance to be obvious and we wanted it to have a club and party feeling. We chose to print out pictures of dancers, a DJ, clubs, bright lights, and people having a good time. We also printed out the lyrics of the song to show what each shots of the music video when the lyrics were playing so we wrote it next to the lyrics.

We also wanted to have the feeling of bright lights in a dark club so we used tissue paper to show the glow sticks. We printed out the image of a DJ because although, most DJ don't appear in House music videos we thought it would be better if he appeared in this music video because it is his first one and the viewers would be able to identify with him and know who he was.

Production Journal 1

When we first received our briefs, the first thing we had to do was go into groups and when we were pairing up we were trying to think of people we would work best with and people who would be able to contribute fairly in a group.

I ended up in a pair with a member of my class and we chose to do the House/Dance music genre because we thought it would be a bit hard to do a video for a girl group if it was just two of us.We then went on to think about a name for the DJ we were making a video for and that was a bit hard because we were trying to come up with something original that fitted the brief. In the end we went with the name DJ Delirious. After that, we decide to come up with a song that wasn't on the brief but most of the songs we thought of were either too recent or didn't really fit the brief.

We decided to the 2006 song by the group Booty Luv called - Boogie 2nite, and we had to make sure it was ok by our teacher before we started anything else.

Codes&Conventions of Dance/House music

House music is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. House is uptempo music for dancing, although by modern dance-music standards it is mid-tempo and the tempo for house music tended to be slower in the early years of house.
House was boosted in the UK by the tour in March 1987 of Knuckles, Jefferson, Fingers Inc.
The second best-selling British single of 1988 was a house record, the Coldcut-produced "The Only Way Is Up" by Yazz and this was the first house song in the UK.

• The music videos for House music tend to have messages about dancing, love, sexuality, and drugs all underpined with repetitive arrangements and a steady bass drum beat.
  Another code&convention of a House music video is that it tend to have scantily clad women doing sexy and seductive dance moves. Also, they are usually dressed in clothes that expose their bodies and clothes that will attract a male audience.
  
• A house music video sometimes has a group of people doing dance moves (freestyle) in a circle and people watching them showcase their talent because the theme of the songs are usually about dance of the beat of the song is supposed to motivate a person to dance.

• Similarly another code&convention of a house music is that it will have a shot where a lot of people are dancing in a club, and the DJ is performing this is usually a reference to the home of dance/house music, Ibiza.


• Also, the DJ who produced the song usually doesn't appear and the vocals of they song are always sung by a female artist and they usually appear in the music video
  
  The first house music video in the UK 'The Only Way Is Up' by Yazz had a few code&convention of House music.

In this video we can see a few of the codes&conventions of a House music video. The beat of the music shows that it is a House music video. Also, the singer Yazz is dancing all through out the video. She also dances with a group of people of girls. There is also a griup of people gathered around her in a shot that is reminscent of a performance in a club.

The 2007 House song 'Let Me Think About It' Fedde Le Grand and Ida Corr is a modern House music video.



This has changed from the 1988 video because of the beat is more up-tempo and suitable to play in a house club. There is also a code&convention of a House music video because the girls are dressed quite skimpy and throughout the song they are shown dancing. Also, the DJ is not visible and the female vocalist Ida Corr is the only singer visible. The female singer also, has a group of girls dancing behind her dancing seductively.

Research Into House Music Genre

House music

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Music Video Brief

Music Video Brief

You have been asked to devise and make a promotional music video for the new act detailed below. As a new act, the record label is keen that this first release will appeal to a wide audience and establish an image that is both recognisably unique and appealing to their target audience. With this in mind, their first release will be a cover version and will be used as a platform for future releases.
The record label is happy for this release to be any of the three songs listed below and would like you to choose whichever one you can make a dynamic promo for, as the key thing is to get them exposed!
Magma (real name Jack Mitchell) is a 25 year old DJ from Milton Keynes who started out working local clubs and making demo tapes for local wannabes. He moved to London at 19 and then went to the home of dance music – Ibiza. He made a name for himself on the mixing decks and has featured on various artists to produce his new
album as he is now signed to an affiliate of Sony BMG.
Sound: Dance/ House
Ideology: Party all night, sleep all day
Influences: Fatboy slim, Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Delerium, Tiesto
Likes: Sun, clubbing, keeping things chilled and the ladies.
Dislikes: Early mornings, being in the limelight and cheesy pop music.

Song choices:
Freestyler (Bomfunk MCs)
I like the way you move (Bodyrockers)
Uninvited (Freemasons)

Major vs Minor

Major vs. Minor

Vertical Integration - The absorption a single firm of several firms involved in all aspects of a product’s manufacture from raw materials to distribution.

Which subsidiary labels do Sony BMG own?
Sony BMG also own Arista Records, Columbia Records, Epic Records, J Records, Jive Records, RCA Victor Records, RCA Records, Legacy Recordings and Sonic Wave America.

How are Sony vertically integrated (how do they profit from the different stages of music production, distribution, and consumption)?
Sony own the rights to the artist’s music, who are signed with them, so they get a percentage of the artists earnings from the amount of records they sell. They also sell the music to the listeners through CD sales and legal music downloading, and despite the problems with illegal downloads they still make a huge amount. Then their profit from distribution, is made from the public, who purchase music from places like itunes and records stores like HMV. Then finally consumption is made by the wide range of places the public hear the music from single tracks on the radio.

How do Sony profit from media convergence at the level of the media product (for example, a film soundtrack or music in a videogame)?
Sony distributes the music they make not only through radio but it is distributed amongst other platforms like in video games and their target audience for this would mostly be teenage boys who spend more time on games than downloading or listening to music. This means that they choose what kind of genre of music they put in a film like a pop song in a Rom-com or a hip-hop song in a crime thriller.

Rough Trade

Rough Trade and the 1970s

How did Rough Trade start?
Rough Trade began more than 30 years ago in West London. It was opened by a man called Geoff Travis who loved music so much, and although he had a degree from Cambridge he knew that he couldn’t do anything else so he opened the shop. He named the shop partly after a novel he read and partly after a Canadian band.

Which music trends were popular?
Punk music exploded in 1976 and it was different from the mainstream music that was popular back in the 70s and those were the records that Rough Trade stocked in the shop and sold it to people who were interested in punk music.

What was the ethos of Rough Trade at this time?
The ethos of Rough Trade was to provide obscure and challenging music to people who didn’t have anywhere else to get it from.

How was Rough Trade different to large corporations?
Rough Trade were different to large corporations because they were not interested in building an empire they just wanted to provide music to people that was not available anywhere else.

What techniques were used to expand the independent music scene?
Rough Trade teamed up with Reggae musicians in the West Indian communities.

How did this lead to Rough Trade’s expansion?
When Spiral Scratch was released in 1977 by a band called Buzzcocks it made Rough Trade revolt against the major record company to back band that could do it themselves. Once the band recorded their songs they, sealed and packed the CDs themselves which is part of the ethos of Rough Trade.

What type of business structure existed in the 1970s?
In the 1970s record distribution was controlled by major companies so bands would have no choice but to sign with the major record labels if they wanted to get their records distributed.

Explain the successes of the distribution department and record label?
One if the Rough Trade employees started a mail order for excess orders. Richard Scott began by setting up a mail order account for distribution to independent companies nationwide that wanted some of the stuff that Rough Trade had. It came down to not been subservient and been independent. The record label started when Daniel Miller set up Mute records in 1978. A French punk group came into the shop which prompted Rough Trade to expand into a record label. When Rough Trade signed a Belfast group called Stiff Little Fingers, the first album by them sold thousands of copies and put Rough Trade as a label on the map.

Rough Trade and the 1980s

How did contracts affect the development of Rough Trade?
Rough Trade weren’t interested in making hits so when a new group was signed the contract was split to fifty/ fifty and sooner or later the bands always left and signed with major record labels. So Rough Trade wasn’t properly protected and couldn’t keep these bands. Rough Trade naturally ran into financial difficulties because they had no business background and they ran out of money before they went to the factory. They were close to going bust and had to get rid of the shop to keep the record label and distribution.

What issues occurred between the record label and distribution?
In December 1982 the shop was sold to three of the workers and remains there today. The conflict between the record company and distribution began to grow. Distribution demanded record sales and people couldn’t.

What changes did this lead to within the business structure of Rough Trade?
In April 1983 Johnny Marr walked into the Rough Trade shop with a demo tape and The Smiths were taken under the Rough Trade label. Rough Trade hired London records a marketing force to help sell records. There was a discontent as Rough Trade marketing strategies began to mimic the major.

What has been the Rough Trade ideology and how was this affected by the change in structure?
Things had changed within the offices in Rough Trade and it was becoming more business orientated. In 1984 Rough Trade left its home in West Croydon, and in 1987 Rough Trade handed control over to management trust. The new system was bureaucratic and was a power struggle. There was war between the record label and distribution. This changed the ethos that Rough Trade had at the beginning which wasn’t about selling more records.

Which artists led to success for Rough Trade?
The Smiths led to success for Rough Trade because after the punk music scene had passed Indie music was something new and of the time and The Smiths were them.

What differences were there at this time between Rough Trade and other independent music labels?
By 1989 Rough Trade had the biggest roster of artists. Rough Trade were smart with The Smiths and they had made them signed a contract so when they tried to sign to BMI Rough Trade were saved by their contracts.

Rough Trade and the 1990s

What problems did Rough Trade incur at the start of the 1990s?
Rough Trade was at its financial peak crashing to the ground in the 1990s. The senior sales people left and when they went the management structure ceased to exist. Cash-flow problems were incorrect and they went into debt. March 1991 213 of Rough Trade staff was axed and its assets were frozen.

How did major labels branch out into the independent music scene?
Major labels now had in house independent labels and signed indie bands.

What actions were taken to revive Rough Trade?
In 1991 Geoff Travis and Jeanette Lee came together to revive Rough Trade and they set to work on new musical projects. They met an indie band in America who hadn’t had much exposure and brought them to UK to record some songs however, with Pulp Geoff and Jeanette didn’t have a record label.

What new music industry areas did Rough Trade begin to work in and with which artists?
Pulp enjoyed a string of 5 top ten singles in 1995 and appeared on Top of Pops. Geoff and Jeanette decided to bring the Rough Trade name back in 2001.

Rough Trade in the 21st century

How has Rough Trade evolved in the 21st century?
Rough Trade’s name was back in 2001. The Strokes were the band that will kick start Rough Trade’s future.

How are their working practises different to the music produced through programmes such as X Factor?
Rough Trade had been managing Duffy for four years before they let her release anything. When she first Signed with Rough Trade they told her to work at her own pace and come up with something good and they gave her a lot of time to grow as an artist instead of giving her a list of songs to sing which is the process that happens with artists that win shows like the X Factor and are signed with major labels.

What successes have they had at this time?
With Duffy’s success Rough Trade were rewarded with their first number 1 single after 30 years. Rough Trade had now established themselves as a credible record label and they were now back on the map.

How was Rough Trade’s ideology developed for the company in the present day?
Rough Trade continues to attract like-minded artists till this present day such as artists like the Libertines.

Music Video Analysis - Jessie J - Do It Like A Dude

'Do It Like A Dude' is the debut single released by Jessie J in November 2010.

The video begins with a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals when she says 'I've arrived' the people part to the side to show that she 'arrived'. This lyrics suggest that she's arrived into the music industry as this is Jessie J's first single and video her lyrics could suggest her arrival into the music industry and she letting everyone know through her actions and lyrics. There is another relationship made between the lyrics and the visual when she says 'grab my crotch' and she visual is then shown. This is a reference to her ability to be able to do everything a man and a 'dude' can do which is the revolving theme around the song. The setting of the video is very dark which suggests that they can handle the dark and mysterious surroundings like men can. The costume of the girls around her is very masculine: they are dressed in baggy jeans, baggy tops, they have tattoos all around their bodies which is seen as something men do. The dancers and people in the video are also all women which suggests that she trying to persuade the girls around the world that are watching her video that they have got as much power and strength that men have through her lyrics when she says 'we can do it like the mandem', the word 'we' unifies all the girls around the world. Their makeup is very masculine which further amplifies the lyrics of the song, that they can also dress and look like a boy to show that it is very easy to be a man. There is a genre characteristic of a RnB video when the video cuts to Jessie J and the dancers doing a dance routine. Their dance moves are quite aggressive and strong which further illustrates the lyrics of the song.

There is a relationship made between the music and the visuals when the beat of the music goes bong bong and Jessie J pops her chest in accordance to the music which amplifies the music. A close-up of Jessie J's face is shown throughout the video which suggests that the influence of the record label has made the director include a lot of close-up to establish her as an artist. The close-ups of Jessie J are very aggressive and they do not show her looking pretty or seductive which is the code and convention of a R&B music video. The next shot is of Jessie J dressed quite skimpy but her clothes are ripped and dirty which goes against the codes and convention of a R&B video which usually shows the artist beautifully dressed and their make-up is made to make them look beautiful. However Jessie J has gone against this to emphasis her lyrics and that she can dress dirty and 'do it like a dude'. The setting of a R&B video also usually includes place like the beach which suggest romance and intimacy whereas, in this Jessie J video the setting looks like an underground and somewhere secluded where 'dodgy' deals are made and illegal activities are going on. The video cuts to women fighting, smoking and cutting parts of an animal which suggests their strength and it also illustrates the lyrics of the song.

The fact that Jessie J also swears in the verses of this song further illustrates the lyrics of the song because usually only men swear in their music videos and it is seen as something that is only acceptable for men to do.

Music Video Analysis - Tenacious D - Tribute

Tenacious D - Tribute analysis

The video begins with a reference to the notion of looking when the band go into the studio and despite the door to the studio been closed we can still see what's going on onside. It feels like we are intruding because the studio space is small and crammed and we're listening and watching what they are doing whereas other people can't. There is relationship between the lyrics and the visuals we see in the video when one of the band members says 'hitchhiking' and the visuals of them hitchhiking in an isolated surrounding is shown. The use of a guitar straightaway identifies the genre characteristics of this video as a rock video so a viewer knows what to expect through the rest of the video. There is another relationship between the music and the visuals when the lyrics say 'a shiny demon' and a demon is shown to appear from the ground. The performance shot of them performing in the studio is a genre characteristic of a rock video as rock songs are normally shot as a whole performance throughout the video.

There is another relationship made between the lyrics and the visuals when Jack Black makes symbols with his fingers of 'one and one makes two' which, further illustrates the lyrics of the song. There is a relationship made between the music and the visuals when the music begins to get upbeat and the visuals flash as well as the guitar and a light is shown to come out of the guitar. There is an untypical genre characteristics in the video when Jack Black opens his shirt and he doesn't look like a typical rock singer and neither does Kyle Gass who is dressed in a casual t-shirt and wearing shorts, which suggests that the video has been made as a parody to a rock song. Another genre characteristics is shown of a rock song when the two men get out of the studio and begin to disturb people passing by, this is a reference to the image that rock singers have of being troublemakers, being rebellious and not caring about what they do and they also get arrested by the police. An intertextual reference is made to the actor Ben Stiller who appears in the video as one of the people passing by.

There are lots of close-ups of the two men performing the song in the video which would have been the demand of the record label to illustrate the genre characteristics of the video as a rock song.

Music Video Analysis

Jay-Z- 99 problems analysis

99 problems is the third single released by Jay-Z on his 2004 album The Black Album. The video begins with a relationship between the lyrics and visuals when Jay-Z says'radio' and the visual of a radio is shown. There is also a relationship between the lyrics and visuals when he says he's from the 'hood' and he is shown to put up his hood which further illustrates the lyrics. There is also an intertextual reference to Jay-Z himself where he appears on a TV screen at a station. This reference suggests that Jay-Z is trying to say that he his well known in his area and where he grew up and he is sort of an icon because the screen hasd the name 'Brooklyn station' on it and that's where he is originally from. The representation of a 'gangsta' lifestyle is a genre characteristics of a hip hop video. The video shows a group of African American men loitering on the streets, getting pulled over by the police, playing basketball and doing things we would associate as criminality. This representation of African American men suggests that this is the negative view portrayed of people who live in an urban area in America. The video also shows a group of people doing street dance on the street which is another genre of a hip-hop video. There is also another relationship between the lyrics and the visuals when he says 'dollar' and makes money signs with his fingers. The reference to money in this video is one of his problems that he is rappping about and relates to the title of the song, which could be one of his problems.

There is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals when he metions'bitch' and the video cuts to a scene with scantily clad women dancing in a bikini. This suggests that he has no problems with women and doesn't want to. There aren't many close-ups of Jay-Z in the video that may be because he is an already established artists and he doesnt need much exposure and this is illustrated by his lyrics when he says 'if you don't like my lyrics you can press fast-forward'. Also Jay-Z has owns his own record label causing him to have more control over what he does in this video, than may be expected from a more mainstream/ major label. Thre is reference to the notion of looking when an x-ray vision shot of his money in the boot, here we feel we are intruding as we can see his belongings but he hasn't invited us to. There is another relationship between the lyrics and visuals when he say 'papparazzi with their cameras snapping them' this is however ironic to the visuals shown because what is shown as a couple of men who are geetting arrested and having their mugshots taken and it is unlikely for papparazzi to take pictures of criminals. There is also a stereotypical representaion of race where all the men arrested were black and a white man was shown dressed in a suit which shows him to hold more power of the black men and shows the hierarchy of power.There is another relationship between the music and the visuals the music is hard hitting and aggressive just like the visuals of the dog fighting. The sound of the beat is also emphasised and the edits are fast- paced to emphasise the aggression and choas of the hectic atmosphere of the video.

There is a relationship between the visuals and lyrics when Jay-Z says 'hit me' and he gets shot multiple times which reflects the 'gangsta' lifestyle. The video goes against the convention of a hip-hop video in some ways because it doesn't display his wealth and the lyrics don't explain his wealth from selling records. Also it doesn't show women in an entertaining way which suggests that women are only minor elemnts in video. The scocophilia treatment of women is quite uncomfortable and unnecessary which further amplifies his lyrics that the 'bitch' isn't part of his problems so he doesn't need her.

Colin Tilley - Music Video Director

Colin Tilley

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Jennifer Lopez Case Study

Jennifer Lopez

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Introduction to Music Video

Music videos were created around the 1920s. American Blues Singer Bessie Smith had one of the first music videos for the song 'St Louis Blues' (1929). Since Bessie's Smith music Video technology has progressed since then and music videos have been perfected a lot better through the use of colour, special effects and editing t

echniques.

Bob Dylan was credited to having the first music video in 1965 from his song Subterranean Homesick Blues. The video features a man holding cue cards of the lyrics of the song. This technique has been used by many artists in their music videos today

Technical codes of a music video.

• Camerawork

Camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analysed.

Closeups tend to predominate music videos.

• Editing

The most common form of editing associated with the music promo is fast cut montage. Often enhancing the editing are digital effects ehich play with the for the audience. This might take the form of split screens, colourisation and of course blockbuster film style CGI. Also the green screen called chromo-key.

Andrew Goodwin wrote in 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory'. He explains the codes and convetions of a music videos.

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics e.g stage performance in rock, or dance performance in a pop video.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals.

Some visuals will amplify the words.

Some will illustrate the words.

Some will contradict the word.

4. The demands of the record labels will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and artist may develop motifs which recur across their work.

5. There is frequently reference to motion of looking (screens with screens, telescopes) and particularly voyeuristic, treatment of the female body (scopophilia).

6. There is often intertextual reference to films, TV programmes and other music videos etc.

Intertextual references can add another dimension of meaning to a text ... as well as fulfilling an important role for audiences. They can work on different levels so that theywill be undertood by some, but not necessarily all, of the audiences. Those who do get the reference feel privileged as though its a secret.

Examples of Intertextual references.

Michael Jackson's 'Thrilller' - Horror film imitation

Madonna 'Die Another Day' - reference to James Bond

Red Hot Chilli Peppers 'Californication' - Video game characters