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My group's chosen song

For our A2 music video, we had decided to use the song 'Beautiful' by Eminem. These are the lyrics to the song:

[Intro]
Lately I’ve been hard to reach
I’ve been too long on my own
Everybody has a private world
Where they can be alone
Are you calling me?
Are you trying to get through?
Are you reaching out for me?
I’m reaching out for you

[Verse 1]
I'm just so fucking depressed I just can't seem to get out this slump
If I could just get over this hump
But I need something to pull me out this dump
I took my bruises, took my lumps, fell down and I got right back up
But I need that spark to get psyched back up
In order for me to pick the mic back up
I don't know how or why or when I ended up in this position I'm in
I'm starting to feel distant again
So I decided just to pick this pen
Up and try to make an attempt to vent
But I just can't admit or come to grips with the fact
That I may be done with rap, I need a new outlet
And I know some shit's so hard to swallow
But I just can't sit back and wallow
In my own sorrow, but I know one fact: I'll be one tough act to follow
One tough act to follow, I'll be one tough act to follow
Here today, gone tomorrow but you'd have to walk a thousand miles

[Hook]
In my shoes, just to see what it's like to be me
I'll be you, let's trade shoes
Just to see what it'd be like to feel your pain
You feel mine, go inside each other's minds
Just to see what we find
Look at shit through each other's eyes
But don't let em say you ain't beautiful
They can all get fucked, just stay true to you
Don't let em say you ain't beautiful
They can all get fucked, just stay true to you

[Verse 2]
I think I'm startin to lose my sense of humor
Everything's so tense and gloom
I almost feel like I gotta check
The temperature of the room just as soon as
I walk in it's like all eyes on me
So I try to avoid any eye contact
Cause if I do that then it opens a door for conversation
Like I want that, I'm not looking for extra attention
I just wanna be just like you, blend in with the rest of the room
Maybe just point me to the closest restroom
I don't need no fuckin' man-servant
Trying to follow me around and wipe my ass
Laugh at every single joke I crack
And half of em ain't even funny like "Ha!
Marshall you're so funny man, you should be a comedian, goddamn!"
Unfortunately I am, I just hide behind the tears of a clown
So why don't you all sit down? Listen to the tale I'm about to tell
Hell, we don't gotta trade our shoes
And you ain't gotta walk no thousand miles

[Hook]

[Verse 3]
Nobody asked for life to deal us with these bullshit hands we're dealt
We gotta take these cards ourselves and flip em
Don't expect no help
Now I could've either just sat on my ass and pissed and moaned
Or take this situation in which I'm placed in
And get up and get my own!
I was never the type of kid to wait by the door and pack his bags
And sat on the porch and hoped and prayed
For a dad to show up who never did
I just wanted to fit in in every single place
Every school I went, I dreamed of being that cool kid
Even if it meant acting stupid
Aunt Edna always told me:
"Keep making that face it'll get stuck like that"
Meanwhile, I'm just standing there holdin my tongue trying to talk *like this*
Til I stuck my tongue on that frozen "Stop" sign pole at 8 years old
I learned my lesson then cause I wasn't trying to impress my friends no mo'
But I already told you my whole life story not just based on my description
Cause where you see it from where you're sittin' is probably 110% different
I guess we would have to walk a mile in each other's shoes at least
What size you wear? I wear 10's
Let's see if you can fit your feet

[Outro]
To my babies: stay strong
Daddy'll be home soon
And to the rest of the world
God gave you them shoes that fit you
So put em on and wear em
Be yourself, man, be proud of who you are
Even if it sounds corny
Never let no one tell you you ain't beautiful



 Song Information

Song name: Beautiful

Artist: Eminem

Album: Relapse

Genre: Rap/Hip Hop

Release date: 11th of August, 2009
Director: Anthony Mandler

Our reason for chosing this song

The process of chosing a song for this coarse was a very long and difficult task. Me and all of my team members had many different ideas for song choices that we could have potentially used.
However we had realised that many of our choices had certain disadvantages that may cause problems for use during the production of this project and could potentially lose us marks.
For example a few of our song choices had been released by mainstream artists which would have meanmt thyat my group would most likely have problems contacting the artist's record label company.In addition we had to make sure that the lyrics of our song had some form of meaningful mis-en scene so that we could use it for inspiration to create a our own form of  Music Mis-en-scene that is based on the orginal songs lyrics.
I myself had initially suggested to use the song 'Playing in the Shadows' which is a UK hip hop song that was released by the British rapper Example in 2011, which is taken from his album of the same name (Playing in the Shadows.
My reason for suggesting this particular song, is that I had felt that this song had a very dark and ominious tone when I had listened to it. The song begins at a very slow pace, which gradually builds as the song progresses, which shows that song builds intensity as it reaches its climax, which sounded somewhat suspenceful.
Another aspect of this song that had intrigued me was the song lyrics. After I had listened to this song for a number of times, it had seemed as though to me the lyrics were expressing someone who was behaving in a rebelious and uncivilised manner.
These lyrics had sounded very ideal for me to include in a music video as , I felt that me and my team members could have used them to create mis-en-scene of a rebelious adolescent child living in the UK.

Audience Questionnaire

Audience Questionnaire Audience Questionnaire

1.       How old are you?

2.       What is your gender? (tick one of the boxes )           Male            Female

3.       Who are your favourite music artist/artists?

4.       What is your favourite genre of music?

R n B

Hip Hop

Rock

Pop/Pop rock

Dance

Grime

Other

5.       Where do you prefer to listen to music?

At Home

At School

With friends

At a party

Other

6.       How much of an effect do you think a music video adds to the music itself?

A great amount

A fair amount

Very little amount

Not at all

7.       What attracts you to a music video the most?

The music

The artist

The promotion

The music video

8.       What do you find most appealing about music videos?

The visual effects

A story narrative

The Art direction

The Choreography

The video’s message

9.       What is your favourite music video?(Please state the name of the song and the artist)

                 

10.   How often do you listen to American hip hop music?

Everyday

Quite frequently

A fair amount

Not often

Not at all

11.   Who would you say is your favourite U.S rapper?

Eminem

Lil Wayne

Nicki Minaj

Jay-Z

Rick Ross

Other

12.   Have you heard the song ‘Beautiful’ by Eminem?

Yes

No

If you ticked yes, please state your opinions on that song

Music Video Conventions Music Video Conventions

Music Video Conventions

Pop

Videos are typically really positive, bright and fast paced which helps make it appeal to the younger audience
-Bright and multi-coloured settings and lighting.
-The camera pans and zooms to catch the movement and emotion of the artist.
-Close ups of the artist are used to show the happy emotions.
-Artists or bands perform in some way usually by actually lip syncing the words of the song.
-There is usually a dance sequence which illustrates some of the lyrics.
-There are not usually any instruments present as not many pop bands actually play their own instruments.
-Very stylised – there are often many costume changes throughout the video.

Indie

There is often a mixture of narrative and performance and sometimes the whole band performs and other times just the main vocalist sings. When Indie music videos do have a narrative they are often quite symbolic and do not literally follow the lyrics.
-There is a variety of close ups to show the main artist singing and other band mates performing as well as wide shots of the whole band.
-The colour of the video changes depending on the lyrics of the song and the tempo of the music it can be bright, dark and sometimes black and white.
-Special effects are sometimes used.
-Editing is usually quite fast paced depending on the music.
-The band wears casual clothing.

Rock/ Metal:

The lighting and the setting is often very dark giving the video a mysterious, scary and edgy tone.
-The band usually performs in the video. The performance is often very dark and scary and the artists are usually dressed in black, with multiple piercings and dark make up on their faces adding to the scary stereotypical Rock/Metal look.
-Sometimes there is a narrative which will reflect the dark melancholy tone of the music and the lyrics.
-There is a variety of close ups to show the main artist singing and other band mates performing as well as wide shots of the whole band.
-Special effects are sometimes used.
-Editing is fast paced reflecting the hard, loud and fast music

Andrew Goodwin's theory of Music videos

Andrew Goodwin's theory of Music videos


Key Points;

1 - Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.
- Themes, miss-en-scene and events of the video match with lyrics of the song, to help to portray the message of the song.

2 - Relationship between the music and the visuals.

- The cuts and edits of the video are in sync with the rhythm and beat of the song matching cuts or effects to specific drum beats or notes.


3 - Music videos have genre characteristics

- Certain features are expected out of a video depending on the genre of the music, for example a girl bands/artists are expected to have dancers and close ups of the singers, whilst a Indi band are expected to have performance shots ofthe band and cut to a fast beat.


4 - Often due to the demands of the record label, artists videos will include many close ups of the artist and will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos

- This allows the record label to promote a set image for the band, which will help target audiences empathise with the band.


5 - Emphasis on 'looking'

- The 'male gaze' is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze is a focus on presenting things that appeal to men. This often means a voyeuristic view of, and an objectification, of women. The emphasis on looking also includes the artist looking directly into the camera helping the audience connect with the artist.


6 - Intertexual references.

- Music videos reference other forms of media, most commonly film, but can also be television and other music videos. 

Eminem - When I'm Gone

This is a worthy example of how Goodwin's theory can be used to analyse music videos. He says that a lyrics and music can illustrate, amplify or contradict the music video. 

1:18 (illustration) the lyric is “give an arm for" then Eminem shows his arm which has a tattoo of his daughter Hayley, which displays his love for his daughter, how much she means to him and how much would give up for his daughter.

1.33- The connection between the daughter and protagonist which is described in the lyrics is shown in the narrative of the video. It shows how their connection has become stretched due to Hayley's mum being gone (perhaps due to rehab) and Eminem having to go on planes to perform to his fans. 

1.46 "This song ain't gonna write itself" there is a close up of the paper where the lyrics literally write themselves, in other words the video contradicts the lyrics. This could indicate that he could give up more of his career time (writing lyrics) to spend time with Hayley

2.49, "She's piling boxes in front of the door trying to block it" the video exemplifies the lyrics again where Hayley puts boxes in front of the door. You could see small bits of light coming out of cracks and holes of the wall that Hayley's made. The light in this aspect represents Eminem’s stardom and the door is the road to the limelight. This means that Eminem has to leave his daughter in order of keeping his fame and career  

3.15, "Just as I walk out my bedroom door it turns to stage, they're gone, the spotlight is on". The video once again goes along with what the lyrics says, to a very accurate extent. This means that he is on stage pretty much whenever he steps outside the reservation of his own house. 

4.52, Eminem has just seen his daughter in the crowd and has realized that he is in the wrong. Hayley lip sings along to the lyrics Eminem is rapping to, illustrating that it is Hayley speaking. The line "They're throwing roses at my feet", is shown in the video, which signifies how literal the lyrics are showing his life. Eminem is now wearing just a cap and a jacket, he looks into a mirror and see's himself wearing the suit in the reflection. He punches mirror, shattering it, whilst you hear a gunshot, illustrating that he is leaving the rapping part of his life behind him.

The way that the video here can be analysed by Goodwin's theory is that the video illustrates most of the song. The video shows the tough life Eminem has to choose from between his career, fame, money and attention or his family life, which is shown through the character of Hayley

Audience Behaviour Theory

Audience Behaviour

Richard Dyer's Utopian solution theory



Richard Dyer

Inadequacy	Poverty	Confusion	Exhaustion	Isolation
Solution	Abundance	Clarity	Energy	Community

This solution gives people a choice of compensation for the inadequacies in their own lives.

An example of this solution being put to use would be if we tried to do an Anti-Smoking campaign into this: there would be clear motives that we could offer based on the Dyers solution, e.g. gain money, understand the facts, gain energy, and join a quiet club.