Blog 12 CASE STUDY 3 Alex Southam

• Has worked for Agile Films who describe him on their website as:

• ‘Alex Southam is an exciting new talent, working in a dizzying variety of styles across live action and animation. Entirely self-taught, his inventiveness and creativity have caught the eye with a series of diverse promos for the likes of the Walkmen, Alt+J and Lianne La Havas. Alex joined Agile in August 2012.’

CASE STUDY 3

• To begin with Southamundertook all the tasks on his videos

• Camera

• Lighting

• Editing

• Now uses a Director of Photography

CASE STUDY 3

• Southam likes the format of music videos as, ‘you can try new techniques and can have real artistic freedom’

• He is less keen on commercials as they allow for ‘much less freedom’

• He uses Vimeo to showcase his videos – this is becoming an increasingly important platform as it is considered to have ‘higher status’ than YouTube

CASE STUDY 3

• His breakthrough came with the video Tesselate for Alt J

• Budget £10,000

• 1 day shoot

• Large cast

• Special effects –used AfterEffects

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg6BwvDcANg

CASE STUDY 3

• Chase & Status – Lost and Not Found

• £50,000 budget

• Filmed Los Angeles

• Used Steadicam

• Filmed at 36 frames per second then slowed down

• Influenced by Massive Attack’s Unfinshed Sympathy

• Went for an early 1990s VHS video look

• Only three shots in whole video – can you spot the edits?

CASE STUDY 3

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-w1nmEQ7IM

Goodwin’s Theories.

• Download and analyse each of these Katy Perry videos. As part of your analysis refer to Goodwin’s 5 characteristics).

• .Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).

There is a relationship between music and/or lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style and ‘fireworks’?).

There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, looking into the camera etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Katy Perry’s videos appear ‘Feminist’ but she also appears ‘sexy’ in parts.

There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc – “Wide Awake” refers back to “California Girls” and “Firework”).

•

Blog 10 Case study 1

• Director – Jamie Thraves

• Made short films at University

• Used award-winning short film as a ‘calling card’ to get a ‘foot in the door’ with the video production company Factory Films

• Began by shooting three very low budget music videos – cost about £5,000 each

Andrew Goodwin Key features of Music Videos• Andrew Goodwin in Dancing in

the Distraction Factory (1992) has identified the following features of music videos:

Key features of Music Videos

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (eg stage performance in metal video, dance routine for boy/girl band).

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).

3. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style) EG Katy Perry / Michael Jackson (to be analysed in separate blogs).

4. There is frequently reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

5. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos, etc).

Relation of Visuals to Song

There are three ways in which music videos work to promote a song

Music videos can use a set of images to illustrate the meaning of lyrics & genre, this is the most common

This is similar to repeatability. Meanings and effects are manipulated and constantly shown through the video and drummed into our vision

This is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored

Laura Mulvey.Please copy these points down for future reference.

Laura Mulvey’s theory relates to classical Hollywood cinema. However, we can apply some of her ideas to our work on the pop video.

How many of these characteristics apply to Music Videos?

The male gaze =

• women viewed as the objects of male erotic desire – in film and audience

• men active / women passive.

• Women do not have agency – they do not move the plot forward.

• The audience is forced to identify with male gaze.

• Cinema reflects patriarchal (male dominated) society

• Patriarchy and phallocentrism linked – phallus (penis) a symbol of power – e.g. in cinema guns = phallus = power.

Using media language to analyse Pop Videos.

• Camera work: angle - high or low; long, medium or close up; over the shoulder - point of view, tracking, pan, steadycam.

• Editing: speed (long or short take); Style – straight cut, dissolve, fade, wipe, jump cut.

• Mise en Scene: setting/location, props; hair/make up/costume; positioning of characters in frame; body language/facial expression; colour; lighting – high or low?