MUSIC VIDEO CODES AND CONVENTIONS

Wheatus Teenage Dirtbag

AVRIL LAVIGNE SK8ER BOI

We look at the media language, media representations and media audiences of these two music videos in class today. In the exam, we will answer a question comparing aspects of them (see below).
To prepare for the exam, today we look at the media language of music videos, such as their codes and conventions:

1. Performance - the singer / band are seen to be playing, to provide authenticity, so that followers believe in the talent and can see their star. Record labels sign stars and promote them  to ensure sales.
   Throughout the music video we see one main star, Avril Lavigne, signing about the skater boy. Avril Lavigne is seen playing her guitar, this shows Avril Lavigne is playing the song herself and this makes the listeners think she is doing it all her self. In most music videos we see the main performerlip syncing the words. By Avril Lavigne playing the guitar and singing to the audience believe it is her singing and that she really is a person who they love listening to. When recording a music video the a star is signed and promoted and advertised so they can sell more songs. 
2. Star - use of close-ups, sometimes direct eye contact with audience, to build relationship with audience The star of this music video is very clearly Avril Lavigne, we get this impression because the scenes always show Avril making eye contact with the camera. This makes the audience think she is singing to them.  When watching a music video a relationship is formed between the viewer and the star. This is because of the eye contact with the camera and also when the singer gets close to the camera and sings to it, this creates a relationship because it is as if the star is singing to you and only you.
3. The visuals (what the star and other characters are seen doing) illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics (the 'story in the words'). Illustration = the visuals play out the story more or less literally; amplify = the words in the lyrics are only the starting point and the story develops in other directions; contradiction / disjuncture = the visuals do not interpret the words of the lyrics and may even show something contradictory.

         In sk8er boi the visuals give a really big effect on the music video. we see car windows being smashed and this shows what the skater boi does when he has free time. We also see other acts of vandalism like grafiti and this is signifying again how different ballet girl and skater boy is. We also get to see who skater boy actually is in the video and see all of his piercings again signifying the difference between the two lovers. We also see Avril and how she is very similar to the skater boy in the music video especially how she gets the police called on her.

1. The narrative usually features the performer in 'real life' situations but often with experimental types of film making such as hand-held, dramatic camera angles, symbolic codes and lighting
2. The visuals are usually cut to the beat of the music; the editing is often fast-paced; there is often use of montage, ellipsis and intercutting, stylish effects
3. Refrain - repeated chorus, sometimes with variations
4. Intertextuality - references to other media, films, performances, events

Throughout the music video we see one main star, Avril Lavigne, signing about the skater boy. Avril Lavigne is seen playing her guitar, this shows Avril Lavigne is playing the song herself and this makes the listeners think she is doing it all her self.

EDITING IN CUFFS

PREP Analyse how editing is used in the extract from Cuffs to create meaning. Refer to at least two examples from the extract in your answer. (This means that a good candidate will write fully and freely, covering more than just 2 examples, as we practised in class).
Worth 5 marks: write half a side of A4 and post on your blog tonight. If you have DoE, take an extra 24 hours.

Editing is a huge factor in all TV shows and films. In cuffs there are many examples of a type of editing called shot/reverse shot. We see shot/reverse shot in the scene where Jake and Ryan are about to head into a high speed car chase. We can see a close up of just behind Jake's head and then it shows just behind Ryan's head. Shot/reverse shot is effective because it is a very good way to show who is talking in the scene and the emotions whilst the conversation is going on. Another useful technique when editing is called cross cutting. Cros cutting helps the viewer to understand if two events in the video are related. Cross cutting is used by putting two clips of different moments after each other to show the two sequences are related.

EXAM QUESTION ON MISE EN SCENE

When Jake is looking through the postbox at the man who has cut himself we see lots of props all around him. The most obvious prop we see is in the man's hand, he is holding a knife. This knife is good at signifying danger and it also has blood on it which can be also used to signify danger. The room the man is in is dimly lit, this makes the mood of the play seem more serious and builds tension. As we move on just a small amount of time we see the same man in a living room. The man is no longer holding the knife but is still bleeding. The blood signifies danger but the event doesnt seem as critical as a knife isn't involved. We see the room as a more strong lighting but a main prop we see in this seen are the bottles. These bottles could show that the man is an alcoholic and also shows he cannot look after his own home.

CAMERA WORK IN CUFFS

In the TV program cuffs the very first scene contains a aerial shot of Brighton pier, this is a good camera shot because it allows us to view the city from above rather than viewing in form on the ground as we normally would. This camera shot could also be considered as a establishing shot because it allows us to view a big part of Brighton and all around Brighton. Establishing shots are effective because they allow the audience to see the whole of where the scene/program is set. A extreme close up shot is used when PC Ryan Draper is looking through the post box at a man with a knife. We can only see his eyes in this scene and this is a another very effective technique. In an extreme close up it shows that we can see the emotions of the characters. In the scene where PC Ryan Draper is looking through a postbox we can sense the fear he is feeling

SOCIAL CONTEX IN THE AVENGERS

During the TV show we see lots of relations to the war. One of the first times we see social context influencing the TV show is when we see the fighter jets hanging from the ceiling in the pub they stay in when they visit the town. These Jets are obviously from the war as we see marks on them that we would have seen on jets during the war. Another time we see The Avengers being influenced by social context is when we see many of the civilians living in the dubious town holding guns. This town is in Britain and we know guns are very difficult to get a hold of in England but during the war it would have been much easier. We also see soldiers boots in the school which shows many soldiers had been in this town during the second world war. These boots would not have been in this TV show if it were not for the war.
This TV show happened just after the war so we could see lots of objects that are in the TV so because of the social context at the time.

ANALYSE HOW FAR THE EXTRACT DEPICTS THE POLICES POINT OF VIEW RATHER THAN THE CRIMINALS POINT OF VIEW

ANALYZE HOW FAR THE EXTRACT DEPICTS THE POLICES POINT OF VIEW RATHER THAN THE CRIMINALS POINT OF VIEW

 
• Voice over effect in the begining,
• The incident on the beach, who do we sympathize for?
• The experience of training and the effort he has put in in training.
 

From the very beginning of the TV show cuffs we consider the police to be very heroic. The TV show makes us feel this way by making the opening line of the TV show make them seem bold and brave by saying the lines  "It takes courage and conviction to be a police officer". This line shows that it isn't easy being a police officer and that they are risking their lives to help other people. As well as making people consider the police as heroic the TV show could influence people to treat the police better, people could view this TV show and understand how disrespectful people are to the police.  

We also see the police men and woman's point of view when we see Jake Vickers and Ryan Draper looking through a post box at a man with a knife. In these couple of scenes view the man holding a knife from the view of looking through the post box to create the effect that makes us feel like we are there and also makes us think about how scary this scene is which makes us consider the police as even more brave. 

By not showing the criminals point of view and how they got in the situation it makes us a viewer feel even more scared and even hateful of the criminal because it makes it seem like each crime committed was in vain. By not showing the backstory of the criminals it makes us form hatred for them even more because they are putting lots of lives at risk including characters from the TV show we have started to like and makes us feel sympathy for the police officers who have to deal with crimes like this.