Nelly- Just a dream

Nelly is signed to Universal music group which released his major label debut Country Grammar in 2000 with a predominant genre of rap and r'n'b. The audience he targets ranges from teenage girls who will be attracted to his appearance and lyrics about love, and teenage boys who aspire to look and behave like him, however he also targets a mature audience as rap contains a lot of taboo language therefore he is also aimed at students and men and women aged 20-28. However selective stereotypical groups such as gangstas and people interested in rap culture are attracted. The video has a clear narrative in which Nelly is missing his 'ex-girlfriend', however it also consists of performance when he sings into the camera.

The lyrics of the song 'Just a Dream' is reflected in the music video as it contains a lot of unrealistic features. It begins with an extreme close up of water which has been edited into slow motion which immediately introduces the pace of the song. The lighting is black and white but almost sepia toned which creates a sense of reminiscing and adds to the originality and effect of the music video, this again links with the lyrics. The low angle shot of the car floating in the air above the beach indicates the 'dream effect' of the video as it is unrealistic, it also could be a significant symbol of his past relationship which he misses. The car is shown in many different shots such as mid shots, close ups and long shots to emphasise its importance in the relationship. The beach is an iconic location for a couple as it is seen to be romantic and gives a sense of togetherness. The girl is shown sat in the car with a soft focus of the sun shining through the window, this suggests that he says her as a ray of happiness, also the close up of them holding hands is a convention of music videos with a romantic narrative. The close up of his eye opening shows that it is a dream and also links in with the lyrics. The soft focus in the middle and around the edges of certain shots give the audience the sense of love and attachment. Along with the blur of lights in the distance also giving off this effect.

The different shots of the ring shown later in the video also is unrealistic in real life reinforces the audience about the idea of fiction and dreams. It is an iconic link of a happy marriage and love and it could be another symbol of his relationship he misses. Also, the mid shots of nelly performing with the soft focus ring in the middle could be another link to the ring and its connotations of relationships. The camera goes underwater to show the girl floating and the pair kissing which could indicate flashbacks of the past but it could also connotate that theyre relationship is dead because theyve been in the water for a long duration. Due to the fact her leg is wrapped over his this indicates a sexual reference. The long shot of the girl running along the beach with the ring in the frame suggests that she misses him aswell as she is running towards the ring. The fact that Nelly is looking down from the car at the girl on the beach indicates that he wants to go back to how it was and the beach could be of importance to him as they could of spent a lot of time together there or they couldve met there.

The medium shot of Nelly sat in the club with the people dancing at the edge of the frame tells the audience that he is bored going out without her and he feels isolated. The extreme close up of the word 'Gents' on the door follows the narrative that he gets distracted by thoughts of her when he tries to move on therefore he has to leave the business and talk to her.

The medium shot of the 'Summerhouse' or small flat which sets on fire in slow motion emphasises the fact that they will never get back together; asif their relationship has burnt out. It is then emphasised even more when the ring and the car then set fire and rocks and ash begin to fall, this could mean that everything he has given her has been thrown back at him. The close up of the eye shattering with glass and the ring coming out of his eye is iconic and a key motif in this music video, it connotes his life being shattered and him being extremely upset. The video ends with a close up of their hands parting in slow motion which truly emphasises that that was the last time they would ever be together.

Although this music video is slightly more romantic than Nellys others he still maintains his tough image through the mise-en-scene and the clothes he wears. The car, the ring and the close up of his expensive mobile phone still shows signs of wealth which is common of the rap genre. He wears a diamond earring in his ear, a silver chain bracelet and a silver watch which also symbolises wealth and it shows that appearance is important. His leather jacket portrays his tough image well along with his tattoo which is shown underwater, however the white top and white shirt he wears later on shows his softer side as white suggests purity and cleanliness. The girl has brown hair which is worn down showing that she is attractive and feminine, she wears a top with longer sleeves which is curved round the neck;this suggests that because she isn't wearing revealing and provocative clothing she is really respected and loved for who she is by Nelly. However in the underwater section she is wearing an appealing swimming costume which portrays her more 'sexy' rather than 'cute' side.

The editing in this music video is continuity editing which creates realism for the audience and makes the video flow, however it uses a lot of slow motion for emphasis. The special effects such as fire and the close up of the eyes shattering glass is used for connotations.

This video heavily relies on the narrative to run through it. This video links very well with the video I am going to create as elements of the genre are the same and its theme will be predominantly romance throughout.

Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg- California Girls

The collaboration between Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg creates a dominant pop genre in which the music video clearly portrays. The music video shows the theme of a board game being played throughout which sets a clear narrative by use of different props and the way they are presented, it also consists of performance. The record label/institute this song is produced by is Capitol records. The video is based on turning everything into different kinds of sweets and is set in 'Candyland'.

The video begins with a close up of the board game packaging which is called 'Candyfornia'; a play on words of the title of the song. It also says 'face the Sugar Daddies dice to free the Queens of Candyfornia' which immediately tells the audience that the artists are playing these characters in the video. The video is based on turning everything into different kinds of sweets, hence the name 'Candyfornia'.

Katy Perry wears a number of different outfits in this video, her first one being a multicoloured mini dress which has a number of different sweets such as ice cream and smaller cakes on it, she is also wearing a violet wig which could represent the well known sweets 'Palmo violets'. Her necklace is again made of delicately wrapped sweets and her high heels, headband, bracelet and ring all show that she is very feminine and girly and that she really fits in with the 'candy' gameboard theme with her character being one of the 'Queens of Candyfornia'. The location she is in consists of white trees and candy canes, candy floss and red wrapped sweets in the trees representing leaves and bushes and ice cream and swirled lollies representing grass which all relate to the candy theme. The camera shots consist of close ups of the ice creams, medium shots and medium long shots of Katy Perry exploring the wonderland, which emphasises themes of happiness and fantasy. The gummie bears also show quite a controversial element as she waves at the bear in a shot reverse shot it then shows it swearing back at her which is blurred, this also reinforces the idea of the game context as it is a competition from the happy fantasy world. Due to the candy canes turning into snakes, this connotes an intertextual link to the board game 'Snakes and Ladders'. Also when close ups and medium long shots show Katy Perry is laid in the clouds performing the song with no clothes on, she is just wrapped in candy floss clouds which again sticks with the fun atmosphere of the video but also portrays her to be a sex symbol and still show her promiscous side to fit all types of target audience.

Snoop Dogg is represented to play 'The Sugar Daddy', he wears a suit which pictures jelly beans, and yellow boots, he also wears his sunglasses to show that he is relating to the location and theme whilst also showing that he is cool and the stick he is holding is a stereotypical link to what sugar daddies or pimps call the 'pimp stick' or the 'pimp cane' which relates to his characters name very well. As Snoop Dogg is origionally a rap artist, the fact that the dice has diamonds instead of spots supports his music video convention of wealth and also girls as they all dance in provocative but fun outfits. The actual board game made from ice cream cones, candyfloss, pancakes and other cakes is shown from birds eye view shots and high angle shots to show the pathways and locations and the way that you would look at it if you were playing the game yourself.

The editing used is continuity editing to make the video more fluent to watch, also it consists of slow motion as the dice rolls to create a bit more tension in the game, and also a technique used is making Katy Perry smaller in comparison with the set which makes her look like a doll amongst tall icing volcanoes and lollipops and connotes that she is playing a vunerable character in the game. The game essence is shown by Katy having to save other 'Queens of Candyfornia' on her quest; one from a bubble of bubblegum, another one from a cube of jelly and the other one wrapped in candy wrapping which reinforces the theme of the competition against the 'Sugar Daddy'.

The target audience of this music video has a wide range as pop is such a big genre. It is aimed at tweenagers and teenage girls as she acts as a role model who is attractive, outgoing and having fun, however her clothes suggest that she can be portrayed as a sex symbol creating a seperate target audience to teenage boys and 20 year olds. This video predominantly relies on fantasy, fun and fictional aspects.

Theories...

Michael Shore (1984) says that all music videos fall into these key concepts:Recycled Styles, Surface without substance, Simulated Experience, Information overload, Image & Style scavengers, Ambivalence, Decadence, Immediate gratification, Vanity and the moment, Image aussaults and outre folks, The death of content, Anesthetization of violence through chic, Adolescent male fantasies, Speed power girls and wealth, Album art come to turgid life, classical storytelling motifs.

Andrew Goodwin (1992) argues that in music video 'narrative relations are highly complex' & meaning can be created from the individual audio-viewers musical personal musical taste to sophisticated intertextuality that uses multidiscursive phenomena of western culture . -Many are dominated by advertising references, film pastiche and reinforce the post modern 're-use' tradition.

Sven Carlsson (1999) Music video is a many-faceted multi-discursive phenomenon. Some generally acknowledged "facts" about music video are that ...#Music videos communicate through TV-screen and TV-speakers # Music videos are a form of low-brow popular culture # The reception of music videos depends on the beholder (music video may be beautiful or ugly, art or trash, etc.).

Christina Aguilera- Dirrty

In order to develop my knowledge of liiar and to help me with ideas in order to create my own music video i have chosen to analyse 3 videos. I have chosen to Christina Aguileras video 'Dirrty'.
"Dirrty" is by Christina Aguilera featuring rapper Reggie "Redman" Noble. The song was written by Christina Aguilera and Redman along with Jasper Cameron, Balewa Muhammad, and Rockwilder. It is featured from her second album 'Stripped' in 2002 which the majority was co-written by Christina Aguilera who had recently signed a global music publishing contract with massive institute 'BMG music'.
The video was directed by David LaChapelle.

Christina Aguilera's genre was previously pop but this song/video the genre is more pop/hip hop/rap. The video portrays her sexuality and shows sexual fetishes from sthenolagnia (women body building), mud wrestling and dancing wet which is also quite controversial . A bull dog is also present in this video which is iconic as it is known to be one of the most toughest and feared dogs. It shows her more fierce side in comparison with 'the girl next door' image she had preciously portrayed herself as. This song links with Michael Shores theory 'Adolescent male fantasies' and 'Performance'.

The video starts with an initial close up of a motorbike wheel and then we see Christina walk past wearing leather trousers with the bum cut out, this indicates that shes represented to be strong and tough, however it also shows her to be a sex symbol as she is showing off her toned body. The fact that she has peircings also shows us that she is tough and individual. Also her facial expressions show she is pouting with her head up whilst portraying intimidating gestures and trying to represent herself as being lusty but also hard shelled. The video consists of her being released into a boxing ring in a cage, she is then performing amongst males with their tops off showing their bodies, this indicates a sexual reference to the audience and also showing she is a sex symbol with all the male attention she is getting. She then performs a sexy dance routine with other girls in the ring, suggesting a flirty side but also like a pack mentality, she has no fear. The fact that christina wears little clothing such as bikini tops and mini skirts with her long blonde hair suggests that she is promiscous and really appealing to the male audience. Also when the 'fight' begins the opposing female enters via a ladder and Christina is given water which she then spits out which is iconic of the boxing industry. A lot of over the shoulder and shot reverse shots are used during the fight to make it look more realistic and effective. Also as Christina wins the fight this puts her in a higher position to the audience and suggests she is extremely tough. The camera also used a blur technique as the opponent falls to the floor which puts the audience in her position and emphasises how she feels.

The way Christina dances in the showers, in the boxing ring and on top of the stands is very provocative which would attract more of a male audience, however it could offend a lot of viewers by being a bit controversial, although young girls would aspire to look like her too therefore the target audience is of quite a wide range but mainly aimed at a more mature audience of 18-25 males and females. The video consists of a clear narrative which is the lead upto the fight and who's going to win but it mainly consists of performance. Close ups are used to show emotion in her face although mainly medium and medium long shots are used to show her singing and dancing. The editing is also continuity editing which makes the video more fluid and more realistic.

Codes & Conventions of Music Videos

This is my first insight into the research of music video conventions: Most music videos consist of the same or similar codes and conventions however, they will be used and consumed differently depending on the artist, genre, target audience and many other things through the Cinematography, Editing & Mise-en-scene. Editing to the beat of the music- Reflect the mood and tempo of the music. Fluid cuts and transitions-In faster videos there are more cuts and in slower more romantic videos there are less. The choruses usually contain more cuts than the verses though. Also, reflects the mood and tempo of the music.

Narrative-Music videos usually have a narrative running through out, depending on the type of genre.

The motivation in a music video is the tempo of the music, or the words of the song.

It has a clear beginning and ending-If the beginning of a music video is good it will keep the audience hooked and a strong ending will give the audience a positive feeling about the music video.

Close ups-Introduce the audience to the artist and show emotions and performance.

Medium shots- Shows the artists performance other than just close ups. Used for performance.