Auteur Study

Auteur Theory is when the director's film reflects the director's personal creative vision, as if they were the primary "auteur" which means Author. This then means the director is able to place their own creative minds into their work, which helps to make the music video more unique.  The auteur we have chosen to research is Chris Cunningham.

Chris Cunningham is an English music video film director and video artist. He was born in Reading, Berkshire in 1970 and grew up in Lakenheath, Suffolk. The video collection The Work of Director Chris Cunningham was released in November 2004 as part of the Directors Label set. This DVD includes selected highlights from 1995–2000. In 2004/2005, Cunningham took a sabbatical from filmmaking to learn about music production and recording and to develop his own music projects. n 2008, he produced and arranged a new version of 'I Feel Love' for the Gucci commercial that he also directed. He travelled to Nashville to work with Donna Summer to record a brand new vocal for it.

After watching 4 extracts of Cunningham’s work, we have decided that his work is not only creative, but also very unique from any other artist we have seen. His work is unrealistic to what other music videos in the charts consist of. It breaks all of the normal conventions expected from a music video, and it takes them into a new league. 

VMA Evaluations

Sophie and Janna:

MTV-VMA Awards- Best male video

Nominations

Justin Bieber - winner

Bruno Mars

Cee Lo Green

Eminem ft Rihanna

Kanye West ft Rihanna

Our winner is Eminem Ft Rihanna- Love the way you lie

We have chosen Eminem’s video not only for its visual effects but also because of its meaningful lyrics, which could relate to many listeners. Its compelling yet realistic storyline draws in the audience as they may feel a personal connection with the lyrics. This video is also very visually dynamic with the burning house and the use of different settings throughout the video eg multiple rooms and outside settings. There are many different shot types including close ups of the actors to get their full emotion across to the listeners, this type of shot can allow the audience to have a stronger connection with the video as it may feel as if they are in the frame.

The visuals are acting out the lyrics, which is another thing we found really impressive about the music video. Not only is there a story being told, but you still get a variety of shots like mid shot, long shot and birds eye view shots of the artists that are singing the songs. All of these different shots allow you to see different locations and emotions of the people within the video.

Costumes are a major part of this music video they portray the moods, emotions and feelings in the video. 




Jolyon and Alex:

Black and Yellow – Wiz Khalifa

I believe this video should win Best New Artist Music Video Award due to the following reasons:

1.    There are regular close-ups of the artist. This is typical of a conventional hip-hop genre music video as it makes the lyrics and gestures seem as if they are directed at the viewer, thereby making it more personal.

2.    The lyrics and visuals match well in many shots in the video eg1; a shot 1 minute and 10 seconds in – a person pushes the engine start button as he says “push the start. Eg2; a mid-shot 1 minute and 59 seconds in – the artist says “you know what it is” as he points at you with both hands. Eg3; long shot was used at 3min and 7secs where the artist says “black and yellow” repeatedly, with some of the people dressed in white when yellow tee-shirts were being spun around in the air.

3.    The upbeat music and visuals match well to fit with the hip-hop genre and appeal to the target audience.

Story Board and shot list

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Our pitch for the song

Album Cover

Our setting will be in a green field amongst colourful flowers.

The artist will be standing in the bubble leaning forward smelling the daisy that she will be holding.

Pink balloons will be surrounding our artist to create a innocent and feminine feel of our Album. This will attract our target audience of women aged 9-20 years.

Back a spine

•The back of the album cover will show a listing of  the 12 tracks that are on the album.

•Half of the artist’s face will be on the back of the album cover, and we will do this with an extreme close up shot.

•We will continue the green/pink colour theme from the front of the album onto the back, to show a level of continuity.

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•The spine of the album will consist of the name of the album, and the name of the artist.

•At the bottom of the spine, we are going to have a single daisy to make it unique.

Magazine Advert

•Our theme of pink and green will continue through to our magazine advert. The use of daisies and greenery will also be used to maintain our style choice.

•The artist will be our main attraction holding daisies with bubbles surrounding her.

•We will also have the release date, and website for people to visit for more details on the artist and special dates. There will also be reviews from music critics and other magazine’s .    

Promotional Video

•The promotional video will consist of some short and snappy clips of the artist surrounded by greenery and flowers.

•Our video will be around 2minutes long just to give the viewers a better idea of the song and artist.

•The artist will be dressed in a pretty and stylish dress to continue the theme of femininity and innocence.

•We will include some other extra things to make our video different which will be bubbles to add extra effect.    

• 

Goodwins Links 

Setting matches up with lyrics as the location and objects are relevant to the actual song, eg
    green grass, dancing, trees and a different world.
   Song has a steady pace which matches to the relaxing and exciting scenery.
 The bubbles will be around the artist as well as flowers which will draw the viewers’ attention to the artist, but without overcrowding the video.
The location is a forest, which is a peaceful, natural setting that a viewer would expect from an indie-R&B music video such as the one we will produce. 

Our Magazine Adverts

Music video analysis - Goodwin

Well-known music videos

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed
Many short shots were used in the music video. There were a few close-ups of the artist so our attention is immediately drawn to her. Some of the lyrics used in the song match the visuals eg Starry eyed - silver stars literally appear in some of the shots. The fast paced music matches with the fast speed at which the dancers are doing cartwheels (as they have been sped up in editing). Many bright colours are used to make the artist stand out.

Cheryl Cole - The Flood
Natural colours used since little extra lighting has been used. Lyrics match to the visuals strongly in some cases eg wash away - literally walking by a beach with the waves "washing things away" and "bringing on a flood" when she is out on a boat at sea. Music is steady paced and matches to the speed of the artist, waves and duration of each shot.

Student music videos (from previous years)


Q1-10: Milkmaia
The colours in this music video are very bright, and the lyrics match up very well with the visuals, as there is a line in the song "stars falling from the sky" and actual stars appear in the music video.
Many long duration shots are used to effectively establish the narrative.
The song is steady paced and portrays a cheerful mood, which matches to the visuals in the song.

S2-43 New Soul
There are a large number of short duration shots used throughout the music video, and natural lighting and bright colours are used. Since the colours are fairly dull because of the natural lighting and shades of colour, the music video visuals and lyrics match up to portray a sad mood, as the bears are a representation of how the artist feels, as she feels she is the only person in the world who she understands, as a bear wouldn't be able to understand human language. The letterbox effect has been used in this video as well.

Lyrics analysis

Early late at night
I wander off into a land- Using different locations like the a pond and a mystical forest
You can go, but you mustn't tell a soul
There's a world inside

Where dreamers meet each other- Adding special affects to make it dreamy
Once you go it's hard to come back
Let me paint your canvas as you dance

Dance in the trees- We will be using a forest to shoot some of our clips as it links in to the song
Paint mysteries
The magnificent droid plays there
Your magic mind
Makes love to mine
I think I'm a love angel

Take me back to Wondaland
I gotta get back to Wondaland
Take her back to Wondaland
She thinks her left her underpants

The grass grows inside- There will be shots of the two girls playing in the field full of grass.
The music floats you gently on your toes
Touch the nose, he'll change our clothes to tuxedos
Don't freak and hide- The girls will be playing hide and seek in the forest.
I'll be your secret santa, you be mine
Don't resist
The fairygods will have a fit
We should dance- two girls dancing in different locations

Dance in the trees
Paint mysteries
The magnificent droid plays there
Your magic mind
Makes love to mine
I think I'm a love angel

Take me back to Wondaland
I gotta get back to Wondaland
Take her back to Wondaland
She thinks her left her underpants

This is your land
This is my land
We belong here
Stay the night
I am so inspired
You touched my wires
My supernova shining bright

Take me back to Wondaland
I gotta get back to Wondaland
Take her back to Wondaland
She thinks her left her underpants
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

Costumes

The costumes that we will need for our video is...

• Pretty clothing, eg dresses
• Sparkly shoes
• Flowers for the hair
• Facial gems
• ribbons

Timeline for our music video

We will begin shooting our music video on these dates

• Monday 3rd 12.25-lunch- Practicing the lip singing parts
• Tuesday 4th Lesson time- Filming near the pond area of the college
• Wednesday 5th 1.55 Lunch- Verses of the song
• Thursday 6th 10.50 lesson time- Dancing in the woodlands/fields.
• Any extra if needed - Extra

The deadline for the shooting is on the 17th October
Music video rough cut on the 21st October

The final is the 11th November.
On the 25th November is the Ancillary Products deadline
And on the 16th December is the evaluative commentary.

Our Three Track choices

1. One of our preferred choices out of the 12 tracks is number 7 called HI-FI serious because there is a fast beat that helps to make the music lively. It makes the person who listens to it feel really excited and energetic, so it appeals to us strongly due to the fact that it isn't slow paced and repetitive.

2. The second track that we have chosen is number 10 which is called XV Wonderland- by Janelle Monae. This track makes you feel like your in a different land to everyone else. It makes you feel relaxed and comfortable due to its soft tones making it easy to listen to.

3. Our final choice is track number 11 called PCD by JLS as it has a likable beat to it, although it isn't too heavy on the ears. The lyrics have meaning, and this will appeal to girls as many of them will be able to relate to it. There's a narrative throughout the song which gives it meaning and makes it easy to follow.