Mood Board

We created a mood board to show the concept behind our music video. We printed a lot of images based on neon lights and graffiti. We plan to make an artistic video so all of these elements will help show our location for filming, the contrast of filming in the dark with bright lights makes a greater impact compared to filming in daylight. We plan to include some shots of our chapter who will be played by Tolani however our video won't have a heavy narrative so performance isn't our main focus. Our mood board features a lot of close ups, we hope to recreate some of these shots particularly a close up of her hands, eyes and lips. We hope that this variety of shots keeps the viewer enticed. 

We decided to call our artist 'Vivid'. We thought it represented our artist and concept well due to the feature of bright city lights and colours. 

Music Video

We decided to use the song 'Sheets' by Shannon Saunders. The pace of the song compliments our idea for an artistic inspired music video, the song also isn't lyric heavy which is an advantage for us as we won't have to focus heavily on narrative. We decided to make an abstract video so we could include more cinematography and add heavier editing more. Myself and my group felt like this was a good song choice as it is quite repetitive and upbeat so will be ideal for a face past music video, the artist also isn't publicised so her image won't distract from the one we try to convey.

Feedback For Blogs

We had our blogs assessed and were all given a feedback. To improve my blog I'm going to start recording my work in different forms, I plan to make more videos with and without my group as well as making sure I'm reflecting on every post and linking its relevance to my music video and overall concept of it.

Culture Industry Theory

Adorno and Horkheimer adopted the term 'culture industry' to argue that the way in which cultural items were produced was analogous to how other industries manufactured vast quantities of consumer goods. It suggests that current popular culture through many different means of media is extremely similar to a factory assembly line model, where everything made is so similar those who consume it do because of their passive behaviour they've learnt, it is something that they recognise therefore they are going to pick it up. Everything that is made is very synthetic and is made with planned methods.

There is nothing spontaneous about cultural production. Songs that are enjoyed by a mass audience are often said to follow the same repetitive sequences  which will mindlessly encourage a purchase. A good example of this is Justin Bieber, who over the years has had many chart hit songs and are often noted for being quite catchy. The same style of music Justin has produced has encouraged people to buy into his songs for many years. Adorno and Horkheimer linked the idea of the culture industry to a model of 'mass culture' in which cultural production  had become a routine, standardised repetitive operation that produced under demanding cultural commodities which in turn resulted in a type of consumption that was also standardised, distracted and passive. Adorno and Horkheimer were criticised for their theory as they were degrading mass taste due to their elitist outlook.

An artist who may not fit Adorno and Horkheimer's theory is Bjork. Bjork is an artist who has been accredited over the years for producing very experimental and art pop style music. Bjork has never fit into a certain genre and couldn't be for the masses because of how much she experiments. 

STANDARDIZATION

Adorno noted that songs which became successful over time often refer to as 'standards', a category that clearly drew attention to their formulaic character. The argument her is that there is nothing spontaneous about the process of cultural production: it has become a routine operation that can be carried out in an office by the application of specific formulae.

PSEUDO INDIVIDUALITY

A mass audience will reject anything that doesn't feel similar, which is why the pseudo individuality is a vital part. Critically acclaimed products that cause a commodity are often said to be "original", but however have very small modifications to them that make them appear as if they do stand out. A good example of this is Ed Sheeran, who may only stand out because he is not typically attractive despite making extremely popular music. They evoked the image of the 'lock and key' - an item that is mass produced in millions, whose uniqueness lies in only very minor modifications.

The Music Industry Crisis

For most of the 20th century, tangible products like 8-bit, cassette tapes, vinyls and CDs were the main ways to listen to music, however within the 21st century it is not the case.

With the introduction of the MP3 player in the 21st century, music in either forms of a single song or a whole album could be bought through the apple iTunes store. This resulted in the decreasing sales of tangible products in shops such as HMV. As internet music sales continue to rise to this very day, CD sales are constantly falling.

Piracy and illegally streaming songs became popular too. In 2009, 95% of music was downloaded illegally.Commodity (of CDs and products alike) depend on status and value. This may be why now vinyls have come back into fashion, as super fans of bands and artists can gain them to show of their status and their value (as a fan and the tangible product itself).

Major vs Independent Record labels

Independent record labels may be small and localised with a niche audience compared with major record labels with a large international media group. The major labels are Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and Warner Music Group. These labels can make up almost 80 percent of the music market or even more depending on the year, although it was estimated to be about two-thirds in 2016.

Artists who are signed to one of these major record label are either signed to the central label or signed to a subsidiary of that label. A band might be signed to Sony, or it might be signed to Columbia Records, which is a Sony subsidiary. These subsidiary labels have their own staff, they sign their own artists and they make most of their own financial decisions, but in the end they must answer to their parent company. The "main" company sets their overall budget and makes decisions regarding things like reducing staff.

These Big Three record companies also occasionally offer distribution to indie labels. Under these deals, the major label offers the indie's releases to stores along with their own releases, but they do not have a say in what albums they releases or how they manage its label.

Postmodernism

'Post modernism is a shortcut to mass audiences'

Postmodernism is when something considered old is brought back or recreated for the current day. This is seen in many different forms of media and other elements such as fashion.



Derrida suggested in his book of Grammarology that there is a critical analysis of texts that are considered classic and of a cult status. This can be sen in many music videos where a reference has been made to a cult status. An example of this is Marylin Monroes's Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend from the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). It was later referenced by Madonna in the music video Material Girl. By referring to something that is considered to have a cult status, an audience is gained due to interest of how its portrays the original.

Genres go through a cycle of: experimental, cannon and postmodern. Experimental establishes the genre, Cannon works with the trend to be culturally and widely understood and postmodern is there to add humour after the genre has been established.
This development can be seen throughout music videos through this cycle:  Silent films-> Full length talkies-> Music video.



An example of a music video that parodies another is the Backstreet Boys Everybody, there are many references to horror films such as Casper (1995). This now gains an audience through the humour, as a postmodern society can now laugh together at what is considered uncool put through a slightly more trendy way.



Postmodernism can bond with intertextuality heavily. Music videos can pay homage (a form of flattery), pastiche (imagery of one text to comment on another) and a parody. A example of a music video that pays homage is It's raining men by Gerri Halliwell, with its heavy reference to Flashdance.