Film Studies - Mulvey Film

The Carol Vernallis Theory (Secondary Research)

Carol Vernallis - The Kindest Cut: Functions and Meanings of Music Video Editing

Vernallis' music video theory is based around four key concepts revolving around the production of music videos.  These concepts are: Narrative, Editing, Camera Movement/Framing, and Diegesis.

Vernallis suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative, in other words, whatever is happening visually reflects the lyrics in the song. However, alternatively, Vernallis also goes on to say how the narrative may not always be completed, and can be partial with the video - therefore appearing disjointed and fragmented, and more often than not, the video and narrative will be displayed in a montage style, rather than one clear focus. If the video is left incomplete, it can lead to questions about the narrative which won't always be answered throughout the video. Without a completed narrative, the video will be driven by something else, whether it be the music itself or other elements. 

Music videos commonly break the conventions of continuity editing, which most other forms of film adhere to. For example, the editing may be brought to the foreground - becoming apparent, as oppose to the invisible style of continuity editing. Vernallis suggested that this may be a result of wanting to make the video unique in its design, rather than following a chronological order of events, as a majority of films do. Sometimes jump cuts are used, to speed up events. Videos will often have a distinctive style of editing that is consistent throughout; common styles highlighted by Vernallis include: Jump Cuts, Breaks of the 30º Rule, Cutting to the beat, juxtaposed frames, and graphic matches.

Vernallis also researched the uses of camera movements and framing. Establishing shots are one of the key features of a music video and are used frequently throughout; other key shots are medium and closeup shots, which establish the artist. The style of framing of the video will again be quite distinctive to the video, and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. A master shot, or base track is often used, specifically if there is a performance sequence involved, this provides a foundation for structure. The camera usually moves in time to the music and there is greater freedom between the transitions of shots, following no conventional order.

In terms of media, the diegesis is the setting of the music video. Vernallis explains howe the diegis will be revealed slowly, and the happenings in the video are not always completed, as they may be disrupted in some way. Repetition is also key throughout the music video, as some frames will appear more important than others due to the way they have been shot

Storyboard for Mulvey Film

Analysing College Promotional Videos (Primary Research)

This is a commentary analysis, done by AJ and I, in which we analyse five promotional videos produced by other colleges. We have done this to conduct more focused research for the particular type of video we would like to produce.

Weather Forecast - Promo Video

When filming for our promotional video, we have to take into account the weather forecast. This mainly affects our outside filming, and particularly our opening shot of the college, as dull weather will alter the appearance of the shot - making it seem less appealing.

Fortunately for us, we have had a spell of sun for the past couple of days, allowing us to record some establishing shots of the college with clear blue skies in the background. Allowing us to avoid any shots with dull overcast.

The Andrew Goodwin Theory (Secondary Research)

After years of extensive research and analysis of music videos, in 1992, Andrew Goodwin published 'Dancing in The Distraction Factory'. He had put come up with a set of 'codes and conventions' for music videos - a range of features that you can apply to each video. 

Goodwin's theory came to identify seven main features that can be identified in music videos - known as 'Goodwin's Seven':

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, and that the visuals always have an effect on the lyrics - either illustrating, contradicting, or amplifying the lyrics. In an illustration music video, the images on screen simply illustrate the meaning of the lyrics, for example; in Macklemore's 'Thrift Shop', the music video illustrates each lyric, such as him walking into a club during the lyrics "walk up to the club". In a contradiction music videos, images don't usually match the lyrics; and any narrative will not relate to the song in any way. When visuals amplify lyrics, they add meaning to the lyrics and matches the context.

• The second feature is that there is a relationship between music and visuals; and similarly to the previous, the visuals can either illustrate, contradict, or amplify the music. When a video illustrates the music, the editing will always be in time with the beat of the song, making the video seem more polished.  On the other hand, if the visuals contradict the music, you will find that the video mainly cuts off the beat of the song, seemingly out of place. Finally, when visuals amplify the music, there will be instances in the video where something happens to the beat; for example, an explosion occurring right on the beat as the chorus starts. 

• The third feature is that music videos demonstrates certain genre characteristics, genres include: Stadium performance, studio performance, location, narrative, and conceptual/experimental.

• The fourth feature is that within music videos there will generally be several close-ups of the artist. Record labels demand that the artist is clearly present in the video. Some artists develop motifs, a consistent visual style throughout their videos. This can contribute to methods such as artistic branding, and portrayal, allowing the producers of the video to paint the artist in a certain light.

• The fifth feature follows on from the previous, and is known as star iconography; this is how each artist develops an individual style throughout their videos, this becomes their brand image, and will be a consistent style throughout their work. Well-known examples of authentic icons include the likes of David Bowie and Michael Jackson.

• The sixth feature is the notion of looking and voyeurism, where the audience is introduced to a perspective that they would not usually see. This could come in the form of: nudity, exhibitionism, an intimate location, frame within a frame. The male gaze is a perfect example of voyeurism, as it allows the audience to view women from a voyeuristic perspective.

• The seventh and final feature is the concept of intertextual references throughout the video - whether it be directed towards film, television, or general pop culture.

Contacting Current Students

We have asked some of our classmates within the HNC if they will be our interviewees to be included in the promotional video:

Responses so far:

Contacting Staff

We have contacted the members of staff involved in the HNC, asking if they would like to be involved with the promotional video, mainly with interviews and vox pops:

Meetings with the client

Client Meeting 1 - Planning

Our PowerPoint Presentation:

Client Meeting 2 - Initial Feedback

Analysis of Promotional Videos (Primary Research)

Apple - iPhone X

• Video begins with a white background and the name of the product - 'iPhone X', in vibrant colour. Announces the product in a bold fashion.
• White theme throughout the video highlights cleanliness and minimalist design.
• Brief showcase of the device, including camera and size.
• No diegetic within the video, just non-diegetic backing music
• "What home button?", question displays innovation and advancement from previous model.
• Features such as 'durable glass' and 'wireless charging' target audience with new features.
• 'A11 Bionic Chip' appeals to those who are tech-savvy; then describes what the chip does to the general audience.
• Announces new technology 'Face ID' and emphasises with variety of different people - also emphasises the company's consideration to ethics.
• Animoji announcement contains scene with a model of a head and stats on the side of the screen - displaying the tech behind the new feature.
• Goes into detail of the specs of the camera - people who do not know the specifics believe it will be more powerful; then shows examples of pictures taken by the camera.
• "You've never seen anything like it" - emphasises the new and innovative technology.

Beagle Street - Life Insurance

• Opens with a shot of family with baby - appeals to families (target audience), included in the mise-en-scene is the Dad reading to the baby.
• High-key lighting is used throughout the video to connote themes of purity and happiness
• Begins with soft non-diegetic music and narration - giving information
• Advert has a narrative reflective of a real-life situation, a father looking for insurance to cover for his family. At one point a Beagle is in the mise-en-scene which is the mascot and logo for the company.
• Facts and statistics written on screen to give clear information
• Reviews and ratings from trustworthy sources on screen to emphasise the validity of the company.
• Formal, yet seemingly familiar and friendly mode of address 

Smyths Toy Superstores

• Animated advertisement, all computer generated graphics
• Appeals to both boys and girls with iconography such as rockets/space, and princesses/tiaras.
• References to popular kids movies such as Toy Story and Star Wars.
• Shows a boy in a Smyths store, children will relate to the boy.

Health and Safety at Work

• Non-diegetic narration
• Informative video with a target audience of an internal workforce
• Formal mode of address, designed to be informative
• Uses clear demonstration and instruction to keep the video simple

Communicating with New Client

This is our initial communication with our new client, discussing an appropriate time to meet in order to discuss a plan for the promotional video:

Finding a New Client

After discussion with my initial client, I have come to the conclusion that with their working hours - it will be difficult to obtain footage for the promotional video; moreover, I was not able to film at all over half term due to the client being away. In light of this, I have decided to work with a client within the college to make filming easier for myself. I am also collaborating with AJ on this project to be able to distribute roles and make the process faster.

Mulvey Film Evaluation

Overview 

For this unit we created a short film based upon Laura Mulvey's theory of the male gaze; in this theory, Mulvey theorised that when viewing a text , the audience is described as viewing as if they were a heterosexual man, and therefore from their point of view they view women as objects and sexualise them. AJ - my partner in this assessment, and I, decided to implement this into a film which reveals how the male gaze is applicable in both media and real life. This was achieved with a narrative that depicted a real-life situation, a girl working out in a gym that is majorly dominated by men. The idea we had initially was to display how both men and women do the same routines and exercises in the gym, but ultimately women are seen as objects for visual pleasure. Our narrative loosely resembles a workout video, we see the protagonist (AJ) doing numerous different exercises with the help of a personal trainer (Kieran), however through techniques of fragmentation we were able to sexualise an everyday activity. AJ took on the role of editing, and I elected to shoot the film, with the help of Kieran for some shots which required me. I believe we captured the male gaze theme effectively, through the use of fragmentation and cut-in shots we were able to focus on parts of the body which would serve as visual pleasure for the audience; we also used the hand-held camera technique and a variety of point-of-view shots in order to highlight that this objectification was a result of a man's point of view. 

Improvements

First of all, we were filming in a public location, therefore we had to be aware of people that maybe didn't want to be in the background of our video. This affected our filming as we had to alter the position of some shots to make sure that certain people were not in the footage, meaning that we were not able to get some of the shots we desired. However, we accounted for this by reshooting some clips on different days or using a different shot altogether instead. Regarding the lighting - the light levels in the gym remained the same throughout our filming, though some shots had the windows in frame, in which the sky looked overexposed; we couldn't do much about this problem as we had to keep the camera settings similar in order to maintain the same quality of picture throughout the film.