Music promo anaysis

This is the music promo that goes with the song, we will be using still for the music promo to show points and analyse them.

The mise-en-scene of the song is very different to other promos that I've seen. In the first still you can see that the lighting is very low key and also a coloured filter has been used to make it look boring. This could reflect the fact that the ‘real world’ is boring and that nothing exciting happens in it.

The mise-en-scene in the ‘dream world’ is visually different compared to the ‘real world’. The ‘dream world is bright and colourful; It has lots of things going on at one time. Compared to the ‘real world’, the dream world is an exact opposite, this is evident especially when you can see the costume, and they are styled to look like 80’s punk rock. This costume also reflects the genre of the band and song that the Foo Fighters play.

The editing for the song is conventional and unconventional in places. When you see Dave lying in bed a graphical match is used to show how he falls asleep to the ‘dream world’, this is unconventional because usually straight cuts are used to show a progression in the narrative.
As well there is a lot of surrealism used in the promo, like the massive hands that dave has. This more often used in the 'dream world' because you would expect more imaginay things like that.

The cinematography in the first screen grab shows a massive comparison to the second screen grap. This could show the different moods and emotions going on in the promo and could also represent how the 'real world' is different to the 'dream world'.

As well the shots used to show the promo are very conventional. The main types of shot that are used at close-ups and mid-shots to show detail and there are also some pans and tracks to show the location, more evident in the opening when the camera goes up the stairs. 

The narrative in the promo uses intertextuality to link it to Evil Dead, which can be seen in the first screen grab and a bit of Scooby Doo.

Also the performance side of the promo is only used at the end where the whole band is present and they suddenly come out of the narrative and just play the song at the end.

The representations in the promo are very stereotypical but also unconventional. The main male character, Dave, is represented as being the hero because he comes in to the situation and rescues the female character, who is the damsel in distress. This makes the promo seem more story like and more entertaining to watch too. 

Smells Like Teen Spirit - Lyric analysis

Narrative in music promos

Synaesthesia - "A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sounds produces the visualisation of a colour"

• Classic narrative - the idea that we automatically look for a beginning, middle and an end. However, the narrative in a song may not be what we were expecting.

• In a song a narrative is rarely complete and is quite fragmentary.

• Fragmentary narrative may help the repeatability of promos.

Andrew Goodwin suggests that promos can interpret/ use the meanings created in the song lyric in one of the following ways:

• Illustration - the promo basically illustrates the ideas/ narrative in the song lyrics.

• Amplification - uses a key idea / image from the lyrics and develops it into a concept within the promo. A link remains between the lyric and the promo.

• Disjuncture - the promo bears no resemblance to the lyrics or its meaning; abstract; often seen as unconventional / 'arty videos; creates a new range of meanings for the song.

Intertextuality

Within different styles of media, intertextuality is used to represent links between different styles of popular media. Intertextuality is used by media companies to give the audience a chance to look for these links. This can be a way of entertaining an audience through the idea of giving the audience the satisfaction of finding each link.

The intertextual link in a piece of media also depends on the narrative of a music. The intertextual links vary depending on whether the narrative is disjuncture, illustration or Amplification. These are some examples of intertextuality within each type of narrative.

An obvious example of Amplification within media would be Eminem's 'Without Me' music video. In this video the Main performer is dressed as the well known comic book character of Robin. The fact that the character is popular throughout the world, creates an obvious link between two kinds of media. This is the artists way of using Amplification to create a strong reference to a well known television character and gives the audience the chance to spot the link. 

Disjuncture is shown clearly in 'Cant stop' by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. The music video for the song concentrates on the performance of the band as well as random activities that each band member takes part in. The video has no link to the songs lyrics and therefore, creates no intertextual links to any other forms of media. This is a strong example of a disjunctive music video.

In Eminem's 'Stan' there is a strong use of illustration. Throughout the song, the narrative fits with the lyrics and shows a clear chronological story-line. The song lyrics focus on a imitator of Eminem's alter ego 'Slim Shady'. This is shown clearly throughout the music video that goes with the song.






 

Music promo - Mise-en-scene

 

Mise-en-scene for our music video Preliminary task

Throughout our music video, there will be a continuous use of mise-en-scene. We will use the props, costume and setting that will fit with our song and video. However, due to our disjunctive style, we may use different elements of mise-en-scene that seem out of place.

These are the different things we will use:

Props:

The main props that will be shown throughout our video are the instruments. Due to our disjunctive structuring of the music video, there will be a large concentration on the performance of the band. This means that there will be no narrative involved in our music video. This guitar is one of the instruments we will be using. The guitar is a typical instrument used within rock videos and therefore will be used in our portrayal of Nirvanas "Smells like teen spirit".

This is another one of the propos we will be using throughout our video. As a group, we are going for the idea of a stereotypical band performance that suits our chosen song. This is why we chose to use a bass guitar throughout our video. This instrument is seen in most rock videos and is used most often during band performances. In our video, the bass will be played by the front man of the song. This will be the front instrument alongside the guitar throughout the video.

This is the final prop that will be used throughout our video. We chose to use a set of drums as it is a common instrument associated with all kind of music, mainly being rock and roll. The drums are an obvious way of making it clear that we are performing the rock genre through its sound in the music. The Drums will be set up towards the back of the studio. This will mean that they will be furthest from the camera and further in depth of the shot.

 

Setting

We chose to film our music video in the drama studio. We chose this setting as it allows us to create a dark room and use lighting in an effective way. This means we could use spotlights to light  each band member. Through our chosen style of lighting, we will be able to manipulate the concentration of the audience towards certain group members throughout our video. This will help us to create an entertaining music video through the use of our setting.

This is a similar setting to where we will be filming our music promo. We will have access to a 360 degree black curtain and black matting that will be place across the floor. In the studio we will be using, there are lighting rigs attached to the ceiling, allowing us to use lighting to light up each and member. Due to the black curtain and black matting on the floor, we can use the lighting in various ways. Therefore, on camera the audience will only see what we light up and what we want them to see.

Foo Fighters - Everlong

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