Group Name and Individual band member's names

After much debate, we have decided to call ourselves...

THE VIXENS

This is because we think "Vixens" has sexy, womanly connotations, implies that we have personality and are strong minded as well as sexy, and fits with our song (Voodoo Child, by Rogue Traders), which is about women taking control of their man

We brainstormed names for us as the band members and this is what we came up with:

Heidi Woods
Amelie Rose
Alexa
Mina
Cali Rose
Romy
Cleo
Leila

These names have nature connotations, which we liked: it makes us girly and relatable.

Goodwin's Theory applied to a music video

Justin Timberlake: What Goes Around Comes Around


1. Institutional/ reference info
-Which video are you analysing, who is it by, and who directed it.
"What Goes Around Comes Around" by Justin timberlake, directed by Samuel Bayer.

-What genre does the music belong to and what broad characteristics of that genre does the video have?
The genre is pop.

2. What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?
The music video is shot as a film, and indeed a 9 minute version was filmed with a lot of narrative at the beginning, and for this reason the director chose to film performance and narrative in quite a separate way. Justing Timberlake in performing the song in the same setting with a lot of expression and emotion on a stage, but the narrative of the video is not based on specific lyrics but rather the idea of her tendency to do stupid things, cheat on him, and her warped mind that leads to him having to save her. For exaple, her jumping in the pool and causing a car crash is not mentioned in the lyrics, but "What goes around...comes all the way back around" implies her down-fall.

There are some specific lyrics-visual conenctions, however. During the chorus..."what goes around"... we see the dancers (during his peformance) spinning hoops around their waists. During the narrative, he does not lipsync (as, again, it is shot like a film) but at one point, during narrative, he calls her "baby" as the lyrics sing the line "baby".

3. What is the relationship between music and visuals
The video cuts on the beat, like most videos, switching between his performance singing the lyrics, and the narrative as it moves along and slowly becomes less positive and more tense (as she strays away from him etc). The beat is quite slow, and there are a lot of slowed down shots with a slowly moving camera, often blurry-to focused (or the other way round) to compliment the slow paced music. The song is a serious one and about a break up, which fits with a lot of shadowed close shots of the couple looking downwards, seriously, as if they know something bad going to happen, contrasting with their happy, smiling faces in the presence of friends (their public personas). Therefore I would say the visuals compliment and reinforce the music.

4. Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?
There are many close-ups of both stars: one a pop-star, one a movie-star, from odd angles, and these shots are usually slowed down to give a cinematic, glamorous effect, as if they are mysterious and have dark sides or secrets (fitting in with the meaning of the song). There is no real motif with these shots as they happen from every angle, but the fact that they keep re-appearing is a clear trend that structures the video.

5. Is there reference to the notion of looking?
The camera is definitly acting in a voyeuristic way with these slowed down shots, where the shadows and out-of-focus lens means we often only see hints of what is going on, but are encouraged to follow the action which is often sexual (ie. shots of the couple kissing, laughing into each-other's faces, touching each other, and the hoop-dancers). There is also a lot of hand movements when Justin Timberlake is performing, where we follow the slow movements of the dancers' hands in amystical way, and the artist often points and sweeps his hands so we are encourages to follow him.

Album cover deconstruction

1. What are the typical features that an album cover has? Make a list of all the elements they have in common.

• Front and back
• Name of the album
• Name of the band
• Track list on back
• Colour and font scheme
• Constant reference to the band's image, either with text or pictures, colours and motifs: key.

2. How would you categorise the covers in front of you? Are there any other ways of distinguishing between them other than generically?

• All are completely different and unique to the artist/label...
• 2 categories:

1. Band pictures: mostly rock/indie bands such as Maroon 5 and The Kooks. These usually resemble snapshots of the bands walking around, un-posed, at a rehearsal and are assembled seemingly randomly. Also hip-hop artists such as Ciara or Beyonce to show their beauty and are in sexually provocative poses.
2. Graphical design, no picture: electro groups such as Justice and Subfocus, where the graphics suit the music which is made on a computer, too.

3. Album covers serve many different functions. What do you think these are (ie what is their purpose?)

• To promote the band's latest focus in the time it's taken to make the album, and their inspiration, ie. an album that represents their political feelings. The album brings together all the songs under one theme and pakages it.
• The album acts as a continum of their hit song or their first release, so if it was successful the album will be something fans will be interested to buy. It represents the first single.
• It acts as a special gift to the major fans, buying a piece of the band.
• Gives the band a clear image, literally pakaging the band.

Deconstructing an Album cover:

Lyrics Analysis

What do the lyrics in Voodoo Child mean?

Baby, baby, baby
You are my voodoo child, my voodoo child

"Voodoo Child": The woman singing is a domineering she-devil. She tempts men with her sexual movements and then controls them, like a voodoo doll.


You're like voodoo baby
You just take hold
Put your cards on the table baby
Do I twist, Do I fold?

But here the lyrics contradict themselves, which is a generic convention of dance songs, as the lyrics often don't make sense and there is a bigger focus on the actual music. "You just take hold" implies that he is performing voodoo on her, instead of her controlling him. "Put your cards on the table baby" implies that her man is a mystery she needs to work out.

You're like voodoo honey
All silver and gold
Why don't you tell me my future?
Why don't I sell you my soul?
So here it comes, the sound of drums
(Here come the drums, here come the drums)

This section attaches a sexual feel to the idea of domineering and being domineered: she wants to tame him but also wants to tempt him and "sell" him her soul. This creates a feeling of lust and mystery, as she is not just giving up herself, she's tempting him to control her by asking suggestive questions.

[Chorus:]
Baby, baby, baby
You are my voodoo child, my voodoo child
Don't say maybe maybe
It's supernatural, I'm comin' undone


Here we return to the idea of her controlling him, giving him a clear instruction: "don't say maybe". The word "supernatural" gives us an insight into her mind, as we imagine all the weird and magical things that she may want to do to him or have done to her. Also the sound of the word supernatural as it is sung in the song: superNATural, where the emphasis in on the third syllable, is fierce and sexy, and again encourages us to use our imagination...

[Chorus]

You're like voodoo baby
Your kisses are cold
Feel your poison running through me
Let me never grow old

This verse focuses on the magical aspects of the song, with "poison", and the last line worded like a spell..."let me never grow old". She is taunting and insulting him by saying his "kisses are cold", but also attaching sexual meaning to the "posion" line by saying it's running through her body. She wants to be young forever to taunt and tease him.

You're like voodoo honey
My pictures you stole
You play me like a puppet
Sticking pins in a doll
So here it comes, the sound of drums
(Here come the drums, here come the drums)

He is in control in this verse, but the lyrics are so that although he seems to control her, she has tempted him to do so and she herself is clearly in control. His actions are incredibly sexual ("sticking pins in a doll"...."my picture you stole") and she is highlighting how desirable she is to him, how he can't resist her.

[Chorus][x2]

Woo!
Here come the drums, here come the drums

[Chorus]

Baby, baby, baby
You just take hold
Don't say maybe, maybe
Do I twist do I fold?

Narrowing it down...

Here are my three final choices:
Nu:tone: System (Matrix and Futurebound remix)


Nneka: Heartbeats (Chase & Status remix)


Rogue Traders: Voodoo Child

Ideas Development

So far, I've looked at:

• The genre of Dance music


• How music is currently break genre boundaries (dubstep and through remixes etc...)


• Furturistic music videos
  

Now I need to become more focused. We have been set our groups and my group members are Charlotte Cooper, Amelia Conway & Laura Allen. Here's a quick review of our first group meeting...:

1st Group Meeting, Tuesday 8th September

• We decided to look at and research further the dance-music-sub-genres of Drum and Bass and Dubstep. This being input from me and Charlotte, I will look at this on my blog and review it for the group. But we decided to only look at specific songs that have lyrics and only sung by female singers. These are my first ideas regarding these two genres:

High Contrast: If We ever (drum & bass)


Chase & Status: Heartbeats (dubstep)


Nu Tone: System (drum and bass/liquid)


...None of these songs have music videos as of yet, which is consistent with most songs of these two genres, and this appealed to us because it gives us more of a chance at being unique. We thought thse sorts of songs would be good to work with as we could have an energetic, individual video and at the same time focus on the passionate, female lyrics. But these are just initial ideas...

• We also decided, on the total flipside, to look at mowtown songs and think about putting an 80's bassline behind one (very exaggerated and techno). This is a way of combining our group love of mowtwon music and 80's style. this idea mostly originates from Amelia, who will be looking more closely into it on her part. Songs by artists like The Supremes, Prince, Patti LaBelle, David Bowie and Blondie are what we're thinking, as we all said we could visualise a more girl-band-like video with a lot of outfits, make-up and dance routines reference=ing the 80's style.

Lipsync Practice

Jocelyn Brown: Somebody Else's Guy


I really enjoyed making our lip sync video as it was a song I loved and is good experience to have, as in our real music video, we have all decided to act in it. At first I found the act of lip-syncing extremely difficult; although I knew the song very well, it was hard to keep in time to the music and on more than one occasion I messed up the lines. But then half way through Amelia told me to start actually singing the words and this helped greatly, so in our actual project, I will deffinitly sing the words aloud. In preparation, me and Amelia practiced singing the song to each other and I listened to "Somebody Else's Guy" on my iPod on the way to school a few times, so that I could remember the lyrics.
With the actual acting, me and Amelia discussed how we wanted to present ourselves. We wanted to be very over the top and expressive, and I think this comes across well. I think we would have benefitted from more than one take, however, as there are not enough close-ups ("money shots") of our faces and this would have made a nice contrast to all the Mid-shots we had. My favourite part of our video is the very beginning, which is very slow and the part where we are most enthusiastic. For future shooting, this has taught me that we need to leave enough time to take more footage, and that practicing beforehand is very worthwhile.

Breaking Genre Boundaries

Kosheen: Guilty (Plastician remix)

This track has elements of tecnho, house, trance and all with a dubstep framework. I think the lyrics and the voice especially bring a really interesting quality to the music. This track has sparked ideas about how I would shoot the music video...


These images roughly represent my inital ideas as to the way I would imagine the video... the mise-en-scene would be low key lighting, dingy, compact like a club. I can imagine a lot of disorientating shots, hand held, and flashing lights of all colours to give that feeling of another world: escapism. I'd like to do a video that was slightly unconventional and including things like point-of-view shots, and blurred camera, to give a sense of the fast-paced music.



Calvin Harris: I'm Not Alone (Doorly Remix)....La Roux: In For The Kill (Foamo's Skream Remix Bootleg).....Timberlee: Gunny Gunny (Schlachthofbronx Remix)

Genre Focus: Dance Music

How does dance music break down?
Dance is a huge genre that has evolved dramatically over the years. It is defined as any music that one can dance to, but there are specific sub-genres that we can break it down into from the past 50 or so years:

• 1950s: Rock & Roll
• 1960s
• 1970s: Disco (& Funk)
• 1980s: New Wave, Funk, Acid House,
• 1990s: Eurodance, Progressive House, Techno, Hip
• 2000s: Electropop

I consider dance music to live more in the underground scene, and these genres to be more poppy. Some of the most popular upbeat genres at the moment includes Drum & Basss, Junglee, Hardcoree, Trance, UK Garage, and Electro.

Underworld: Born Slippy .NUXX

This is a very famous example of 90's techno-trance...

Many sub-genres of electronic dance music have evolved. Speed Garage, Bassline, Grime and the Reggae-inspired Dubstep (ska) are all sub-genres of UK Garage, a genre I'm very interested in as it is strong in North London.

Brandy & Monica: The Boy Is Mine (garage remix)


Recently, electro dance music from artists such as Lady Gaga, Dizzie Rascal and La Roux has dominated the charts. I really like the drum and bass remixes of electro tracks at the moment, making them more dancefloor-suitable and less poppy. Here are two examples of successful (in clubs) tracks that are remixes of La Roux's latest hits:

La Roux: Bullet Proof (DJ Zinc remix)


La Roux: In For The Kill (Skream remix)

The remixes of the songs including deeper basslines give the songs a certain depth that make them perfect for clubs, and less of a sing-a-long song. I think tracks like these two would be really interesting to do as a music video, as they have a distinct darkness about them which acts as a starting block for a video's overall feel: the story could build on this threatening, adrenalin-like feeling.

Modern-Style Music Videos

I've noticed that a particular style of music video that appeals to me tends to be a futuristic, robotic kind, and I think this is because I like the way it parodies how music is ever changing and getting more and more electronic. Plus, I like synths and electronic bass in music. Here are some music videos that use the futuristic theme and are successful...

Bjork: All Is Full Of Love


In this video, the focus is the slow-movement of the machinery and its connection with the subject of the music: love. But is this human love? There is a sense of entrapment and prevention as if the 'love' it trapped inside of the robots. I like the slow pace especially and the way it prevents the machine from looking threatening: it is innocent. This is not a conventional portrayal of love.

Daft Punk: Around The World


This video is interesting because it makes reference to a lot of time poeriods and even music periods: The girls in 50's swimsuits, the very 70's skeleton-suit dancers, the robots... IT seems to be looking to the past in order to make a statement about moving music and the stage we're at now. The disco-like setting is futuristic and robotic.

Iconic Music Imagery

Certain artists, bands, albums, songs and music videos stick out in my mind for their unique style and iconic design. Here is some of my favourite musical iconography with some notes to get the ball rolling...


The Beatles "Yellow Submarine" LP

The Yellow Submarine album had a very clear, psychaedelic, 60's look, which reflects the groovy time period in which it was written (1966). The elements of surreal colour and shape a reminiscent of drug experience and therefore relate to the LSD-era that The Beatles lived in..."Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".... This album is legend and helped to give The Bealtles their timeless, psychaedelic image that has carried them through to today.

Prince's "Purple Rain" Album
Prince, (still going strong at 51 today) has maintained an identity as an 80's explosion of shoulderpads and bouffant hair, as he came into his own in the 80's and the "Purple Rain" album showed clearly his style. We see him in purple suits riding around on a motorbike, making the song "Purple Rain" as much about the way Prince looks as it is about the music.


Chase & Status ft. Plan B - "Pieces" video
Chase and Status, being DJ's, depict themselves in the "Pieces" video to be surrounded by their equipment, silent and intense. In contrast, Plan B, a rapper, gets very violent and talkative in the video and comes across as more interactive than the other two. Characters in music videos help to bring out the artist's personalities.