Melanie Martinez - Tag, You're It (Possible Idea)

Melanie Martinez - Tag, You're It (Possible Idea) 

Extract from the Cry Baby book that comes with the album.

Tag, You're It is about Cry Baby being kidnapped by a strange man and sexually assaulted.

Lines like "Let me take you for a joyride//I've got some candy for you inside" are sung from the perspective of her attacker or "the wolf". The distortion of her voice lends a sense of sinister intentions as that is a stereotypical convention of a deep/distorted voice - it also links to the idea "the wolf" being male as a male's voice is usually deeper than a female's. "Candy" and "joyride" are typical attributes associated with paedophiles (since Cry Baby is still a adolescent at this moment in time of the story).  

Throughout the chorus, "Tag" is used a metaphor for sexual assault. The repetition of "Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it" shows that this traumatic event has taken a toll on Cry Baby - forcing her to replay the scenario over and over again in her mind. "Running through the parking lot, he chased me and her wouldn't stop//Tag, you're it, tag, tag, you're it"  

The following song is called "Milk and Cookies" where Cry Baby poisons her attacker with melatonin filled cookies. Due to the meaning behind this song being maybe the deepest/darkest track on the album, it would allow us to explore mature themes. However, in the Cry Baby story book; the man is represented as a wolf who is an ice cream man - playing on the child-like dark concept of the album. Because of this, we could approach the song as being hunted in the woods by someone.

Melanie Martinez Dollhouse

Dollhouse video - Possible song to choose?


 

Our Initial Group Idea

The Wolf/fantasy themed story arc

Characters:

• Keenan (Warlock)
• Kieran (Rogue)
• Harry (Warrior)

Location: 

• Broken castle
• Large fields.

Song: The Wolf

1st Scene	Fade into knight with sword almost impaled into the ground, slow Mo of knight standing up and standing with sword getting ready to fight.
2nd Scene	Switch to knight over shoulder shot to show an approaching person, thief looking person that is wielding a sword also.
3rd Scene	Slow Mo walk around anticipating battle. Shots on both of the people and their points of views.
4th Scene	Knight swings his sword at the rogue but the rogue dodges and the way. This then leads into a flashback to give the story some back-story.
CHORUS	This will continue the fight scene with slow motion being the main feature in this fight to fit the theme and pace of it.
5th Scene	The general idea at this point onwards is to introduce backstory and not have the entire video a fight scene but only leave that at the chorus.

The general plan is to add a side story involving another character maybe a seller or a merchant. The idea would be the warrior character would start making a friendship with this character from selling him new things and the warrior going out and using these maybe tools to do things etc.

This will then lead on to the thief holding up the shop to steal money or killing the shop keeper.

 

Dark Wave Genre

Dark Wave Genre

Dark wave or darkwave is a music genre that began in the late 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of new wave and post-punk. Building on those basic principles, dark wave added dark, introspective lyrics and an undertone of sorrow for some bands. Recently dark wave has become blended with the pop genre which has caused it to rise in popularity. Song artists who are considered dark wave/pop artists include Melanie Martinez & Lana Del Rey.

1. 
   
   

Melanie Martinez - Pity Party Music Video

Melanie Martinez - Pity Party

 


"Pity Party"is a modern take on 1965's "It's My Party" by Leslie Gore. The theme of this song is that Melanie's character "Cry Baby" throws herself a pity party because none of her friends show up to her birthday party. The setting shows multiple vintage plush toys in an old-fashioned house. Conventional party props such cookies, party invitations, a birthday cake, party hats and so on. The idea of this visually being a dysfunctional birthday party however is the the use of juxtaposing props and actions such as Cry Baby dressing up as clown, talking to her imaginary guests, curtains on fire, decapitated toys, smashed cake and angry facial expressions.

Analysis of Melanie Martinez - Sippy Cup Music Video

Melanie Martinez - Sippy Cup Music Video Analysis

Melanie Martinez's song "Sippy Cup" plays on the theme of an alcoholic mother who drinks to cope with the infidelity of her husband. Some parents used to put cough syrup/alcohol in their babies bottles to make them sleep through the night. As a result, the music video and song lyrics are using the sippy cup as a metaphor for trying to blur/forget reality - "blood still stains when the sheets are washed, sex don't sleep when the lights are off, kids are still depressed when you dress them up, and syrup is still syrup in a sippy cup. In the video Melainie plays the character fantasy version of herself named "Cry Baby" from her debut album. Two versions of Cry Baby parallel each other in the video: one depicted as a pure angel with a giant teddy bear & the other one is shown as Cry Baby wearing a pink playsuit and bonnet in bed.

One interpretation of the angelic version of Cry Baby is that because she is a child, her omniscient view on her mother's alcoholism is innocent. This could be reinforced by the giant teddy bear as teddy bears are a symbolic convention of child like themes - continuing the child theme of the album.


Key lighting suggests that there are is a dark undertone to song. As a result, it could be seen as foreshadowing the homicide of Cry Baby's father and his mistress. Match on action shots at the beginning draws the audience's attention to a sippy cup and bottle of alcohol, further reinforcing the idea of foreshadowing that alcoholism is big factor that contributes to the events that unravel in the video. 

Analysis Melanie Martinez Cry Baby Album Cover

Melanie Martinez Album - "Cry Baby"Album Cover

Melanie Martinez Research

Birth name	Melanie Adele Martinez
Born	April 28, 1995 (age 20) Baldwin, New York, U.S.
Genres	Pop/   dark wave
Occupation(s)	Singer   songwriter   photographer
Instruments	Vocals   guitar
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Atlantic
Website	melaniemartinezmusic.com

Melanie Adele Martinez

April 28, 1995 (age 20)
Baldwin, New York, U.S.

• Pop/
 
• dark wave

• Singer
 
• songwriter
 
• photographer
 

• Vocals
 
• guitar

2012–present

Atlantic

melaniemartinezmusic.com

Melanie Martinez

Melanie Adele Martinez (born April 28, 1995 in Baldwin, New York) is an American singer, songwriter, and photographer of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent. She was a member of Team Adam in the third season of the American television vocal talent show The Voice. On April 22, 2014, she released the lead single "Dollhouse", from her debut EP Dollhouse. On August 14, 2015, Martinez's debut album titled Cry Baby was released with lead single "Pity Party".

After the show, Martinez began working independently on original material. She released her debut single, "Dollhouse" on April 22, 2014 with a music video. The song was produced and cowritten by NYC songwriting duo Kinetics & One Love. On April 7, 2014, Martinez announced that she'd been signed to Atlantic Records and that she would be going on tour. She also announced her debut EP, "Dollhouse", which was released on May 19, 2014. Martinez's song "Carousel" was featured in a preview for FX's miniseries American Horror Story: Freak Show, with the theme song also being a riff on the song. On June 2, 2015, Martinez released the single "Pity Party" from her debut album Cry Baby. In the run up to the album release, Martinez released her new single "Soap" on July 10, 2015. and debuted "Sippy Cup" on July 31, followed by the album 14 days later.

Melanie's first tour was titled "Dollhouse Tour" which ran from 2013-2014. Due to the success of the release of her album "Cry Baby", a worldwide tour is expected to take place in the future. 

Feeling Myself (Nicki Minaj ft Beyonce) Analysis

Feeling Myself Snippet :

As this music video is an exclusive to Tidal, a short snippet was put on YouTube to entice viewers into watching the real thing. Music video snippets have a similar purpose to movie trailers. They are used to not only promote a music video, but also builds hype towards the release. 

Analysis of "Feeling Myself"

Nicki Minaj GIF taken from the full video. Scene appears when
Nicki raps "Every time I whip it, I be talkin' so reckless".  This 
scene is a literal interpretation of the lyric as Nicki is seen 
whining (Caribbean dance move that is often referred to 
as whipping)  in a kitchen, whipping a mixture in a mixing
bowl. 

From the general vibe of the sound of the music video & visual communication, it is clear that "Feeling Myself" belongs to the Hip-Hop genre. Nicki Minaj is primarily a hip-hop idol which reinforces the genre the of the song, along with the featuring of Beyonce who has affiliated herself with the hip-hop genre on many occasions.

The theme of the song centres around being confident in yourself in all elements: image, financially and sexually. 

Music Genre Analysis Research

Music Genre Analysis Research

Pop music is a genre of music. It derives from the the word Popular which is how it has its abbreviated name of Pop. The genre initially came from American Markets in the early 1950's/1960's which originally came from the genre of rock and roll.

The term of "Pop music" and "Popular music" are often used interchangeably. However, even though the general premise of the genre is, "Popular Music", it can also be used to describe  upbeat music that frequents the charts. This is why pop music is usually described as "eclectic" as it borrows from many different styles including: Dance, Rock, Latin, Country and Urban music genres.

Other versions of pop such as "Hard pop", are recognized from being a mixture of hard rock and melodic pop music. This tends to be louder and more aggressive than pop and features instruments such as electric guitars, drums and bass guitar very similar to other genres such as rock.

Rhythm & Blue (R&B Conventions)

Rhythm and Blues Music Video Conventions

1. Usually a narrative.

2. Artist/band always shown.

3. Usually dance routine.

4. Close up of artists.

5. Usually set in clam locations such as house, beaches.

6. Hardly no performance.

7. Women usually wear revelaing clothing.

8. Money is potryed positively.

9. Alcohol and party scenes.

10. Use of special effects.

EXAMPLES: Destiny's Child, Rihanna, Beyonce

Dance Genre Mood Board

R&B Genre

R&B Genre Mood Board

Dream Pop Genre

Dream Pop Genre Mood Board

Jazz Mood Board

Jazz Genre Mood Board

Music Video Idea

She Wolf (Falling To Pieces) ft. Sia - New Idea For Our Music Video

An idea for the group that I have come up with is creating a video that includes David Guetta's songs. The songs that would be considered would be:

The idea of this song would be to film someone running through the forest with another person chasing that person. Throughout the chorus it will show the chase through the forest with a man chasing him with a gun, some areas of this will be slow-mo or slowed down to an extent.

When the verse is on it will show the events leading up to the chase. This will show maybe some involvement with an addiction or gambling leading to someone trying to kill the person. Another idea would be someone chasing this person down due to them displaying supernatural abilities which could be a reference to other David Guetta videos such as Titanium.

Another idea is the using the same idea but a different song. This could be to the song, Titanium. The idea behind this idea is the fact that it could be described as a homage to the original video.

Explicit Themes and Their Effects

Explicit Themes and Their Effects

Currently the most talked about music has subsequently led to its widespread popularity due to the supposed 'wow' factor or typical rebellious nature of the material. 
Music videos that include large amounts of nudity do typically be removed from popular video sharing sites such as 'Blurred Lines' by Robin Thicke but could be found on the artist's own site and less regulated sites. Despite lack of accessibility, the video made headlines and became highly sought after. Furthermore, the song itself became a summer 2014 hit and gained further success within holiday resorts such as Cancun and Ibiza. 

Artists themselves have become synonymous with explicit material and most notable of which is hip-hop artists such as Eminem, Iggy Azalea, Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Jay Z and many more. Due to the adult nature of the lyrics within the music, hip-hop songs are often avoided on radio which has led to more outrageous promo videos to reclaim sales. Overall however, the explicit language do and could damage future sales of singles due to lack of accessibility that other songs typically receive. 

In some cases, the songs that artists produce are often not the reason that they are censored (like 'Blurred Lines'). Recently, once Disney actress, Miley Cyrus has released a collection of widely available songs yet due to her live presentation of them and often sexually motivated promo videos, she has caused controversy. Last year with her release of the song 'We Won't Stop' the YouTube promo reached  584,342,863 views with yet over a million dislikes making up half of the overall ratings. Despite negative response and controversy with the alternative topic and style, it quickly became one of the most viewed singles of all time and this reflected in the sales.

Hip-Hop Music Video Conventions

Hip-Hop Music Video Conventions

1. Usually includes the artist.

2. Normally set in a club or a party environment.

3. Usually no storyline.

4. Typically women dancers or models, usually half naked.

5. Features jewellery, alcohol and sports cars.

6. Features mansion and branded clothing.

7. Usually other famous artists are featured in the music video.

EXAMPLES: Nicki Minaj, 50 Cent, Notorious B.I.G, Iggy Azalea, Kanye West.

Initial Idea for Media - Powerpoint Screens

Initial Idea for Media - Powerpoint Screens

Purpose of a Music Video in the Digital Age

The main point of a Music Video is to sell products and advertise a brand. However, the other connected products are also marketed by a music video.

For example, the album the song is featured on, the film the song is a part of, an upcoming tour that the artist/band are going to perform, artist/band merchandise such as T-shirts. However, music videos are an unusual form of marketing as they allow the audience full access to the product they are selling. When a music products are advertising, for example, a brand of coffee or an item of clothing, the advert suggests the product is desirable but the audience does not get to taste the coffee or wear the clothes.

Prior to the digital age, allowing the audience full access to the product in the marketing was too problematic. The song was only available at specified times in places which were approved of by the record company, such as on weekly  television chart countdown shows like Top of the Pops.

Videos could be uploaded to video hosting sites like YouTube and viewed using portable media devices such as mobile phones and apple devices, allowing audiences to see the video and hear the song  whenever and wherever they liked.

The advent of such technologies proved to be problematic for the music industry as audiences were less inclined to buy a physical copy of a song if they could listen to it online for free.

As a result, most record companies now allow their artists' music videos to be online but under controlled conditions.

Similarly, MTV networks and Warner Music Group have allowed American Internet users to access music videos via the MTV site.

Conventions of a Music Video

Conventions of a Music Video

As discussed previously, the purpose of a music video is primarily to advertise. It persuades viewers to purchase a copy of the song featured and other products associated with the artist. To this end, the video needs to add something to the experience of hearing the song.

Movement

Essential to music video and usually complements the rhythm of the song. Movement can be
achieved by physically moving the camera, the people in the video dancing and moving around screen etc.

This then heavily relies on the dancers and artists movement and not the cameras movement initially. However, the panning which is regularly seen in films also makes its way to music videos regularly when a overall larger shot is needed to be shown.

Narrative

Not all Music Videos have an over-line story or plot to it. However, every music video must follow a
set of rules regarding continuity which does feature in most modern music videos.

The storyline may relate to the song's lyrics and illustrate what is being said or be independent from the song or be independent from the song and tell a different story. Other videos have much more explicit narratives which are more closely linked to the song's lyrics. 

Band/Artist

The artist may be featured performing their music, either in the form of lip-syncing or playing
instruments in the case of a band.

Sometimes, a band or artist are represented in some other way in the video, such as by animation or actors playing the role of the artist.
Many videos feature more explicit narratives which are more closely linked to the song lyrics. This will then usually feature the artist or band in the music video and the video will have a warning at the beginning which is endorsed by that celebrity. 

Intertextuality

Music video is such a well established genre that it is possible for producers to play with the
conventions by making references to the genre in general and to other music videos also known as Intertextuality.

References can also be more esoteric and obscure, allowing the audience to feel pleasure when they recognize the reference. Many artists make references to other artists/bands. This is also included in other works such as music videos making reference to other music videos or previous works of themselves or other artists.

Typical Conventions of a Music Video

Typical Conventions of a Music Video

Camera Shots

Long shots, close-ups and extreme close-ups are constantly used. Close-ups are usually used in music videos as it puts emphasis on the artist or bands face for promotional reasons and their lips to show the lip-syncing.

Camera Movement

Pans, dolly tack shots, crane shots and tilts are used to follow the movements of the singer/band or dancers.

Editing

Jump cuts are the most commonly used as its purpose is to jump from a scene of the location to the artist to the instruments and vice-versa. Reaction shots are used with music videos with narrative as it expresses the relationship between two or more people. The pave of the editing is always in sync with the beat of the track.

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene is associated to the inter-textual link of the music video, therefore it depends on the representation. For example, a video based on a sixties film (Madonna - "Material Girl" is based on "Diamonds are a girls best friend" from a Marilyn Monroe film performance. This would use iconic staging, characters, costumes and so on to represent the time.

Lighting: Extreme artificial lighting is the most common type of lighting used in music videos as it helps to enhance the look of the artist or band through making them seem "ageless", this is commonly used in pop music videos. Lighting switches help to indicate a shift from the chorus to verse and vice-versa. Finally, lighting also enhances the atmosphere as it can be used to give a bright and upbeat feel particularly in dance music videos or a dark and eerie feel which is used mostly in rock music videos. For example, Cheryl Cole's video for "Fight for this love", uses the lighting to show her flawless complexion.

Props: Props are essential in music videos.

Costume: Reflect the genre of the music and the style of the artist: therefore costumes are essential because they compliment the artist. For example, Lady Gaga has specific clothing to show off her fashion, this is evident in her "Poker face" video.

Colour: Colour represents the mood of the song for example; bright colours are usually used in "feel good" pop songs, a good example is Kylie Minogue's, "In your eyes" video.

Sound: Usually the sound is the music and vocals; however some music videos are similar to short films with acting, therefore in these clips there are various sound which can be heard such as diegetic and non-diegetic sounds.