Music 2- 'Hurt' Johnny Cash

At the beginning of the music video Johnney cash is sat in a dim lit room dressed in black with his guitar. This is symbolic as he is known as ‘the man in black’ and always carrying around his guitar. There are close up shots of the gold statues which surround him, tis shows he is a very wealthy man. These statues have a religious meaning there is a large bown of fruit which in the olden days showed wealth, as the working class wouldnt be able to afford these luxurys.  The video cuts to the American Flag, with ‘House of Cash Museum’ infront of it. The American flag symbolises freedom and the The Museam has a big closed sign on it, this could indicate that his fame is running out.

The piano in the house is closed this could show that he no longer has a music career, and doesn’t want to have one anymore.Then the video seamless edits into actual footage of him past life and the experiences he had, it shows a train this could show maybe his career took him places. He starts to open up the piano. On the 2^nd verse the piano is now open symbolising his starting up his career again.

‘Everyone I know goes away In the end’ as Johnny Cash sings this line the camera zooms in to a close up shot of a photograph of his mother. This gives the viewer the idea that he may have been very close to his mother and would have wanted to have more time of her but his career pulled him away.  The lyrics say “Empire of dirt” and the camera cuts to panning around his museum which appears to have empty counters, no one is willing to spend money on walking around his museum any longer and buying his records. His museum is empty and there are broken records thrown on the floor, this indicates his career is over. The broken record which has been smashed on the floor is gold, this is only given to the artist when they have made over 1 million songs, no body else gets it except for that artists, this could show that he donated all his meaningful items to the museam and they didnt take care of them, like they haveent taken care of his career. The camera then cuts back to him playing the piano it zooms into his face showing the emotion and the old age. “ I will make you hurt” The video then shows a quick clip of a prison door shuting, In johnny Cash's history he had gone to prison these lyrics could be linking in with this, as it took some of his time away which made his lose alot of fans. The video then fades to black, showing th dark side to it. 'Room Comes alive' when he left prison he went back to do free gigs for all the prisoners, he was the voice for a lost generation.

The lights are turned back on in the room with all his career memories are place, the camea cuts to close up shots of statues of his head, this shows that he was very powerful in his day.
Then the camera cuts back to the very first scene where he is sat in the middle of all the gold statues and the wine glasses. Zooms into his face which shows the emotion and the old age, this makes the lyrics his telling seem more realistic, he turns to look at the light which brightens his face up, this could indicate that his looking at heaven and saying good bye to his career and sending it away. Old footage is shown of him going to somebodies home and realising no bodys there. This could show that nobodies there for him, when he needs them the most. The camera then cuts to a photograph on the wall of a young man and women, the man was in the footage that was shown earlier, this showsa that it is him n the photograph with his wife, they both look happy together, maybe Johnny Cash is regretting having a career as it took him away from family life, and he wasnt always there for his wife.  There is then actual footage shown of memoriess he had with his wife they both look happy together, the hiden meaning behind this could be that with out the gold, money, career, he wouldnt of been able to have the life he did. 'Empire of dirt'- it means nothing to him, his family means more than the money and fame. The video then fast tracks through loads of different actual footage of his life and then comes back to him sitting on the piano singing after a couple of videos have been shown, it gets slower as the beat of the song gets slower. The last footage shown is him just finishing a gig and looking down. It then cuts to him back on the piano ending the song and closing the piano up, this shows that his finished his career now and his going to concentrate on spending time with his family.

Overall, 'Hurt' shows how meaningful a music video can be and how itcan make the audience emotional if the right effects are used, as the video was filmed in a dim light this already created a dark depressing atmosphere. The audience will be able to relate to this video in many different ways, it doesnt have to be the way the artist has told it.

Music 1- 'Born to Die' Lana Del Ray

The lyrics to ‘Born to die’ indicate that a girl is in an unstable relationship and wants to get out. The Music video is very cleverly thought out as it shows the Dark side to a love story. It has been made to look like its set in heaven, however we don’t know this till the very end. At the beginning there is a medium close you shot that zooms in to a close up shot. This is showing Lana Del Ray hugging a boy covered in tattoos and has a stretcher in his ear, by having these it indicates to the audience that he isn’t afraid of taking a risk, and he likes to live life on the edge. She has her hand on the angle wing tattoo that is on the mans chest, this could show that she is looking at the good side to being with him. Lana Del Ray is originally from America this could show why she is standing in front of an American flag, as it is home to her. The flag waves to the beat of the song, which could give it a sense of unstableness, The filter colours in this scene are neutral which makes it look more effective and old fashioned. This could indicate that maybe she was in love with this boy years ago and now they are no longer together. As the lyrics and beat start to kick in the video seamless edits to a low angle shot of the ceiling of a very tall grand looking building. We know that this is a grand building as there are paintings placed on the ceiling and balconies on the wall. As the camera tilts the lyrics say ‘who me?’ this shows that maybe she doesn’t know who she is.  Next there is a master shot setting out the scene, we can see Lana del ray sitting n a throne at the front of what looks like a church. She is sat between two tigers, this shows she has power and is controlling her life. The camera zooms in closer to Lana as she is singing she moves her hand to her heart as the lyrics say ‘All my heart, it breaks every step that I take’ by doing this it makes the lyrics look more realistic. The colours of the building are Blues, whites and gold’s. These colours show calm and royal and the white could indicate a sense of loneliness and lost.

Next there is a master shot of what appears to be the front garden of this grand building. The lighting is dark as its set at night; the setting looks unrealistic, which gives it a sense of fairy tale and fantasy. A Man, which is supposedly, the man that appeared at the very beginning is leaning up against an old-fashioned car smoking. By having the old fashioned styled car it shows that maybe the video has gone back in time. Lana walks quickly towards the man and drops her bags on the way she then runs up to and jumps on him this shows that maybe they haven’t seen each other for a long time. The man throws his cigarette on to the floor and picks up the girl. The sound is a voice over of Lana singing. The Camera cuts to her singing inside the brightly lighten buildeing, showing a close up shot of Lana Del Rays expression and hatred towards this boy ‘ I feel so alone on a Friday night’. The lyrics contrast with the music video at this point as it is showing the girl and boy together in ‘love’ and the lyrics are saying different. It cuts to her and her boyfriend kissing in the car, showing that they are still in love. However it then cuts to an over shoulder shot, which allows the audience to see the boys expression and it doesn’t look like he loves her his just using her. As this gets the audience in thinking does he actually want to be with her, the camera is placed at a low angle spinning showing the ceiling. The ceiling is a golden colour which has been engraved into an abstract art piece. There has been an effect placed on this shot that darkens the edges to make it look darker and more mysteries. Light is then let in on the left side of the ceiling, this could indicate a passage in time or that the heavens are opening up for her and it is all going to go good for her from now on. It then sharply cuts to her sitting in the grand room again and zooms out she looks down as the says ‘don’t make me cry’  and then cuts back to an extreme close up of the boy smoking with her looking at him worried in the background, The lighting that has been used is artificial and is red which could indicate danger and shows that she is living life on the wild side and is in an unstable relationship. As the cigarette is lite she looks away and the lighting gets brighter, this indicates that she is better off with out his as when she looks at him the lighting is dark and when she looks away it gets brighter.. It then cuts back to a close up of her singing this shows all the emotion while shes singing. She looks aroud the room and her eyes start to look like shes about to cry and she sing ‘I don’t know why’. Then its seamless edits to her back in the car with the boy and he gives her the cigarette, this could indicate his a bad influence on her. The red light is now just on her.  By having so many cuts in the music vide it makes it more intense for the audience to watch. Then it shows a medium shot of her singing and touching her neck she says ‘come take a walk on the wild side’. She whispers the lyrics ‘we were born to die’ into the boys ear as they are sitting in the car. This shows that they both live life on the edge and they don’t care if they were to die or not, she has this attitude as the boy has influenced her into having it.

Lying on the bed on her own and a dark light comes across the screen showing the sun going down and coming back up as the sun comes back up she doesn’t move and the boy is lying next to her.  It then cuts to her standing in the room singing

The light that’s passing carries on though out the sceens showing that a great amount of time has passed and nothing has changed for her in her relationship  ‘ I was so confused as a little child’
The camera then cuts to her standing in her house with the light still passing by showing the passage in time and every know and then the boy would appear in the background this shows that he comes and he goes and he never sticks around.

Next the camera cuts to the Subjective point of view of them driving down the road in the dark the Sound gets a higher tone and kicks in which builds the tension and indicates that something bad could happen while they are driving. They are driving at a high speed moving forward, the boy keeps taking his eyes of the road to look at the girl, this tells the audience that the boys is fearless and doesn't think that anything bad will happen. Then it cuts to a Low angle shot of the front of the car showing them both in the car, they don’t look happy together. The weather is foggy and dark which indicates that it could be hard to see on the roads and the boy is tempting fait as he isn't looking where his driving

Cuts  back to a master shot of Lana Del Ray singing this time she is using more hand gestures and body movement that what she did at the begining of the music video this could indicate that she is finding herself and getting stronger.‘you and I we were born to die' she says this as she lifts her hand up to her throat and pretends to slit it with her thumb, while still looking into the lense of the camera, by doing this the audience can see the emotion in her eyes. After it cuts back to the her and the boy in the car he grabs her to kiss her and she pulls herself away from him, and this point we know that her love for this boy was never real, she has learnt that and starts to distance herself from him and he is just trouble.

Seamless edits back to her singing in the grand castle and she is using hand gestures to the lyrics now and showing attitude on her face.

High angle shot of the ceiling showing the painting and grand arcutecture the light is starting from dark gradually getting lighter as the camera tilts and then goes back to dark. Shes walking and the lights are going from light to dark, mostly more light than dark this could show that she is moving on gradually and the dark side of him keeps coming back to haunt her. She walks to the grand opening doors, no one in the audience know what the room is, she opens the doors which a burst of light shines through, at this point we realise she is walking through the doors of heaven. Its cuts back to a close up of the boy holding her dead body showing the tattoos which cover his body and the blood which covers hers. The light fades out to black showing that her soul has been taken away

Born to die is a good example of how a music video can capture the audiences attention from the very begining because of the location and costume, and it doenst make sense till near the end of where she is and whats shes doing there.

History Of Music Videos

 Music videos are commonly known as short movies that compliment a song or a piece of music. It is used to promote singles and albums.

In 9174 Christian Metz’s wrote a book called Language and Cinema. This book explained that in every genre it goes through the four stages; Experimental, classic, parody and deconstruction.

The ‘Scopitone’ was introduced in the 1950s in france. This was a jukebox which had a small screen that showed performances. Serge Gainsbourg, French artist, was the very firt singer to make a short sequence which went along with their songs.

“A Hard Days Night”(1964)- The Beatles, is the first black and white music movie, to ever experiment with putting their songs into a film. This opened up a whole new music video industry, Their single ‘I Should of known better’ was the first ever music video to film from 4 different angles and then go on to editing them together. Companies still use this method while making music video. Queen was the seconds band to explore music videos with their single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ this was a success as it meant they the band didn’t have to travel around the world from place to place preforming so that fans could hear and see the band play. They experimented with a range of different video effects to engage the audience’s attention, helping their fan base to increase. They used Colour filter, Lights, Zoom, Fade, Two Shots and Lenses Flair.

In the 1970s in the uk ‘top of the pop’ (iconic music television programme made by the BBC ) decided to promote singles by allowing the audience to watch the videos this created competitions amongst artists and record labels forcing them to make good videos to go along with their songs so that they would be played on ‘top of the pop’.

In 1981 MTV was broadcasted, so that viewers could watch the most popular music videos 24 hours. This was a way to increase the music marketing profits. The first Music video to be aired was ‘Video killed the radio star’- Buggles. Artists started testing the music video industry be adding story lines to their videos and making it fit in with the songs, they also slowed down with the special effects to make their videos look more sophisticated. Michael Jackson was the very first artist to try the short film music video out with ‘Billie Jean’. MTV was a very important part in the music industry as it promoted artists from around the world. This then became a competition for the artist to make the best music video they possibly could, so that it would get played on MTV for the viewer to see.

In 1995  ‘Scream’ sang by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson is the most expensive music video  ever to be made, it cost them $7 million. In 2003 ‘Youtube’ was introduced this allowed people to watch any music videos they wanted and whenever they wanted. It also allowed the public to upload their own videos.

Music

Music videos have to be able to link in with the lyrics of the song


The features which a critical in making a music video are the;
Location
Lighting
Camera shots
Effect and editing
People