Stanley Cohen's Moral Panic (And link to Tessa Perkins)

This theory came from Stanley Cohen's; "Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers"

• A moral panic is a condition, episode, person or groups of persons that emerge to become defined as threat to societal values and interests. These people are known as 'folk devils'. Its nature is influenced by stereotypes within the mass media. 
• Moral panics begin when there are a projection of fears that surround a particular story or type of people.
• The media heavily influence and fuel these panics via films, TV, news, radio and any other media means
• the media stereotype and assumes the worst in relation to the panic and makes the consumer worry e.g. London riots. So they can over emphasise and repeat footage in order to scare an audience.
• The development of this theory came from his initial research into the mods and rockers and the conflict between these groups in the 60s. This group of teenagers caused mass panic at this time, and the newspapers exaggerated their stories as they had a lack of facts.

This theory has been developed over time and can now be applied to lots of different subcultures that have been labelled as deviant or dangerous by the media.

In terms of applying this theory to my music video, it could be used to go against stereotypes that people have of youths these days (lazy, rude etc) and try to change people's opinions of this group of people. 
This idea of challenging stereotypes can be linked to Tessa Perkins' theory of stereotypes...

Tessa Perkins argues that there are 5 assumptions of stereotypes, and that these stereotypes can be challenged in such ways...

• Stereotypes are not always negative
• They are not always about the lower class or less powerful in society
• Stereotypes can be held about one's own group
• Stereotypes are not always rigid and unchanging
• Stereotypes are not always false

So applying a mixture of these two theories to the creation of my music video could be to challenge certain stereotypes that people hold, to prove that stereotypes can be changed/challenged (not always rigid), and maybe even use certain stereotypes that are true to prove that even if certain stereotypes are true this is not always a bad thing.

New Health and Safety Production Assessment...

Here is a table I made on the possible hazards that could arise when filming my music video, and what we can do to prevent/solve any problems they may cause.

The Selective Filter Model

This theory was developed by Joseph Klapper in 1960, and it suggests that media can only be effective and have an impact on an audience once it has undertaken 3 stages. This theory ensures that the audience has an active role in how they choose ti apprehend or understand the message given, and what effect is has on them. 

Klapper suggested there are 3 stages involved:

• Exposure- This aspect says that the audience has a choice to engage with the media and what types of media they are exposed to. The audience must choose to view, read or listen to the content of specific media. Media messages can have no effect if no one sees or hears them. What the audience chooses depends upon their interests, education, work commitments etc.
• Perception- The audience can then choose whether they wish to accept the message being conveyed. The audience may not accept the message; some people may take notice of some of the media content but decide to reject or ignore others.
• Retention- The audience has to then remember the message in order for it to have an effect on the. The messages have to 'stick' in the mind of those who have accessed the media content. Research has shown that most people have a tendency to remember only the things that they broadly agree with. 

APPLYING THE THEORY TO MY MUSIC VIDEO...
I can apply certain aspects of this theory to the creation of my music video, for example, if the genre of my music video is not something that a lot of people enjoy watching then they will not choose to watch it and therefore the media message will not have an effect on them because they will not have seen or heard it. Then if my audience do decide to watch my video, they are all individuals and may choose to either reject or accept the messages being conveyed (similarly to Stuart Hall's Reception Theory). The final stage cannot be completed unless my music video is memorable for my audience, if it is then they will remember the messages being conveyed.

Uses and Gratification Theory...

I can apply this theory to the creation of my music video because it allows me to consider what 'needs' my music video will fulfill for my audience that will make them want to watch my music video. 
For example, it may allow people to become more aware of the world around them and the inequality that is in it (the surveillance aspect). Or it may allow people that are a fan of this genre of the music to interact and establish new relationships with people over the video because they both enjoy watching and listening to this type of music (the personal relationships aspect)

3 Initial Ideas for New Song Choice

IDEA 1

Symbolizing a journey in the protagonists life- follow a dream of their life. As the audience we follow them around a surreal place, somewhere else they wish they could be to get away from their boring reality. As the song opens we see the protagonist shut her eyes (using a fade to white after this to symbolise that this is a dream of hers), then throughout the duration of the song we are following her around this other reality where she dreams about, where everything is perfect for her. Then as the song ends we see her open her eyes again, and look round (fade to black from there). On Monday 10th February I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to New York for 4 days, therefore, for my video I was going to film this journey in order to symbolise a journey for my protagonist. New York City is an incredible city and represents exactly what I want to in my video: a dream world where anything can happen, this is the kind of place my main actor in my music video is dreaming of. 

IDEA 2

To use stop motion throughout as she goes through different aspects of her life. As she finds her life quite boring we see her doing the same routine over and over again to help reinforce how bored she is with her life; showing the audience how desperate she is to get away to a better place.

IDEA 3

Similar to idea 2, yet instead of using stop motion just do normal filming with a black and white effect to help reinforce the idea that she has a monotonous lifestyle that she follows and never changes. Then as the song picks up pace she has visions (shot in colour) of a better place, where her life is more interesting and everything is brighter for her there. Somewhere she enjoys (beach, park etc). 

New Song (Murderers)

This new song by John Frusciante does not have any lyrics in it. This is a feature of the song that I really admire and is why I have chosen to make this my music video, I like the fact it breaks conventions of songs, and will therefore allow me to be more creative with my video- where I could break conventions of music videos.

A little bit about John Frusciante:
He was part of the Red Hot Chili Peppers as their former guitarist from 1988 until 1992 and again from 1998 until 2009.He joined Red Hot Chili Peppers at the age of eighteen, first appearing on the band's 1989 album, Mothers Milk. The group's follow-up album, Blood Sugar Sex Magik (1991), was a breakthrough success. Frusciante became overwhelmed by the band's new popularity and quit in 1992.
'Murderers' is from the album 'To Record Only Water for 10 Days' which was released in 2001.

Applying Theory to my music video...  In Todorov's theory in suggests that a media text (specifically music videos) can either be abstract, narrative or performance. Using this theory I have decided to make my music video 'abstract'. I think this is a suitable way to approach my music video given my chosen song as it does not have any lyrics, I see this as a positive aspect because it allows for my own interpretation of the song and how I can make it in to a successful music video that my target audience will enjoy watching. 

CHANGE OF PLAN...

After shooting for a few scenes of my music video, I decided to change the song that I wanted to do. I realised that the song I chose is quite a powerful song, and I feel like my idea for my music video would not be able to capture the powerful message John Lennon wanted to spread. 
Also when it came to audience, I figured it would be a more appropriate target audience to have teenagers as, therefore, I have decided to change my song choice to Murderers- John Frusciante. One of the main reasons I chose this song was because I liked the way it does not have any lyrics- meaning that interpretation is key when it came to making my music video. 

Filming Day 1

12th November, first day of shooting...

• 4.30pm  (sunset)- Meet Abbie and walked to Scale Lane swing bridge (as it is in walking distance from where I lived I chose this location as it is easy to access and is never usually that busy therefore we would not be in the way of the general public).
• Before we started the filming I decided to change the female lead's costume. We kept the original idea of a plain white t-shirt, but then for the trousers I changed jeans to leggings and converse to plain black boots. I decided to do this because I thought it would look better if they all blended together rather than the white shoes standing out against the dark jeans. 
• Scenes shot for... 'You may say I'm a dreamer...' 'I hope someday you'll join us...' (in total 292 photos taken)

Location

Location- I think this is a good choice of location for these scenes as the sunset and the bridge in the background of these photos look really effective.


THE FOOTAGE I GOT FOR THIS MUSIC VIDEO DID NOT LOOK GOOD TOGETHER AND I WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THE WAY IT LOOKED WHEN I PUT THEM TOGETHER, THEREFORE I DECIDED TO CHANGE MY SONG AND HAVE STARTED FILMING FOR MY NEW SONG: 505- Arctic Monkeys

Stuart Hall's Reception Theory

Another audience theory is: Stuart Hall's 'Reception Theory'. 

The main concept of Hall's theory is that every media product needs an active audience that is actively engaged in the media product they are consuming (as oppose to the 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' mentioned earlier in 'Applying Theory' blog post, that suggests a passive audience). The theory suggests that individuals may receive and interpret these media texts in different ways, rather than the way the producer may want them to.
Hall suggests that messages in media texts are encoded by the producer (as the producer puts certain values and ideologies in their texts) and decoded by the consumer. However, not all audiences will decode these messages in the same way, and they will not always decode it in the way the producer intended. 

Reception Theory suggests that there are 3 ways an audience can decode a text:

• Dominant/Preferred (this type of audience completely agree and accept the message the producer encodes)
• Negotiated (agree with some, but disagree with some of the encoded messages- this audience will have their own views on certain areas)
• Oppositional (this type of audience completely disagree with the encoded messages and create their own, new meaning for the text)

Hall's theory also states that there are several sociological factors that may affect how an individual decodes the message in the media text:

• Life experience
• Mood at time of viewing
• Age
• Culture
• Beliefs
• Gender

Although I earlier agreed with the Hypodermic Needle Theory saying that a music video is a good way to send subtle messages to my audience, I will ensure  that when I make my music video the messages I want to convey to my audience may be received in the 'preferred' way, however, I will also accept that my audience are all individuals and will react to the video, and the decoded messages within this video, in different ways, and may or may not accept the messages I have encoded. And if they do not accept the messages portrayed then they might decide to create their own meanings and decode their own messages from this video. I will use my audience research, that will be carried out after my final video is complete, to establish whether or not my intended encoded messages were decoded with the preferred meaning by the audience, or whether I can apply this theory and say that audience's are active and can create their own messages from a media text. 

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Storyboard and Animatic for old song choice

Storyboard from emilykj

Before I drew my final storyboard up, I did a brainstorm of some ideas to help me get my storyboard started, I found this very useful in producing some ideas to include in my video...

Prop and Location List... (old song)

This is the prop and location prezi for my old song choice, the newer one is on a later blog post named: New Prop and Location List

Health and Safety Production Assessment (old song)

1. In the lines "No hell below us, above us only sky" and "You may say I'm a dreamer...I hope someday you'll join us" I will be shooting near water on a bridge, therefore as a safety precaution I will make sure that when I shoot I will not place the main character too close to the edge of the water as this could be dangerous, and if I do need to shoot near the edge to ensure that where I film there is a barrier to prevent them falling or tripping over. 
2. An extra safety precaution to take when shooting these scenes (as they will be at sunset/night) to ensure that my characters are not too tired or hungry when shooting as they may need a rest or need some food which could cause them to lose concentration throughout filming which could mean that it may take longer to make or have to be redone. 
3. When filming the opening scene or the "Nothing to kill or die for..." scene, as it will be inside I may chose to use lights in order to make the quality of the picture higher. As these lights can get very warm when in use I will need to make sure that anyone that is around knows that these lights will be hot and to ensure that they do not touch them to try and move them as this could cause minor burns to them. The wires of the lights could also be a hazard for anyone around as someone could trip over them if they do not see them, therefore to prevent this I will make sure I tape down any wires to stop this tripping hazard and, if I need to (for example if it is quite a busy area where I am filming) place a 'Filming in Progress' sign where I am filming in order to warn people to look out for any props, lights or wires that may be in their way.

Hypodermic Needle Theory

Here is a Prezi I created on the 'Hypodermic Needle Theory' to show how this theory applies to spreading certain messages throughout my music video...

Audience Research

As part of audience research I did a focus group to get a few ideas about what my audience will enjoy and if the ideas I have to do for my music video are something that would work for my target audience.
The questions I asked were...

• Do you like music videos to follow a certain narrative or do you prefer them to be abstract videos? (As my music video is not going to follow a set narrative it will be quite abstract, I wanted to find out if this is something that my target audience still enjoy watching... I found that my target audience think it depends on the song that the video is for and how you make it work without a narrative) 
• Do you think songs with a more influential meaning need to follow more of a structure than other songs? (as the song I have chosen to do is quite an influential song, I wanted to find out whether my target audience think that for them to enjoy the music video it needs to follow a structure)
• Has a memorable music video ever made you want to buy an album or made you more interested in an artist? (This was not a question to find out something for my music video, I just wanted to find out in general how influential music videos can be to an audience)
• Do you like music videos that use a variety of different locations, settings, people? (As I plan on using a mixture of settings and locations in my video I wanted to find out if this is something my target audience enjoy watching, or if it is something that may put them off a song)
• Do you think music videos need to have performance aspect to them or not? (I asked this as I am not going to have performance in my song and I wanted to make sure that this is not a major aspect of a music video that my target audience look for- I found that they think it depends on the song the video is for and how else you make up for not having an aspect of performance such as miming or dancing in the video)
• For my music video I plan on doing a stop motion type film, have you ever watched any stop motion films and if so what did you think of them? (I asked this to find out how popular stop motion films are and how many people have watched them or will be up for watching them and if my approach to a music video is something that would interest people... luckily they said that it would be interesting as it is a different approach to take to it so it would be interesting to watch)

As well as a focus group, I also placed a poll on my blog and emailed all of the A2 media classes and asked if they would complete it...

To get the view of people outside of college and from a different age range I asked a group of people a series of questions via a handout questionnaire.
First there was a set that was just to find out more about them personally and their preferences when it came to music videos. I did this in order to find out more about what the audience enjoy about music videos as I am trying to appeal to a variety of people and to give me an idea about what people would want to watch in my music video.

• Male or female? (Please circle)

      Male     Female

• How old are you? (Please circle)

15-19   20-24   25-29   30-34   35+

• What would you say is your favourite genre of music? (Please circle)

Indie     Rock    Pop    Rap    RnB    Alternative    Other (Please specify)

• Do you enjoy watching music videos or would you rather just listen to the song without any visuals? (Please circle)

Enjoy watching videos    Prefer just listening to the song    Mixture of both

• If you enjoy watching music videos, what do you usually watch them on? (e.g. YouTube/MTV etc)

YouTube     MTV    Other TV Show    Other online site    Mobile App 


RESULTS...
From the 20 people I asked, there was 12 females and 8 males. The age range varied from 17-45. 
Here is a graph showing favourite genres of music...

(Series 1 indicates favourite genre of music)

(Shows that the 8 people enjoy watching music videos and 8 people like just listening to the song. Which shows that people I asked do enjoy watching videos, so if I asked the same people again to give my feedback on my finished video they won't mind watching it)

(Series 1 is which application the people I asked watched music videos on the most. From these results I can see that YouTube is the most popular thing to watch music videos on, which shows that if my music video was posted on YouTube then it will be accessible to a lot of people meaning it should get a lot of views)

Target Audience

As Arctic Monkeys are a young band, their target audience is teenagers, around 15-25. They are role models to younger males for example in the way they dress, and younger females may look up to them and enjoy their music because of their popularity. So this is the similar age range I will aim my music video at.

3 Initial Ideas for my Music Video (Old song choice)

These are my 3 initial ideas for my music video...



Out of these 3 ideas, my personal favourite out of all 3 ideas is idea 1 (the stop motion type video) as I think it is a new and different way to approach making a music video. I also think it would be a good way to create the right ambiance for this song as it is quite a tense song so by doing stop motion it will create this tension for the audience whilst they are watching it, which will also be further reinforced by it being a montage collection of images. 

Lyric Analysis of my first choice of song

This is the lyric analysis of my chosen song, from analysing and looking further into these lyrics and the meaning of them, it gave me more insight to the song and also inspired me with some ideas for my actual video. 

Overview of Textual Analysis'

3 videos I analysed...

1. The Kooks- Always Where I Need To Be
2. Oasis- Wonderwall
3. Arctic Monkeys- R U Mine?

Genre Conventions...

• Presenting themselves in a rebellious way (going against conventions of the other genres, for example- not having a video that is solely based on the performance of the song or how popular and good the artists look- focusing mostly on the lyrics of the song by having them singing in places where not many people will be watching- e.g. the Kooks on a rooftop or the Arctic Monkeys who are listening to their own song on the radio and pretending to be performing it in the car), whilst still trying to stress the importance of the meaning of the song and its lyrics
• Spreading their own ideology through the video and it's lyrics; that music is not always about performance and making the artists look good, they stress the importance of the song through its lyrics. Tim O'Sullivan's theory suggests that it is only extremely powerful groups of people that can spread their certain ideology, however, in videos such as these, bands and artists can spread their ideology through their videos and lyrics, through many aspects of the video such as mise-en-scene, editing and cinematography.  
• Do not focus too much on their own image, but the audience can still tell that they want to look good, in some ways this is the conventions of their image- that they do not try too hard.
• Locations- subtle but still enforcing their success and fame. e.g. in The Kooks' video they cut from them performing in a small apartment, to a rooftop with the NYC skyline in the background. And the the Arctic Monkeys video the radio station may be a shabby looking place but it still shows that they are famous because their song is being played to all the listeners. These artists also use social realism, in not only this video but in the majority of their videos. They present the working class way of life in a more realistic way (the term social realism came about in the 60s, and it meant that not only in the music industry but also in many other media forms the working class were starting to be presented in a more realistic way, with more and more working class artists having their realistic image put out there). They show that to be successful you do not need to lead a lavish lifestyle- for example in the R U Mine? video they have their song playing on a radio station that looks shabby but the main idea is that their song is being played and thousands of people will be hearing it. 

Form Conventions...

• All 3 videos use lots of different shots, for example, all 3 use close ups (focusing on many different aspects of the video. For example in The Kooks' video it has close ups of iconic buildings and locations, instruments, as well as the artists... and in the Arctic Monkeys video when they are miming we are shown a close up of their faces to reinforce the lyrics of the song). 
• Long shots and establishing are also used, which help promote the artists image because it helps show how far they have come- representing their fame to the audience; such as the rooftop with the NYC skyline in it in The Kooks' video.
• The Kooks' and Arctic Monkeys' videos both have fairly quick editing, cutting from shot to shot many times in each video- as a convention of all music videos, however, because they edit to the beat of the song, the Oasis video is edited a bit slower compared to the other two as it is a much slower song, so each shot lasts longer than the other day- I will take this into consideration when I am doing the storyboard for my video as it is also a slow song, meaning the editing will not want to be overly fast, otherwise it will look out of place with the song and would not follow conventions of music videos. 

Textual Analysis 3 (Arctic Monkeys)

My 3rd analysis of a music video is Arctic Monkeys 'R U Mine?'

The introduction of this video starts off with it being introduced as if it were a radio show, by introducing the band and the song this way, it is constantly reinforcing the name of their band, getting their image out there to the public, allowing them to be recognised by this song.

 Followed by the line 'Take it away boys' (which is not part of the actual song- which is an example of making diegetic sound fade into the non diegetic sound- a convention of sound in music videos) it edits to this scene of 2 people in a car, we are shown them sorting out the camera so we have them in a 2 shot medium close up, pretending to play the drums to the songs. This also follows the conventions of the previous rock music videos I have analysed because although it has some aspect of performing the song, the entire video is not based around the performance; just certain sections are. The mise-en-scene is very basic in this video, with black and white setting (similar to Oasis' video, suggesting that music is a simple thing that people turn into something complex that it doesn't need to be) the lighting is quite dark, giving connotations of the dark vibe this rock music has. With both the 'performers' having sunglasses on (despite it clearly being dark outside) again gives connotations of their celebrity status, perhaps they are trying to hide their faces because they do not want to be spotted by paparazzi that may be following them. So although they are not performing a big stage in front of thousands of people, we are still reminded that they are celebrities.

The editing throughout this video is very clever, whenever there is a section in the song when there is more than one singer, the 'camera man' who is also the performer switches the camera framing back to a two shot. Then it cuts back to a shot where only he is visible, in a close up this time.
As with most rock music videos, this one does not have a clear narrative, although we are aware there is one there, it does not appear to actually tell a meaningful story relating to the lyrics. It is mostly about the performance, expressing the 'alternate rock' image that this band is trying to give themselves.
By cutting to this shot, the lighting suddenly changes (still black and white, just a lot lighter) and we are shown this shot of a man with his arm around 2 girls in cowboy hats and masks, again not relating to the lyrics, it is more about how they have presented themselves.



This video is fairly different to the other two videos I have analysed, as this one is a lot more performance based than the previous one. This video focuses a lot more on the image of the performers who are represented as typical 'rock stars' who want to look good for their audience and spread the ideology that they are different from other rock artists, but still whilst fitting in with the conventions of their genre.
The way Arctic Monkeys have edited this video will appeal to their target audience as the alternate, individual approach to their video will attract the audience that would listen to this song. The audience will probably be people around their own age and those who are younger who will be influenced by aspects of their image such as the way they dress. The ratio to males and females will probably be fairly equal because the males will aspire idolise them, and females may be attracted to them which would encourage them to listen to their music and enjoy their videos- which is another reason why they may still care about their image, even though it may not be one of the main aspects of their video. This is how they are represented in order to appeal to their target audience; they know that young people will idolise them and will like their image, therefore, they make it work for them without making it a major part of their video.

Textual Analysis 2 (Oasis)

The second music video I have chosen to analyse is Oasis - Wonderwall.

This video has used mise-en-scene in a very interesting way; by having one of the members reading the paper and holding the paper up to his face, this connotes that every now and then he just likes to hide from the fame he has, and maybe read about the normal things going on around him. The blue of the guitar in colour that stands out against the black and white lighting of the rest of the video signifies that there will always be their music that separates them from the rest of society (just like the clown stands out when he is cut in every so often). The black tint in the singers glasses represent that perhaps he wants to hide from his fame, but the lights that are reflecting in the glasses show that his fame will always be there and it will be hard to get away from.

As this is from the same genre as The Kooks, the conventions are the same; again focusing on the meaning of the lyrics, slightly more than the actual performance of the song- trying to spread the message that what the lyrics are trying to say, rather than how they are said, is the most important thing. This is further reinforced by the opening scene of their record being played, it is just a plain record with the bands name on. Again it is similar to The Kooks as there is one of the band members playing the guitar, however, there is no audience- showing that it does not matter who he is playing his music to, just as long as someone is listening. With it being in a mundane setting (no big stage or infront of a huge audience) this is reinforced. The use of cinematography in this scene is very clever, it has a gradual close up and it is only then when we realise who is actually playing the guitar, before this close up we are not aware of who it is- meaning it could be anyone, showing that again the actual music is more important than who is performing it.
The editing is a lot slower than in The Kooks' video, however, it is still fairly quick, breaking normal conventions of music videos. There are quite a few cuts to instruments, signifying the importance of the music to the audience. By representing the artists this way it shows to their audience how much music means to them, similarly to The Kooks- almost like they are thanking for what they have done for them and constantly reminding them that the music is the most important part for them, not the fame that comes with it.

By having the main singer in blacked out sunglasses sat singing to the camera it is similar to The Kooks' as it still has an aspect of performance so it is like he is interacting with the audience, and is singing directly to them.
The artists in the video are cut from playing their music to doing everyday things (such as read the paper) showing that despite all the fame that they have they still enjoy doing the 'normal' things they used to do. The scene to the right represents the crazy world that has come with their fame, and how everything is all mixed up since they have become famous, and they have their music and fans to thank for it. The constant black and white theme throughout the video signifies that although their world is crazy now since they have become famous, they want to perhaps keep it as simple as they can, the black and white connotes archaism and that despite the fame they have, every now and then they just like to go back to when things were simple, as things often look a lot simpler when they are in black and white. This is also reinforced by having their own record playing at the start of the video on a record player as records are not as popular anymore, suggesting the artists want to go back to this time. It also suggests that even though their life has been turned around and may be a little crazy since its happened, they are still in control as they chose to put the record on, the record being a metaphor for the song they are performing.
I think this video will appeal to the target audience because the band are really involved in it, which I think consequently makes the audience feel like they are also involved. The target audience for this video and song will be that of similar age range to The Kooks and Arctic Monkeys, however, because they are a band that have been established for much longer than the other two bands, and the members of them are much older- which would mean that those of an older generation would have been listening to them for longer. The way they are represented presents them in a very 'mellow' way, in order to appeal to their chosen audience, who, as they are from an older generation, would not want to appeal to someone who is presented in an uptight, image-oriented way.