Digi-pack - Effects used and analysis

Effects Used for Digi-pack by Brianna Lewis

Effects used for digi-pak

Response to feedback on final music video

We showed our final music video to groups in our class who understood the task we were given. I feel we received a lot of positive feedback mainly focusing on our good use of editing. Many of these comments included that we always cut between shot on the beat of the music and the use of split screens made the whole music video a lot more visually interesting and added a comedic touch, which was what we had hoped.

We also received few negative comments which centred around the unsteady camera in a lot of shots and the harsh lighting. One comment that stood out to me was that the lighting and the locations for the performance scenes. I do feel that if we filmed more footage of the performance scenes in a variety of locations it would have made our final music video more visually interested and would have enticed our audience for longer.

The marking criteria for level four is:

• Shooting material appropriate to the task set; including controlled use of the camera, attention to framing, variety of shot sizes and close attention to mise en scene.

• Editing so that meaning is apparent to the view and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions, captions and other effects.

• Recording and editing sound with images appropriately.

I believe we have met the criteria for level four as we have paid close attention to the use of camera and framing. We have taken a huge variety of shot types from simple close-ups and wide angles to hand-held and low angles. We have concentrated on the mise en scene of our footage and have always linked it with the pop genre such as the lighting is always bright and in some shots, there is a golden light created by the torch and reflector. The costumes worn particularly by the girls emphasises the pop genre as they are dressed in party wear throughout the duration of our music video.

I feel our use of editing works well in our video so that the narrative is obvious for our viewers. We have used made use of transitions such as fades between shots of the girls applying make up in the bathroom which shows the audience that time is passing. Moreover, the use of the split screen effect that appears more than once in our final music video helps to emphasise the comedic element of our music video.

We did not record any extra sounds due to the fact the majority of our music video would be of the chosen song although if we were to do this project again we could maybe incorporate some sound such as foley or simple dialogue during the introduction of our music video. In addition, the editing of our chosen track went very well as the lip-sync was in time with the lyrics. We also used the appropriate footage with the soundtrack such as we used shots of Brianna and Siobhan running during the section of the lyrics 'run, run, run.'

Overall, I am very happy with the feedback received from our final music video and feel that our final music video has been successful as we have managed to link it to the three points of Goodwin's Theory that we had planned to. We have linked the visuals and lyrics together as stated above through appropriate footage during particular parts of the soundtrack. Additionally, we have linked the music and visuals are the music is an upbeat pop song which is emphasised through the liveliness and energy of the two artists. Furthermore, I feel we have made a successful attempt at selling the artist as the two girls are almost always the subject of each shot especially in the performance scenes as shown through close-ups.

Feedback on final music video

Positives

• Good editing
• Good lip-syncing
• Good narrative
• Touch of comedy in video
• Good lighting
• Nice handheld shots
• Good use of the split-screen effect
• Good editing - always cut on the beat
• Mise en scene is good - variety of costumes and props used
• The zooming in of the girls 'hiding in the bush' was humorous
• Good use of transitions
• Shadow works well in the lip-syncing footage
• Clothes worked well with the genre
• Variety of shots
• Funny narrative
• Good locations
• Easy to understand - communications between the artists and narrative
• Good cut rate

Negatives

• Acting is not convincing
• Not cutting to the beat
• More colour needed
• Shaky/unsteady camera in some footage
• Some shots a little too long
• Lighting is a bit harsh - could be improved
• Some mistakes in lip-syncing - out of time
• Could have used dialogue at the beginning during intro
• No clear narrative
• Lighting and location for lip-sync could have been more creative
• More performance locations

Ariel Levy: Female Chauvinist Pigs; Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture

I have researched into Ariel Levy's theory on 'Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture.' She strongly believes that women are being objectified in "political life, the music industry, art, fashion and taste." 

I believe with Levy's theory and researched music videos that are conforming to 'Raunch Culture.' I took a look at the music video for Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke featuring T.I. and Pharrell. This definitely conforms to Levy's theory as for the duration of the music video the females are stereotyped as Ariel describes, "kitschy and slutty." This is portrayed through their outfits and what's happening in each of the shots. Each one of the females aren't wearing small white tops and shorts. (Below.)

In comparison  to the males the females aren't wearing hardly any clothing and are revealing a huge amount of their bodies.

In some of the shots the girls are wearing even less clothing, for example skin coloured underwear and nothing on top. Although nothing private may be on show, they are still revealing a lot to their viewers which could be any age seeing anyone can access this video on Youtube or see it on 
music channels. Screenshots of their skin
coloured underwear are below.









In a lot of the shots of the females alone there are also in positions that could be considered sexual and promiscuous.

For example in these screenshots one of the girls is on all fours which automatically makes me think of an animal. This makes woman seem unequal in comparison to men.

The girl in the screenshot below is sitting on a chair but not in a very ladylike way. She appears to be sitting with her legs open a little. One of the artists is standing up behind her proving that he is the one with the dominance out of the two of them. He is able to walk around her freely and do anything to her. In this shot, it appears he is brushing her hair.

Ariel Levy's theory is in a way applied to our music video through the choices of outfit the girls wear as a lot of it is party-wear that is in ways partly revealing although we do not take it as far as the costumes worn in Blurred Lines. I believe the girls in our video are portrayed as the opposite of objectified and dominated by men and instead, the two girls in our music video have control of the situation of the situation they are in. They are the ones who make the decision to escape from the dinner party and are care-free of what the boys think. Stereotypically, you would expect the males to do this.

I do not think that Ariel Levy's theory applies to male artists in the music industry as clearly shown by the males in this music video. As you can see, the men in this are fully clothed in comparison to the women who are in revealing outfits. I have never seen an existing music video where the male is wearing as little clothes as the females are in this video.

I think it's bad how the woman in music videos are portrayed in this way as these videos can be seen on music channels and accessed by anyone on youtube meaning that children of all ages can also watch them. This means that they will be given the wrong impression of women.

Ariel Levy: Female Chauvinist Pigs; Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture

Ariel Levy: Female Chauvinist Pigs; Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture

Ariel levy is a woman that believes women are objectified in many ways in the media, changing our opinion of them and accepting it subconsciously.

A fantastic example of what she is talking about, is in the recent video 'Blurred lines' By Robin Thicke.

In the video, the girls pretend to act very dumb, sway and dance around. They are also wearing barely any clothes, while the men are fully dressed. They also follow the men around.
This is giving a representation that women are thoughtless and are inferior to men.
Ariel Levy suggests this influences women to reflect this in fashion and to get attention- either through being a star or just in general.
The men are wearing suits, particularly Pharrell's suit is very loud as it is a shiny material. It shows the men are wearing the top quality clothes because they are seen as rich and 'a pimp'- a stereotype of men who charm many women.
As the video develops, the women are wearing less and less clothing, in the end becoming practically naked.

In this shot, he is holding the girls hair like she is a dog on a lead. This makes her seem like an animal and he is the owner. This kind of representation of women suggests that men 'own' women and he is in control of her.

Also in this shot, the women are positioning themselves in ways that would be considered promiscuous and sexual. By 'grinding' and 'twerking' they are giving off the impression that they are dominated by the men, which is Ariel Levy's point. The men seem to make no effort and pay little attention to the girls, yet they are all over the men, dancing suggestively.

A video that goes against this is Lily Allens new song 'Hard Out Here'. The song describes how it is hard for a woman to make a career in this industry without sexually objectifying herself. The video also mimics Robin Thickes video in a humorous way to show she is against it.

Ariel Levy: Female Chauvinist Pigs; Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture

We have been researching Ariel Levy's theory on the rise of 'Raunch Culture', her argument is that whilst the explicit kind of videos are going around of women in music, it should not be as widely accepted by society, especially for younger audiences.

In the video 'Iggy Azalea - Change your Life' she is practically naked throughout the video which is available to anyone on Youtube. This is inapropriate for a younger audience as they should not be exposed to this open sexuality at such a young age as this may have an influence on them.

Throughout the video, references are made about the artist, for example, the male figure in the video is presented as being Azalea's pimp. This is an issue for two reasons, firstly the video does not seem to challenge this idea in any way and seemingly accepts this, not a very appropriate message for a younger audience that might be watching the video. Secondly, T.I is presented as the pimp and this could be seen as a stereotype as he is black.

We believe that this video conforms to Levy's 'raunch culture' theory, we think this because the video carries negative connotations of solicitation and gender/racial stereotypes, in summary this is not acceptable messaging for a young audience. Similar videos include; Britney Spears-Work, Ellie Goulding - I need your love (this video is interesting because Goulding used to be presented as innocent and this is strangely changed in this video), and Rihanna-Pour it up. The main reason for the theory being applicable is that Azalea is presented in a minimally censored way, going to the limits of classification for the video rating. Throughout the video explicit content is presented of Iggy Azalea which conforms to the raunch culture of Levy's theory.


One can see evidence of raunch culture in the male side of the music industry as well. However, males are more in control of how they dress. Whereas, women are less in control as they can be thrown off their record label if they do not accept the terms of their producer.

For example, Justin Bieber is objectified in his videos and in the press, we can see this in his video 'Beauty and a beat' as he is shown as the centre of female attention: