HSM:"What time is it?"

I thought it was important that I explored genres that appeal to a younger audience. The songs featured in the musical film ‘High School Musical’ are pop songs in there prime. The song I have chosen to analyse ‘What Time is it?’ is particularly upbeat and energetic. Its target audience falls between the ages of 6 and twelve and age known as ‘tweens’. Regardless of the specific age, it is where they’re just beginning to form stronger social bonds with their peers and desiring more independence from their families, usually in the form of wanting to be more “grown up”. However they are still holding onto their innocence. The whole film noir has a very bright, energetic and fun style to it. It has involves no complex meanings or symbolism as the audience would not appreciate this. The song is referring to the break up for the summer holidays, something which school children often look very forward to and get excited.

As the video begins it is set in a class-room, this is made clear props such as the chalkboard in the background and students sat at desks. Moreover there is a teacher’s voice made distinct in the background. Through controlling these elements it helps the audience to accept the video more readily as it ties in with the school theme. A pan of the classroom introduces all the characters to the audience at a close-up shot to convey emotion in the face which is happiness; this makes the environment feel warm and welcoming to the viewer.

The students are waiting for the bell to ring signifying the end of school. They are chanting the word ‘summer’, this builds up tension for the start of the song. An extreme close up of a giant clock represents the song in itself and we hear the diegetic sound of the ticking which is time with the chanting. It indicates a countdown like a bomb waiting to go off, the past paced editing and the growing pace of chanting represents the tension growing as the excitement becomes unbearable. The clock strikes twelve and the students burst into a wave of screams of excitement. A long shot is used to show, papers being flung into the air, like a bomb explosion at the end of a countdown. Students appear excited as they begin dancing around. The lighting is very warm and the colours are very bright and attractive giving out a positive and alive vibe. They are represented in a way which should be shared by the target audience, carefree without a worry, focusing on friendships and having fun. This has established the narrative for the audience so that their better understanding can allow them to experience greater voyeuristic pleasure from the video. And the singing begins.

Throughout the song we have moments where the visuals represent the lyrics, this helps the audience to have a better understanding of the song, i.e. the chalkboard is brought out reading, ‘schools out’ simultaneously with the lyrics. The video represents a number of stereotypical cliques which might be expected in American High Schools especially; Firstly we see the stereotypical ‘hot couple’ this is clichéd as the most popular girl, and most popular guy (usually star of a sports team). Within the lyrics there is a strong semantic field of romance, this is reinforced with the use of shot reverse shots to display the interaction between one another. The body language has to be kept PG in the sense of how they portray themselves. They must avoid conveying sex appeal as this is not be appropriate for the audience, so feelings are portrayed through things such as hand holding, her outfit reveals no inappropriate flesh etc. The scene ends with a two shot of Troy and Gabriella which suggests their unity.

Within the next seen we see the conventional ‘popular crowd’, Sharpay and Ryan they are established as the attention seekers and crave the famous lifestyle. Everyone seems to look up to them and wants to be like them, this is represented through low angle shots are used to frame them at the top of stairs to illustrate their authority in the social ladder. They are dressed very glamorous and are shot with hordes of people flocking around them taking pictures and holding out books for her to sign indicating the stereotypical lifestyle of a celeb; fan base, paparazzi and autograph signing, this is reinforced by camera flashes and the stairs appearing as a red carpet.
Amongst other ‘cliques’ we see stereotypes such as cheerleaders, again wearing red and white and boasting pom-poms and the basket ball team who all possess a basketball of their own. These props are used creatively by intertwining them into their dance routines. There is very much a dance theme within the video, this is a conventional norm in music videos and is what might be expected especially of the genre. However the dancing is not portrayed as sexy or provocative, it adapts a more ‘in unison’ approach and is more flamboyant and eccentric. For example the tracking shot which navigates us through a line of people acting as if they were on a roller-coaster, this illustrates their energy and hyped-up manner. As this music video is featured in a musical, it takes on a much more theatrical approach then other genres of music I have done research into. There are a lot less establishing shots as the audience are more aware of the school surroundings already and are comfortable with this. It uses editing techniques and shots that establish character reactions as there a multiple singers compared to the norm so it is essential they are established as a group.

I’ve noticed as I have been enduring my research journey that artists tend to have a reference to ‘you’, this is as though they are singing to the audience and including them within their music. At the end of the sequence an extreme close-up is used to establish the kiss mark that she has left on boy’s year book. An extreme close-up is used to frame the yearbook allowing the audience to pick up on the page on which it lies; the ‘wild cats school play’, reinforces the diegtic world with authenticity and verisimilitude.

There are a number of elements which help to bring a sense of realism for the audience. Unlike productions aimed at an adult audience where the viewer is allowed to get caught up in fine line between fantasy and reality. But as we are targeting a much younger audience it is important that reality is not mixed up but established at the stereotypes are portrayed in positive light. This video banishes the idea of cliques by illustrating each kind on its own and then showing everyone coming together to form as one.

Bright lights, colours and costumes help to set up the film noir. The colours represent the colours of summer which is iconic to the song lyrics. Also there is a dominant colour scheme of reds and white which are the school’s colours. Sound is a very important feature of music videos, besides the actual song, sounds that are part of the diegetic world helps to understand narrative and convey emotion, mood or tone. In this video a school bell is used to signify the beginning of the song. As the video comes to an end a second bell is sounded this this defines closure.

The whole style of the video is very positive. For example ‘an education vacation’ has positive connotations instead of encouraging people to treat the summer holiday as a ‘bum off’ period. This is in important factor because the ages at which the video is targeted are at the stage where they are starting to take into account things they see in the media and copy them as a sense of ‘fitting in’. It is therefore important the song and its video employ a positive style and outlook.

The Idea Behind my Textual Analyses

Before any planning stages can be taken underway it is important that I fully understand all the conventions and concepts there is to know about music videos. Instead of analysing music videos that are all going to be similar to the one I would like to make, I decided it would be more valuable if I was to research into a variety.

I have chosen songs that are different in genre and are aimed at very different audiences in both age and music preference. I have analysed the music video to a song which appears in a musical, this takes on a very different approach to others I have looked at.

I have opted to conduct my analysis in this format to get a better understanding of what to elements would be suitable for my music video to adapt and employ and also aspects of which I should not include. I will be able to find the kinds of approaches that are suited to particular audiences.

This will hopefully gain me the knowledge that will be needed in order for me to create a successful and believable music video.

X x mind map x X

Music Videos : The History

Today music videos represent a crucial part of the music industry. Artists owe their careers to music videos as they are being given the chance of impressing the public not just with their vocal talent, but also with their looks or moves. And it all had to start somewhere.

In 1923 the Frankfurt school was set up andit was concerned about the possible effects of mass media. The Frankfurt school envisioned the media as a hypodermic syringe, and the contents of the media were injected into the thoughts of the audience, who accepted the attitudes, opinions and beliefs expressed by the medium without question. Then a new approach tothe dynamics of audience/text relationship was suggested in the Uses andGratificationmodel.

In this model, theorists asked how were the audiences using the media to gratify their needs. They suggested that audiences had specific needs and actively turned to the media to consume various texts to a satisfaction of these needs. The audience in Uses and Gratifications were seen as active, as opposed to passive audience in the Effects model. The music industry needed to create a medium which would provide voyeuristic pleasure for its audience and the idea of using video came about to create an element of pleasure in watching.

The history of the modern music video has its roots in 1964 when ‘The Beatles’ brought out the first major motion picture, 'A Hard Day's Night'. This documentary stylemovie included musical segments that resembletoday's music videos and this was a huge influence on the way music would be promoted from then on. That same year, the band began filming short promotional films for their songs which were then aired on television variety shows and eventually used the films to tour for them, as did the likes of Elvis.

Over the years the content of music videos began to develop. ‘Mickey Mousing’ became a standard feature, miming along to the words. In 1972 David Bowie brought out a video to ‘Space Oddesy’ which was simply a performance of his music which provided no real entertainment or voyeuristic pleasure. Shortly after came the concept of using lyrical representation through narrative, illustrated in the video to ‘Sledge Hammer’.

The Australian TV show 'Countdown' played an important role in the development of the music video industry, which was first brought to our screens in 1974. Music video clips were used as a method of promoting acts that were to appear on the show. As the popularity of the video clips grew, the music industry began to realize the marketing potential of these music clips. One of the most notable video clips features was the AC/DC hit, "It's A Long Way to the Top." During the 1980s, 'Countdown' continued to be aired in 2 different countries.

(1st MTV logo)

MTV by almost three years, 'Video Concert Hall,' was the first nationwide video music program on American television. Premiering in June 1981, one of the first US programs to play music videos was the USA Cable Network program 'Night Flight.' Then just three months after came the broadcast revolution of MTV. Thirty years ago, music video used to be less important then it is nowadays and this channel was the phenomenon that gave so much power andimportance to the music video and it marked the beginning of the music video’s ruling over the music industry. The first video ever played on MTV was ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ by The Buggles. As MTV was broadcasting 24-hour-a-day music, music videos were needed to be produced. Consequently, music video began to play an important role in artists’ careers.

In 1983, the almost 14-minute-long video for Michael Jackson's song "Thriller," was released. It was the most expensive video of its time, costing US$500,000, and Guinness World Records listed it in 2006 as the "most successful music video", selling over 9 million units. It was less a conventional music video and more a full-fledged mini-film and it became the world's most successful and influential video in music video history.

In 1988, the MTV show, Yo! MTV Raps was launched. This was a two-hour American television music video program, which ran from August 1988 to August 1995 and was the first hip-hop music show on the network. The show helped to bring hip hop music to a nation wide audience. Two of the videos that are most famous for being two of the three most expensive music videos of all time are Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream," which cost $7 million to produce, and Madonna's "Bedtime Story," which cost $5 million. The imagery used in “Bedtime Story” is very futuristic and abstract video and the images use lyrical interpretation to represent the mood of the song, this was a very new and influential development for the world of music video. It is considered that even Madonna’s career has been greatly influenced by her videos that not only used her videos to promote her albums but also to create her sexy, appealing image.

The song value in music videos is much different compared to in the past. The video now is just as important as the song itself, sometimes even deciding the success of a song or artist. Collections of music videos are now being sold on DVDs. Music video’s greatest fans believe that a music video should be assessed based on its visual qualities and not on the song quality. In the modern day it seems that the music ‘gurus’, have realised the potential of using female sex-appeal in music videos, therefore this feature is being used excessively as it is more popular for the public.

The breakthrough of MTV has been highly controversial: some saw as the beginning of an amazing, new, fresh era in music video, others considered it to mark the end of true musical talent, as artists have been become more appreciated for their looks instead of their vocal abilities. Music videos not only showcase an artist's singing talent, but also how they perform. Many musical artists made their careers a success by using music videos. The history of music videos that I have covered shows how the use of the videos transformed the music industry.

My Chosen Brief

Primarily I chose to work in a group of two on the task of creating a documentary style video piece. However, after giving it much thought my partner and I decided that if we were to try and create a music video it would give us the opportunity to think more outside the box in terms of being able to apply our creative and artistic streak to come up with more abstract and unusual ideas in relation to lyrical representation through imagery.

Therefore I will be working in a group of two to create a promotion package for the release of an album, which will include a music promo video, tied in together with a cover for its release on DVD and a magazine advertisement for the DVD.