Unit 15: Audio Visual Promo: June 2017

Music Video:
Conventions of rap/ hip hop: Chains and wealth, street/ urban scene, conflict/ crime, women, hyper masculinity - dominant in control males, show of bodys etc.

Patriarchy - Male dominance and control within society.
Matriarchy - A strong female figure head.

Sub-Culture: A culture within a culture,

S
elect 2 film trailers, from separate genres, for each one analyse how it uses the following to create meaning and how that engages the target audience:

• titles and graphics

• use of transitions

• editing techniques (e.g. continuity and non-continuity)

• narrative (e.g. structure)

• performance (e.g. use of actors, performers)

• use of non-diegetic sound (e.g. background music, incidental music)

• use of diegetic sound (e.g. dialogue)

LO1 REPORT (pass and merit)

Analyse 2 music videos (give name, song, production company, state purpose, audience, production techniques (e.g. MES, CW, ED, SOUND, GENRE, NARRATIVE)

Analyse 2 film trailers (give name, producer/director, production company, state purpose, audience, production techniques (e.g. MES, CW, ED, SOUND, GENRE, NARRATIVE)

Analyse 2 OTHER types of promos with different purposes (e.g. to inform, education, promote – Ident, promo documentary, festival trailer online etc)

LO1 REPORT (distinction)

For FOUR of the different promos you have analysed above state why each is suitable for the purpose and target audience – what does it have in it that makes it suitable (e.g. why is a music video good to promote a song and an artist based on genre conventions to a specific audience)

Then put the phrase ‘in comparison’ a film trailer is good to promote the release of a film because….

DJ Khaled - I'm the One ft. Justin Bieber, Quavo, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne

Within this video there is little use of titles and graphics within the entirety of the video which further draws the viewers attention to the narrative itself, the only graphics seen are within the intro of the video where the names of the artists and production company fade into place which again could have been perceived to reinforce the genre to the audience. On the contrary, throughout the video there is frequent use of transitions with the intention to keep in line with the ideas of continuity editing. Most noticeably, the use of jump cuts is seen. The fast and frequent use of harsh jump cuts result in an effective transition between locations and scenes. Whilst also fitting to the beat of the music which adds further emphasis to the song/ narrative. Throughout, the video is also seen to follow a simple narrative structure which fits the genre and conventions of rap and hip hop. In the video there is frequents appearances of the presentation of wealth by the use of expensive commodity’s and cars, in addition to the heavy use of female figures and party/ social scenario. Both within the start and end of the video it is seen to feature a single women riding a horse into the distance with on of the artist, this appeals to the narrative theory of conflict and resolution as it can be perceived as a "happy ending" after the chaos of the party scene. The ideology and scenes within this piece were also further emphasised through the use of diegetic and non diegetic sound. The diegetic sound of the party and surrounding environment adds a sense of realism to the video thus engaging the audience.

Official music video for Champagne Supernova
Within this specific video there is no use of graphics or titles to present production company’s or artists etc. However, this may be justified by the time period of the piece. This music video was released in May of 1996 and similar music videos of the same genre don’t feature the same style graphics or text/ titling that is seen in contemporary music videos of today. Despite this there is still a heavy use of bold and striking transitions throughout the piece. Most commonly a gradual cross fade is used to transition between shots, this is used to create meaning as it fits to the more relaxed tone of music in addition to representing the meaning of the piece. The use of cross fades and bold, vibrant colours clearly reinforce the ideas of genre to the audience as the tone emulated by the primary colours, cross fades and overlays all reinforce the ideas surrounded by the genre "psychedelic rock" and "Britpop". The use of continuity editing techniques allow for a clear narrative structure to be formed which clearly echoes the ideas of the genre and meaning of the song itself, whilst the editing techniques such as the warped effected and hallucinogenic style transitions further add emphasis to this.

Trailer:
Hot Fuzz Official Trailer #1 - (2007) HD

Within the trailer there is frequent use of titles and graphics throughout, within the trailer the titles are used to reinforce the narrative present in the background and subsequently are seen through the entirety of the piece. Animated graphics are also used in the end card of the trailer to further emphasise to the audience the film and genre due to the iconography and effects used. within this piece the transitions are also seen to be used to reinforce the genre and represent the narrative of the film. For example, between certain clips there is use of a white flash transition, not only is this an effective transition for use when cross cutting it could also be inferred that the it was used to represent the policing aspect for the film. This is because the flash could have been used to convey the muzzle flash of a gun for example, or the bright flashing lights of a police car further creating meaning and defining the genre clearly to the audience. Whip pans are also frequently seen in this piece also. The camera movement/ transition adds emphasis to the sense of speed and urgency represented in the piece due to the frequent and sharp cross cutting of scenes. As a whole it is seen that continuity editing is also used as the trailer flows and follows a consistent narrative and portrays the film in its entirety. Similar to the rest of the trailer, diegetic and non - diegetic sounds are used effectively. The non - diegetic sound is seen throughout to keep the audience engaged, within this piece a backing track is used to tie all the scenes together. The incidental music is also seen to change in accordance to the film, for example the tempo and often genre of the backing music is seen to change dependent on the content. For example a more up beat, fast tempoed song was used to reflect the action narrative whilst a slower tempoed backing track was used to establish the movie and the introductionary scenes.

Dunkirk - Trailer

As seen in the other trailers there is a prevalent use of text and info graphics from start to finish. Unlike the previous trailer, titles are used in this piece to give context to the piece. Aside from the initial graphics showing the production company and distributers the trailer features several other title elements. Most noticeably, the use of titles are seen in the preliminary stages of the trailer the actors and those involved are clearly defined in order to represent the star persona and therefore engage with the audience as the film will have a greater appeal due to the celebrity status and validation created by this. In the latter stages of the trailer (1.28) solum dark titles juxtaposed by a clean and bright background are used to support the narration. Furthermore, it could be inferred that the marble like background is used to represent the graves of the soldiers seen in the film further adding context to the piece whilst clearly adding emphasis to the poignant dark statements. Due to this evoking emotion within the audience is it will create a more memorable and therefore effective promotional piece. The piece further emphasises the meaning and engages with the target audience through the use of performance. Within the trailer it visually conveys the actors and star personas which would therefore appeal to the target audience, in addition to this the genre is reinforced which would again make the film appeal to the target audience. This is achieved through the use of a variety of elements such as actors, performance, and use of both diegetic and non - diegetic. The mass of actors in costume clearly portray the scale of the scenario and therefore foreshadow the narrative and structure to the piece. To appeal to an audience visual and practical effects are used in conjunction with diegetic sound, throughout the trailer there is a prevalent use of large scale explosions, gun fire and special effects. These effects often results in a sense of shock being evoked in the viewer and it is this visceral pleasure that would result in the film appealing to the specific target audience.
This combined with the continuity editing techniques such as action matches and cross cuts results in the media product conforming to the genre, this is used because it also allows audiences to gain comfortable reassurance that they would enjoy the product (Patrick Phillips 1999) in addition to providing the specific pleasures which they benefit from as theorised by Rick Altman, all of which create meaning and engages with the target audience.

Ident:
BBC ONE : Special Idents (4) : Hydro Arena ident

A television ident serves several purposes, most importantly idents are used to reinforce the brand image, represent its identity and used as a form of advertisng and promotion. Within the ident most importantly titles and graphics are used to reinforce the indentity. At 00:07 seconds the branding a logo is clearly inroduced, the brands logo is also introduced with a spining graphic, all of whcih draws the audiences eye to this and therfore empasises the brand. Within the ident there is also little use of transitions with the majority of cuts being jump cuts, the use of this conveys a sense of speed or urgency which is again echoed in the visual effects of the long exspore stylr hyperlapse of the road. Furthermore, within this piece there is also little narrative structure, this is largely as a reuslt of the clip only being short at a time of 20 seconds, however it can be seen to portray the hustle and bustle of the company and reinforce its location from the graphics used. Similarly, due to the nature of the ident and the heavy use of motion graphics there is little/ no use of actors or performers. Within the ident there is use of non diabetic sound throughout, in the piece subtle incidental music is used to support the narration/ diagetic sound which introduces the up and coming show to be shown after the ident.

Festival trailer:
Amsterdam music festival

Initially, the festival trailer opens with titles and graphics representing the festival in which it is trying to promote and advertise. As a result of the festival graphic being initially show it is first thing the viewer sees and therefore reinforces this idea in there mind. This same logo and colour scheme is then seen throughout the entirety of the trailer again reinforcing the purpose of the media product and advertise the event. More specifically, within the trailer the narrative is seen to follow beams of light/ energy flowing through and taking over the city which penultimately finish at the arena where the festival takes place. The use of this allows for the location of the event to clearly be portrayed whilst also representing the festival to be energetic and creative which therefore appeals to the specific target audience. Similarly, the use of fast and frequent jump cuts are used to create a face paced video sequence which relates to the beat and tempo of the genre of music. Furthermore, within the piece there is no dialogue or narration, this further adds emphasis to the purpose/ meaning of the piece which is to promote the music and festival.

Documetry trailer: Living the change

Straight away, the promo for the documentary opens with a wide establishing shot, over which is overlayed graphics giving statistics and information to the viewer on the topic. As a result of this being shown straight away it effectively conveys the genre and what the movie is about to the audience. Furthermore, the use of a slow fade from black reinforces a sense of severity and sets a serious tone to the trailer which echoes the subject of the documentary. Much like the slow fade, the use of sound and editing to the solum and ominous sounds in the background also engage the viewer and creates an eary undertone, whilst also making for a visually interesting piece. The slow fades and slow non diagetic sound of the incidental music is then juxtaposed by the harsh jump cuts between clips which could be seen to allude to sudden change and lack of control which is later represented through the narrative. In this promo the narrative is manifests in the form of narration and interviews, this idea of using professional voices and scientific data to support the key points allows viewers to trust the comments being made and adds a sense of severity and intrigue created as a result of the non linear editing techniques. All these different technical elements and techniques allow for a promo that clearly defines the genre and style of film whilst also not giving away the full plot, narrative or structure. Ultimately, making the viewer want to go on a view the full length feature film as a result of being engaged by the promo.

(D)
Within the music video for Oasis's song "Champagne Supernova" it is effective at portraying and promoting the music/ artist to its chosen target audience. This is because the music video follows various conventions and has several features to appeal and engage a audience. For example, the use of cross fades and psychedelic scenes all clearly relate to the nature and tone of the song. This strong reinforcement of the narrative/ meaning of the song clearly portrays the traits and sound of the artist whilst also aligning with the genre of conventions of this style of music. Subsequently, these cinematographic techniques used in conjunction with the key genre conventions create an engaging piece that appeals directly to those interested in this style/ genre of music. Subsequently, this results in promotion of the artist as it may bring new audiences due to the ideas of the genre providing comfortable reassurance as theorised by Patrick Phillips (1996), which states genres fulfil audience expectations by following predictable patterns, meaning they are more likely to know what to expect from the piece resulting in an increased likelihood of viewing the product as they are already comfortable with the genre/ style of the music or artist.

In comparison, a film trailer is good to promote the release of a film because it appeals to the specific conventions and interests of the chosen film which the audience find engaging. Most commonly, film trailers feature the highlights of the piece to show the film in the best life, this commonly clearly reinforces the genre to the audience also due to the conventions portrayed. For example in the trailer for the film "Dunkirk" throughout there is heavy use of action scenes and sequences. These bloody and war torn action sequences appeal to the conventions of an action movie, they are used as the shock directly engages the audience and shows genre. Furthermore, due to the limited length of the trailer it is less dependent on dialogue to portray the narrative and therefore mainly relies of thought provoking and interesting visual. This is contrary to the ideas seen in music videos as they are often heavily dependent on the dialogue and words within the song to reinforce the genre to the specific audience with the visuals to support, whereas it is often seen for the visuals in film trailers to be primarily key in showing this.

However, this specific example of film trailer and the documentary trailer are perceived to be similar in style, despite a difference in genre. Both making use of poignant and quick editing in places, this ultimately creates a sense of confusion and shock. The Dunkirk trailer does this to entertain and engage whilst the documentary does this to engage and educate. This is largely seen in the use of factual title graphics where as in the Dunkirk trailer title graphics are used to reinforce the severity of the action seen in the trailer via the poignant use of wording and dramatisation. Another difference between the two is the length and style. All though both examples are of a similar length, each displays the use of audio in contrasting ways. Dunkirk makes use of large amounts of diagetic sound and sound effects, whilst the documentary makes heavy use of talking professional and narration. As a result it creates a sense of professionalism and portrays the film to be that of an educational sided film opposed to the more dramatised and action packed entertainment side portrayed with the Dunkirk. Furthermore, this would mean that they have larger a different reaches, due to the documentary being set in one place and covering a small, possibly less popular topic is will likely appeal to a smaller more niche audience. Where as the large Hollywood style blockbuster would appeal to a mass audience due to the use of famous actors, locations and productions companies etc.

On the contrary, between the ident and promotional video for the festival they are seen to share similar traits. Both videos make use of bright bold colours and engaging animated graphics which move throughout the video, the result is a surrealist scene which engages with an audience, although the use of bright colours could be perceived to attract to a majority younger audience. Despite this, these two videos also differ dramatically, this is as a result of their purpose and narrative. The ident needs, to be short, simple and bold as it is shown on channels before programs start, and it is key in representing and reinforcing the brand. Therefore, due to it being short and simplistic, whilst also carrying the brand values it will likely engage and be more memorable with the audience opposed to a long draw out ident. However, the promo is longer as a result of the narrative, the idea of the light travelling through the city and taking a journey across Amsterdam before reaching its destination of the music festival creates dramatic suspense and build up to the final fast paced cinematic segment. This also makes for a impact promo which promotes the city and music festival itself but in a different manner to the ident.

LO1 REPORT (distinction)

Then put the phrase ‘in comparison’ a film trailer is good to promote the release of a film because….