Advanced Production Portfolio

I played with final cut pro and found out how to edit videos so that only 1 colour stood out with everything other than the selected colour in black and white. The 1st section is my edit were the second section is the original version. 22/10/10

Modenism- is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes both a set of cultural tendencies and an array of associated cultural movement, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The term encompasses the activities and output of those who felt the "traditional" forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization and daily life were becoming outdated in the new economic, social and political conditions of an emerging fully industrialized world.

Postmodernism- is a tendency in contemporary culture characterized by the rejection of objective truth and global cultural narrative. It emphasizes the role of language, power relations, and motivations; in particular it attacks the use of sharp classifications such as male versus female, straight versus gay, white versus black, and imperial versus colonial. Postmodernism has influenced many cultural fields, including literary criticisms, sociology, linguistics, architecture, visual arts, and music.

A postmodernist thought is an intentional departure from modernist approaches that had previously been dominant.

States that the presence of women in videos solely for presentation purposes to appeal to male nature rather than being used for narrative function.

Female on display is passive and objectified for a 'male gaze' regardless of the viewers gender.

Voyeuristic treatment of the female body in 'male' videos, and the use of dancers as adornments to the male ego.

The inclusion of women for display is a staple element in music videos across all genres.

Women connote 'to-be-looked-at-ness' and are merely objects of the 'male gaze'

-Verse 1-

Turn my mic up a bit

Yeah

Lets get in to it

Yeah …yo pep pep star

East London stand up ..north ..west ..south London stand up ..even up in the midlands ya dun kno

Oi oi and its not even a post code war

Its just how were living

I’m from where we mostly grown up in a council estate

Probably never seen the day when love cancels to hate

If you’re in the shubz iced out with jewels on display

Just believe there's a bunch of goons with tools on their way

That’s the way it’s always been that’s the way it will stay

Thugs make a bit of money but don't plan their escape

All in the biggest cars and.. Living with their marges

Feeling like a star till their yard gets raid

Laws don't mean a thing

From a place where the government aint took a step in so how the heck can they relate

Where babies have babies like fabolous says one in the hand, pram and one on the way

Thought your hurt man dam then this guy came

Showed her bait of change.. She’s forgotten your name

Failures never our thought now we've forgot you to blame

And we all had targets jus forgotten to aim

-Chorus-

This is were im from ..

And we might not be pretty always gritty living in the inner city L.N.D Still

It’s where I’m from

Yeah it’s where I’m from

Still it’s were I’m from

And it might not be pretty always gritty living in the inner city LND still

-Verse 2-

I’m from where light skin was the in thing

Now its shottas AC droppers with sick rings

Where even your tight bredrins might show a different side

If you glide ahead of them you never win

See it’s a basic equation

P's brings the status

You’re famous

Now welcome the haters

Any given day you can ask what’s the latest

You'll always hear the same thing coz nothing ever changes

Like he fell in love

She set him up

He got robbed retaliated and he got shot

Now he's locked up, box punching a clock

While she's probably out deer jumping the cock

It’s a lot

Round my zones

Divided by post codes

You could of been a different person if you lived across the road

It’s that serious

Bloody all periods

I know all my London dons are feeling this

-Chorus-

This is were I’m from..

And we might not be pretty always gritty living in the inner city L.N.D Still

It’s where I’m from

Uh it’s where I’m from

Yeah it’s were I’m from

And it might not be pretty always gritty living in the inner city H.A.C Still

Its where I’m from ..yeah its where I’m from

-Verse 3-

I’m from where there’s been a few success stories

But all the rest I tend to here bore me

You can either kick, spit, legit you’re way out of it

But when all three fails you catch a murder mile in it

Mouthing it

They’re going out of town with it shit

I got a few brothers that were down for it but went down for it

Know a few smart brothers uni or apprenticeships

Know they gotta make it happen

Though we are not meant to win

And not mentioning

Those who kill for there zones like they own it

When there’s youths with no homes shit

Leting on the postcodes don't make no sense

Don't make no pounds don't make no pence

But it’s the mentality

Treated like a mannequin

Don't shoot the messenger

My nigga and be mad at me

Greaze spreads in every spot like acne

Knee deeper you know how that be shit

-Chorus-

This is were I’m from ..

And we might not be pretty always gritty living in the inner city L.N.D Still

It’s where I’m from

Yeah it’s where I’m from

Look it’s were I’m from

And it might not be pretty always gritty living in the inner city L.N.D Still

Its where I’m from..yeah its where I’m from

YOU KNOW ITS WHERE I'M FROM!!

A narrative is a story that is created in a constructive format that describes a sequence of fictional or non-fictional events.

There are three main theories on narratives by Tzvetan Todorov, Vladimir Propp and Claude Levi-Strauss

Tzvetan Todorov theory of equilibrium:

All stories begin at equilibrium however it is then disrupted, which is set in a motion of events There is then a resolution which results in the creation of a new or different equilibrium.

The chain of events is as follows:

Equilibrium>Disturbance>Resolution>Re-Equilibrium

This is a narrative structure found in most Hollywood films.

Vladimir Propp

• Essentially interested in the narrative of folk tales and identified a theory about folk tales being similar in many ways.
• They were about the same struggle and had the same 'Stock Characters'
• He identified a theory about characters and actions as narrative functions; they provide a structure for the text.

His list of 'Stock Characters' consisted of:

1. The villain — struggles against the hero.
2. The donor — prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object.
3. The (magical) helper — helps the hero in the quest.
4. The princess or prize — the hero deserves her throughout the story but is unable to marry her because of an unfair evil, usually because of the villain. the hero's journey is often ended when he marries the princess, thereby beating the villain.
5. Her father — gives the task to the hero, identifies the false hero, marries the hero, often sought for during the narrative. Propp noted that functionally, the princess and the father can not be clearly distinguished.
6. The dispatcher — character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off.
7. The hero or victim/seeker hero — reacts to the donor, weds the princess.
8. False hero — takes credit for the hero’s actions or tries to marry the princess.

Claude Levi-Strauss: Binary oppositions

Meanings, including narrative, depends on binary oppositions- he explores these in terms of underlying typical themes rather than events. Conflict helps to drive the narrative.

Man vs Woman

Old vs Young

Hero vs Villain

West vs East

Good vs Bad

Performers: The story line of the video is based on a guy rapping about where he is from and his council estate where he lives and what he has seen and what he still sees when growing up and he just wants to give people an insight into his life. Storyline:

Walking through his estate and rapping about what happens within his estate. Walking through the estate he sees drug dealers and people doing scams in order to make money to survive within the estate itself. Flashback of his girlfriend setting him up and him getting robbed and he goes back for revenge. Trying to get away from the lifestyle estates bring and turns to music. Scenes

- Walking through council estate

- Viewing people who are doing things to survive by any means necessary

- Sells drugs & gets arrested

- Flashback of being set up by his girlfriend

- Going back for revenge

- Studio shots (performance Shots )

Male: Walking through the estate looking street like sort of a rough and ready approach to the role (to portray that he is this way due to the estate making him like this way)

Female: Small role (just sets up the male actor in order to get him robbed pretends to be in love with the male).

Costumes:

Males: Dark clothing (to add a more serious note to the video to portray the stereotypical view of someone from a council estate so e.g. Black hoodies)

Female: Bright clothing (nothing to specific) however it is in order to make you stand out during the flashback as it will be in black and white

This is a video from Nicki Minaj Ft Sean Garrett. The name of the video/song is Massive Attack. The video was premiered on BET's 106 & Park on March 31, 2010 were the song was taken from Nicki Minaj’s upcoming album Pink Friday. The genre of the song is hip-hop/ Rap music. This video was shot on March 15, 2010 in the deserts of Lancaster, California and was directed by Hype Williams one of the best directors of music videos. The video is concept based comprising a helicopter chase and militaristic desert and jungle scenes. Although the video has a crazy contrast of pink and dirt its still was at the top of the charts. There are several camera shots/techniques in this video such as bird’s eye views on chases, low angle shots and editing such as fading from one frame into another shot and also selective focus to make the main character standout in front of the background. I think that the video subverts the conventions of music videos of this genre as both characters are carrying out opposite roles. Nicki Minaj is rapping where as the male character Sean Garrett is singing.

The music video is quite violent with the showing off curves galore but in this day and age, is that so harming? In the video Nicki Minaj is represented as being a sex icon this is shown through the clothing she has on and her different types of gestures. She is also dressed close to a Barbie doll with the blonde hair and pink lipstick it is almost as if she is the new and urban version of the 1959’s original Barbie doll. The mise en scene suggests that she is very different as there is a contrast between dirt and clean. For example there is a very glamorous pink Lamborghini being driven through the dessert I think that this can represent the two different sides to Nicki Minaj as a person. The use of mise en scene also suggest that she is wealthy this is shown through her expensive taste of glasses jewellery and her custom made clothing. The video is also different in terms of the setting the video is firstly in the desert then moves on to the jungle showing a diversification on locations.

Nicki Minaj born Onika Maraj is a rapper, singer-songwriter currently signed to Hip-hop icon Lil Wayne record label Young Money; also signed to Universal. The video Massive Attack was first premiered at B.E.T’S 106&Park shortly after it was releases on to other big channels such as MTV, TMF and Kiss. This video could be viewed on these channels because they specialise in these genres of music. MTV was the first channel to break the colour barrier in music video viewing therefore this type of videos is shown to continue its ambition.

The target audience for this video ranges from the ages of 16-25 this is due to the outfits in which both artists are dressed in. many people watch it as they Nicki Minaj has a large female fan base with the ratio of 5:2 with 2 being males. With the post-feminist theory we can say that Nicki Minaj is represented as a sexual object. It could also be said that she is filed under the idea of the female gaze whereby women plea men and attempt to dress in such a way in order to get their attention.

This is a video from Ludacris Ft. Lil Scrappy. The video is called Everybody Drunk. The video was released recently on the 19th of September 2010 where the soundtrack was taken of Ludacris’s latest album named Battle of the Sexes. The title of the album itself suggests that Men and Females are battling, as they are no carrying out the same roles. Director: Figvrati Films who has made a number of high definition videos for rap and hip hop artist directed this video. Most of figvarati films videos tend no to have a narrative and are based on partying in clubs. This video features a lot of females with minimal clothing suggesting that women are provocative and are needed in hip-hop videos as they are a part of the hip-hop culture used to catch the ‘male gaze’ . The video also has a lot of good camera angles and has a lot of camera techniques such as panning left and right showing the different people in the video. Some camera techniques featured in the video such as the zooming in to the women’s body parts and the recordings that just concentrate on one female. The use of mise en scene is also important in making the video represent its genre. Like pretty much all hip-hop videos the people in the video are wearing expensive jewellery (bling) and wearing expensive brand clothing like Ralph Lauren and Gucci. The females are also being seductive by wearing makeup such as lip-gloss.

In this video the men are represented as powerful and wealthy. The women are represented as gifts and sexual toys. This is shown through the use of the limited amount of clothes worn by the females. The men are also in a strip club suggesting that they are getting pleasure from seeing women where women are getting pleasure from receiving their money. “big body, cadillac, woman in the back seat, speakers steady pumpin as i pass these losers” this suggest that because he has multiple women in the back seat he is a winner whilst other people driving cars with one female is said to be a looser. Both genders are wearing expensive clothing suggesting they are wealthy as the male characters are making money from music whereas the female character are making money from the strip club.

There are on two main characters in the video Ludacris and Lil scrappy. There are also a large amount of cameos from celebrities such as basketball players and actors. Ludacris is currently signed to Def Jam recordings with his own music label that goes by the name of Disturbing The Peace (DTP), which was founded in 2000. The featured artist Lil Scrappy was signed by Ludacris and is signed under the label DTP. This video was world premiered on the most visited Hip-hop website named World Star Hip Hop (WSHH) with about 3243799 views then shortly went on to Youtube made to promote the album.

This music video is targeted at a much older group of people. The target audience for this video ranges from the ages of 18-26 this is because of the outfits and location of the video (strip club) both artist are also talking about thing inappropriate to the younger generation and they will also find it harder to relate to. Another reason as to why the target audience is much older is because the women in the video are engaged in significantly more explicit, sexual and passive. The target audience for this video may also be more on the male side rather than the females as the women are wearing rather provocative clothing.The Feminism theories can be applied to this music video as the women are not being respected due to thier occupation but are rather solely for the entertainment of the male audiences.

This is a video from Ray J Ft Yung berg. The name of the song/video is Sexy Can I. the song can be identifies as being a mixture/combination of R&B and Hip-hop. This video was directed and Edited by Tom Small and was released in early 2007. The music video is concept based it doesn’t include a narrative nor is there any performing. There is a lot of mise en scene that makes us understand the genre of music. These types of props consist of expensive cars such as Lamborghini and expensive jewellery such as diamond earrings, rings and chains. With the use of different editing techniques/effects such as fades and camera shot framing effects the video looks more advanced without the use of green screening. The video also includes a number of low angle shots and close ups of the individuals and groups.

In the video the artist are represented as being wealthy and are carrying out the roles of stereotypical men in the hip hop music industry; this is shown through the amount of women both artist have in the video. The wealth aspect is shown through the designer clothing such as the expensive suits and also the diamond encrusted chains and rings. The cameras also zoom in to the artist jewellery by close ups and the use of panning from the bottom to the top vice versa. Some parts of the video can also be said to be a countertype, as people in the hip-hop culture tend to wear baggy clothing and try to avoid tight fitting clothes like suits.

There are on two main characters in the video Ray J (the main artists) and Yung Berg (the featured artist). Ray J is an R&B singer as well as a hip-hop rapper who is currently signed to Atlantic records. Yung Berg is a Rapper, Singer, Songwriter and Producer who is currently signed to Epic and bloodline recordings. This video was world premiered on the most viewed music channels in America; B.E.T’s 106 in park. The song reached 4th place after the 1st day as it was promoted through other channels such as MTV base and Flava. The reason why the music video was on such channels is because of the genre of music.

The target audience for this video is young adults. People may watch the video for personal relationships reasons; maybe something along the lines of cheating with lovers with a large number of other girls or past experiences. The audience theory witch can be applied to audience consumptions is post-feminism. This is because of the way the women are dressed and are trying to get the attention of the male character almost like a competition. Young male audiences may gain pleasure by watching this type of video due to the large amount of females involved in-between scenes.

This is a video from Lady Gaga. The name of the song/video is Paparazzi. Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund directed the music video. Jonas has previously directed music videos for artists like The Smashing Pumpkins, Madonna, Moby, Rammstein, and U2. The video was supposed to premiere on June 4, 2009, in the United Kingdom and Ireland, on Channel 4. This is very unusual as there is also a UK version of MTV. The video is narrative /performance based. The video includes a lot of good shots, for example the video starts with an establishing shot witch allows us to get a greater idea of the setting. There is also a good variety of props (mise en scene) for example the use of the mansion suggest wealth with is associated with the name of the song ‘paparazzi’. I think that the video subvert the conventions (typical features) of music videos from the same genre as it has a completely different visual and clothing sense. There is also a great deal of editing in the video for example the opening affect which slowly reveals a shot and also the name of the song comes up in text. There is also a large number of fading techniques involved in the opening of the video.

In this video Lady Gaga is represented as being a wealthy star that was pushed over the banister by her supposed lover. She is represented as being women engaged in significantly more explicit, sexual and passive behaviour and also represented as being an object of sexual advances and as a sexual object. This is shown through the way she is dressed she is dressed in a corset where a lot of skin is being revealed and she is also involved in activities in the bed with her lover. She is also portrayed as a decorative objects that dances, poses and doesn’t play instruments. The mise en scene such as the money and jewellery suggest that she is well off most likely a millionaire. The opening title has generic conventions of 'golden age' Hollywood film of which "lady Gaga' is the leading lady this is showing homage. The video also has intertextual references with Sunset Boulevard (1950). This shown through the wide shot of the house, the close up of the newspaper featuring gaga and also the point of view shot of the paparazzi snapping shots.

Lady Gaga is a singer-songwriter, record producer and dancer currently signed to Def Jam. She is also signed to Akons label named konvict musik. Akon is also well known singer-songwriter, record producer. The video was distributed through youtube and many other video sharing websites such as vevo. Many channels also had Lady Gaga’s videos as she stormed through the charts. Her videos were played in channels such as MTV and Kiss.

It could be said that this video looks quite old fashioned as it plays homage to a lot of old films therefore it could appeal to a much order target audience. However lady Gaga has millions of fans from different ages so the target audience cant no just is selective. The video is a post-feminist video as Gaga is dressed very provocatively and is doing it for the male audience. This video can also be voyeuristic as men gain pleasure from watching the video.

This is a video of Lil Wayne's song Ms Officer ft Bobby Valentino, directed by Lil Wayne (Dwayne Carter) & Gil Green. The Genre of this song is Rap which was released in October 31st 2008. This is a narrative video as it tells a story of when Lil Wayne met a lady cop (police woman). Lil Wayne plays the victim, being searched by a lady cop (Tammy Torres) an hour after leaving a previous video shoot. In contrast Bobby Valentino who is also featured in the song plays the opposite role of being an officer detaining several women. The use of mise en scene is very effective in this video for example from the use of police cars and the police uniform we have an understanding of what role the characters play. The handcuffs are also seen in the video but are used for sexual purposes rather than for its original use. This in a way could be said to challenge stereotypes of people who work within the police department. This particular video does adhere to conventions of music videos of this genre, as there is usually a female(s) involved in the narrative of these types of videos.

In the video the artists are represented as being wealthy. There are very strong stereotypical conventions of artists within this genre of music. This is shown through the use of mise en scene such as the cars (Lamborghini) and diamond jewellery such as the chains even with a diamond-encrusted handcuff. Lil Wayne also has a lot of tattoos covering the whole of his upper body and some on the face this is also associated with the Hip Hop/ Rap culture, showing strength and power. The use of camera shots such as the low angle shot suggest that the characters are powerful and also powerful enough to seduce female cops.

The artist in this video, Lil Wayne is signed to Universal music group and is also has is own music label known as Young Money which have some of the best artist out rite now. He joined cash money records at the age of nine, although being the youngest member his lyrics still amazed a variety of audiences. The featured artist Bobby Valentino is an R&B singer currently signed to Def Jam Recording. This music video was first played on MTV Base then went on to other music channels of this type of genre such as Kiss 100, Flava and Channel AKA. The reason for this being played on these channels are because these channels usually specialise on only play Hip-hop and R&B songs.

This video is aimed at young adults. The target audience for this video is ranges from the ages 16-25. Audiences may watch this video for the simple reason of it being unusual. This video has an unusual story as it talks about female police officers getting freaky with criminals. This could be said to be challenging the stereotypes of females in the police force, on the other hand it could also be argued that it is a good storyline as it reflect the authority police officers have on criminals. Most comomly different type of people watch music videos as they are fans of the artist.