Music Video Project: Planning Phase

 

    This project has unique challenges that others didn't. For this project, the video isn't something that we put out to learn about a certain thing, such as the sound project, but instead has a goal beyond the material, which in this case is promoting a new artist. I feel as though I took the lead on the story aspect of the music video, and along with Kailey, we've been working on the artist's 'first music video'. Having examined the lyrics of the song and the stereotypical dark themes that are present within our genre, we decided to go with a story that was dark and matched the lyrics of the song. 

    For the brainstorming aspect, I took a somewhat literal approach to the story, with the words 'aint no rest for the wicked', being taken as something where violent criminals with wicked minds literally couldn't sleep until they died. For the video, I took it a step further and showed the crimes that occurred, as well as the mental toll it takes on the criminal as they grow insane as the video progresses. Since this is the first of this new artist's song, I decided to also add clips of the artist singing parts of the song as the story goes on, similar to the Aerosmith video shown in class in terms of the goal. 

    As far as the next steps and challenges, there are a few things I'd like to point out. The first is that our group has difficulty at times communicating. One of the days in class my microphone wasn't working, and I used the chat box to type out what I had to say. Everyone spoke via message that day, which hindered our ability to speak as a group. As for moving ahead, I'd like to finish the outline with Kailey soon, and the storyboard should very quickly follow after that is done. Once those two things are completed we can begin filming the video and communicate with Aurea and Isabella to see how their marketing campaign is going. Overall, I think this project has gone well, and I look forward to seeing what will happen as we progress. 

Representation

 The representation in the Tide commercial is negative towards female empowerment. The ad portrays a woman wearing all pink, who is alarmed by her daughter refusing to wear pink clothes and doing things typical of a tomboy. The mother is alarmed by this, and the ad portrays the daughter's interest as something that is unnatural for girls, something that shouldn't happen. The commercial tells the audience that girls should wear pink and that they must conform to the expectations society has imposed on them. The Axe commercial is also alarming. The females in the commercial are portrayed almost as sex animals, rushing towards a man while wearing revealing clothing. The ad's 'spray more, get more' campaign puts women as sexual creatures that would go any length in order to be satisfied. This puts forward an unrealistic, hypersexualized version of women, which is extremely unrealistic in comparison to society. 

Genre Data Dive: Superheros

  

Since the genre is so broad and encompasses many different types of subgenres. However, there are a few conventions that are needed in order for there to be a superhero movie. The first is a hero, someone who has powers of some kind. It doesn’t matter how they get these powers, just that they have them. A second convention is some sort of moral or ethical dilemmas, where the hero’s power rubs against the already established system and causes conflict within it because they can do things that normal humans are unable to. Now, most genres are more specific, however, superhero films are rather broad.

There are films like Guardians of the Galaxy 2, where a team of heroes fight across space and never once touch Earth in extreme sci-fi battles. But there are also grittier films that aren’t as much of a spectacle, such as the Batman movie, The Dark Knight, which focuses on the conflicts between Batman(who meets our definition of a superhero because he’s been trained by an order of mystical ninjas led by an immortal leader and has extremely versatile combat skills as a result) and the deranged criminal that is the Joker in a much more personal and down to Earth way. So superhero films are rather broad, but always contain a hero with abilities, as well as a dilemma that results from those abilities and the effect they have on the person.  

One common theme with superhero productions is location. Many heroes live in big cities, such as New York City or the DC area, and oftentimes spend a lot of their time in these metropolitan areas. Most superhero films utilize VFX and extensive action sequences that emphasize the literal fight between the hero and the villain. With the rise in Marvel movies, most of the footage is altered and has VFX added in post-production. As for things such as costume design, the hero usually has their own suit, with the color and style varies depending on the hero’s ability or association. 

With the rise of the MCU, the marketing strategy for superhero films has drastically changed. Instead of focusing on one hero or one battle, advertisements tend to focus on building up towards larger events. The rise of interconnected superhero stories means the marketing has to towards both old fans and new ones, who have all come for the large spectacle of a finale. 

Films that embody this genre have been listed throughout this post, but there are a few standouts among the list. The first is The Avengers, which is the embodiment of the things listed above. There is a group of heroes with exceptional abilities, fighting an enemy inside a big city. Each hero has their own unique look and style, which had been established in some of the solo films that were building up towards this massive event. The advertising campaign for such an endeavor focused on this movie as a final battle of sorts for this franchise, almost as if the films before this one were literally advertising for the showdown in NY city. 

Another film that serves as another stellar example of a superhero production comes from a rather unspectacular movie. Batman vs Superman, although not well received, is a prime example of the superhero genre. The conflict stems from a superhuman being(Superman), and the dilemma that comes with their extreme power through ethics,  jealousy, religious comparisons. The movie takes place in two large cities and each hero has their own aesthetic to go with them. Production and quality aside, it does embody the genre.

Here’s a list of other superhero productions in case you’d like more:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy 2: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3896198/

2. Daredevil: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3322312/

3. The Dark Knight: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468569/ 

4. Avengers: Endgame: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154796/ 

5. The Incredibles: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3606756/ 

Welcome!

 Welcome to the blog, everyone! I created this space as an area to discuss various pieces of media, mostly film, and what's good or bad about the different aspects of the production and the final product. I'm here to have a good time as I dive into blogging and hope that all who come here find the blog enjoyable and worthwhile. 

 I'm Brett, and I'm really excited to be digesting various pieces of media(both good and bad) as this blog grows.