The Killers Music Video research with Album Cover and Gig ad

The Killers - Mr Brightside Music Video
- There are two versions of the music video, the first of which is the UK version, released on a low budget label whereas the second music video was released on a more mainstream label in the USA, but is more frequently shown in the UK.

The UK version;

• The lyrics are about a girl who has cheated and is still cheating on the guy and he's had enough of it however he feels like he deserves it so he's looking on the brightside - that's why the song's called Mr.Brightside.
• The tempo of the music has a fast pace to it and along with that has on the beat editing.
• The video is mostly edited to be in black and white, a negative effect and there are bits where the shadows of them are filmed behind a white screen with a yellow light on the other side. When an extra tint hasn't been edited in and the original colour is used, the colours are very dark as part of the mise-en-scene of the shot, so it goes with the storyline quite well as it is quite dark because of the cheating which had been going on. Mostly the only proper props are the instruments they play and the microphone. They are establishing further that they are a band who can play instruments. There are also shots of a girl, which is probably his girlfriend, messing around, dancing and posing in front of the camera. The shape of the shot is like that of when you go into a photo booth, this suggests that the girl had been caught which goes very well with the lyrics. Also edited over the shots of her are some shapes like the air force/army cadet << - like the stripes and a picture of spades from a pack of cards which could give the impression that she gambled her relationship away for a guy from the air force/army. There are a lot of static shots because the camera seems to be moving most of the time. In the way that this is done it makes the video seem a bit more distorted this is to make the audience empathise with the man who the songs about because he probably felt distorted and confused. In editing either lense flare is used or when filming the lights are controlled to brighten and darken giving a sense of glamour to the performance.

The music video is based around Live Performance mainly - this shows the bands ability to perform with instruments etc. It isn't infront of a live audience however it is still classed as Performance in the genre of music video.

Camerawork and Editing;

• Fade in from black to a band member on a guitar - the camera is panning upwards on him.
• Cut to another band member on a guitar - camera panning to the right.
• Cut to the band member on drums - camera pans downwards
• Cut to a long shot where there is a narrow depth of field so all the focus will be on whatever comes in to the frontal view, the camera pans to the right to reveal the singer and the vocals kick in, the camera carries on panning to the right but starts to go around him - a lense flare is either picked up by bright light or is added in in editing.
• Cut to extreme close up of singer - in editing a negative effect has been used to give a sense of distortion
• Cut to a medium shot of the singer - camera pans ever so slightly to the left
• Cut to a medium shot of the bassist - camera panning to the diagonally forwards to the left.
• Cut to drums - camera panning to the left reveals the side of the drummer for a split second
• Cut to a slight high angled medium shot of the drummer on the drums
• Cuts to a medium shot of the singer
• Cut to extreme close up of a guitar
• Cut to close up of guitarist?
• Cut back to singer again - camera panning to the left slightly
• Cut to an edited version of the same shot - a negative effect has been edited in
• Cut to a medium shot of singer in the original black and white - there is a bit of lense flare there
• Cut to drummer on drums - camera panning to the right slightly
• Cut back to singer
• Cut to medium shot of guitarist with full guitar in shot - camera pans upwards
• Cut to another person on a guitar - camera panning diagonally up to the right
• Cut to the same shot however with a negative effect on it - camera panning to the left
• Cut to medium shot of singer - camera panning left
• Cut to extreme close up of microphone and mouth - narrow depth of field - background is blurred and the focus is on the microphone and mouth - very short shot
• Cut to a medium shot of the singer with the negative effect edited in - also the shot has been quickened in editing to seem like they are moving very precisely very quickly.
• Cut to a medium shot of the guitarist doing the same sort of thing - in the same two affects as before
• Cut to the drummer - with the same two effects again
• Cut to a medium long shot of a guitarist with the same two effects edited in again.
• Cut to what looks like the shadow of a drums set through a white screen with yellow light on the other side making the shadow
• Cut to another part of the band in the same kind of setting
• Cut to a medium shot of the singers shadow and him dancing whilst singing

I have researched up to 1 minute for the camerawork and editing used in the music video however for the rest of the research I have used the whole music video.

Application of Andrew Goodwin's theories to the music video for 'Mr Brightside';

• One of Andrew Goodwin's theories is that within music videos there are visual parallels with the tempo of the music which are directly represented in music video clips. The speed can be represented in the clips by the movement of the camera, fast editing, post production and any effect edited in by the computer. In the music video for 'Mr Brightside' the tempo of the music is quite fast and there are parallels to this by there being fast paced editing and camera movement mainly.
• Andrew Goodwin suggests that the voice, the rhythm and the backing which supports them are three central elements of the arrangement of pop music videos. 'Mr brightside' is edited on the beat which puts emphasis on the rhythm of the song. There are also conflicts between the vocals and rhythmic prominence due to there being cuts away from shots of lip-syncing to different things for example the instruments the other band members are playing which makes it hard to distinguish which element is being emphasised.

The US version;

• The lyrics are about a girl who has cheated and is still cheating on the guy and he's had enough of it however he feels like he deserves it so he's looking on the brightside - that's why the song's called Mr.Brightside.
• The music has a fast pace to it and along with that has on the beat editing.
• The music video has intertextual references to Moulin Rouge incorporated into it, and as part of the denotation, there is a lot of the colour of red used on the set. The connotation of red is love, hate, anger, war, evil, sexy, seductive etc. All of these things reflect the lyrics in the song and how the man must have been secretly feeling as well as the feelings he's sung in the lyrics. Within the mise-en-scene, the extras and the band are all wearing clothing which is like that from Moulin Rouge - early 1900's in France. Zooming in and out and Panning are the only movements the camera really makes which makes it simple but effective. On the set it it is very brightly lit and there are hardly any shadows which means they must have used 3 point lighting. This makes it more glamorous looking and appealing to watch as the brightly lit set and actors are more appealing to watch. At one point in the video there must have been some green screen used to be able to layer an image of the main girl with smoke around her on top of an image of two men playing checkers. Also because the girl is in the middle of the two men, this suggests that the two men are fighting over her and take part in many competitions to try and win her affection. Some of the shots near the end have been edited to be blurred, this means that the audience will feel intriged to who got the girl, as it isn't clear in those shots to which man is kissing her. At the end it shows the lead singer walking away from the girl. This shows that the moving image compliments the lyrics becuase it shows the audience that he has given up on her because of the cheating and he doesn't want to compete for her affection any more. The video and lyrics of the song may also send out a message that it isn't worth the trouble of cheating on a partner.

The music video is based around narrative and performance infront of an audience (in the narrative) - more effective with the song and more interesting for the audience.

Camerawork and Editing;

• Fade in from black to show a long shot of the band on a stage - this suggests that they are about to play to an audience.
• Cut to a long shot of the audience who will be watching them play - could be a poin of view shot from one of the band members?
• Cut in to a medium close up of a girl who's leaning on her hand and her eyes look mesmorised - as if she can't take them off the lead singer.
• Cut to a medium shot of an upper-class looking man sitting in a leather chair - camera pans left slightly then zooms out a bit.
• Cut to a long shot of the band - camera is zooming in to the pace of the music and pans upwards to keep the lead singers face in view - stops at a medium shot of him.
• Cut back to the upper-class looking man with a bright red apple in his hand - like he is holding an object of lust (because of the colour and the nature of an apple)
• Cut to a long shot of girl slightly off-centre - slouching in a chair as if she had been forced to watch the performance and was bored
• Cut to a close up of the lead singer - camera zooming in
• Medium close up of girl - fiddling with hair - suggests she is nervous or edgy about something - could be the girl the lyrics are about - meaning she could be nervous about being found out about the cheating
• Cut to a long shot of the band - camera is zooming out
• Cut back to the upper-class looking man in the leather chair - he throws the apple off-screen
• Cut to a long shot of the girl slouching the in chair - slightly off centre in the shot with a few people dotted around her - you see the apple fly into the shot and her catch it - suggests to the audience that they are the two people having the affair
• Cut back to the upper-class looking man in the leather chair - he's pointing to the girl and has got a flirty look on his face as if to say he's hers (because the red apple could symbolise lust).
• Cut to medium close up of lead singer - tracking shot because camera is moving with the singer
• Cut to a medium shot of the girl sitting down in her chair then looking at the apple while fiddling with her hair - this is suggeting that she's giving flirting signals to the object of lust which is associated with the man who threw it - this shows she may secretly want to flirt with him - camera zooming out slowly
• Cut to a long shot of the band - camera zooming out slowly
• Cut to a medium long shot of the girl getting out of her seat and reaching towards a man sitting near her - this could also be interpreted as a two shot as well - this shows that there is some kind of relationship between the two whether it romantic or family based is unknown
• Cut to a long shot of the band - camera zooming in quickly
• Cut in to the drummer playing the drums - this establishes other members in the band
• Cut to a medium close up of the lead singer - very quick shot
• Cut to a medium-long shot of the girl walking out of the shot to the left and it looks like she is holding someones hand - camera pans to the left
• Cuts to a medium shot of the lead singer - zooming in quite quickly
• Cut to a medium shot of a man in the audience with two girls with their hands all over him - portrays the meaning of the lyrics - more of the meaning of the girl sleeping around rather than a prostitute which is what the moulin rouge type clothing portrays - camera is panning upwards.
• Cut to a medium close up of a guy wispering something into a woman's ear - she has a mixed expression on her face, and along with the moulin rouge style clothing this suggests that she feels she needs to sell herself that's why her expression is a mix of being scared and intrigued
• Cut to a medium-long shot which portrays the rule of thirds within it - the guy is on the left the girls leg and high heeled shoe is in the middle and the rest of her body is on the right. This draws the adiences attention to the girls leg because it's in the middle. Also this image, along with the moulin rouge clothing again suggests that she is a prostitute - she has her leg in the air trying to intise the man who looks intrigued.
• Cut to a medium close up of the lead singer with a guitarist in the background
• Cut to drummer playing the drums with a cello on the right hand side - establishing band members further
• Cut to a medium shot of a woman and a man sitting on a chair with their legs up - the man's hand is on the woman's bare leg - sexual hints - also the woman is whispering something into his ear - to intise him
• Cut to a medium close up of the singer again - there is a narrow depth of field so the focus will be entirely on the lead singer - shown as most important
• Cuts back to a medium shot of a man in the audience with two girls with their hands all over him
• Cuts to a medium long shot of the band - establishing the full band and who they are
• Cut to a medium close up of a woman and a man - the woman is playing with his scarf - intising - flirting
• Cut to a man and a woman half lying down on a seat - both smiling - his hand is on her leg - sexual position - her body language is quite closed though as she has got both of her hands holding eachother away from him.
• Cut to a long shot of the band - camera zooming out
• Cut to a medium shot of the main girl and a man - he hand is on his cheek and she look as though she's about to kiss him even though she seems like she's meant to be with the lead singer.
• Cut to a close up of the lead singer - camera pans slightly to the left and zooms out
• Cut to a medium shot of the guitarist
• Cut to a medium close up of the guy on the cello
• Cut to a long shot of the seats opposite the stage - The main girl and a guy are holding hands and walk off screen to the right - camera zooming out
• Cut to a long shot of the band - camera zooming in
• Cut to a medium shot of the upper-class looking man in his leather chair throwing the apple again
• Cut to a medium shot of the main girl catching the apple - there is a man infront who is sitting down.
• Cut to a medium close up of the guy playing the cello
• Cut to a medium close up of the lead singer - camera is zooming out
• Cut to a medium shot of the main girl moving her leg up into the air and over the man infronts' head - may be seen as sexual as this move is used in the can-can - but obviously she was sitting down not standing up
• Cut to a medium shot of the lead singer with guitarist and drummer in the background
• Cut to a medium-long shot of a man and a woman on the left, the main girl in the centre and a man on the right - rule of thirds is used so the main girl is the focus of the audience - she's whispering something in his ear
• Cut to a close up of the upper-class looking man smiling and looking in the main girls' direction
• Cut to a long shot of a man in the middle with two women draped over him
• Cut to a medium-long shot of the drummer on his drums
• Cut to a medium shot of the main girl running into view of the camera
• Cut to a medium shot of the upper-class looking man peering around a red curtain
• Cut to a long shot of the girl running round the corner of the curtain with who appears to be the lead singer
• Cut to a medium shot of the two - side on - he pulls her back and holds her in an embrace and they go to kiss
• Cut to a close up of the upper-class looking man moving from view to behind the red curtain
• Cut to a medium shot of the guy playing the cello - camera pans up him
  

I have researched up to 1 minute for the camerawork and editing used in the music video however for the rest of the research I have used the whole music video.

Application of Andrew Goodwin's theories to the music video for 'Mr brightside';

• One of Andrew Goodwin's theories is that within music videos there are visual parallels with the tempo of the music which are directly represented in music video clips. The speed can be represented in the clips by the movement of the camera, fast editing, post production and any effect edited in by the computer. In the music video for 'Mr brightside' the tempo of the music is fast and there are parallels to this by there being very fast paced editing and swift camera movement to go with it.
• Andrew Goodwin suggests that the voice, the rhythm and the backing which supports them are three central elements of the arrangement of pop music videos. 'Mr brightside' is edited on the beat mostly and some clips within sequences of the music video are edited to the lyrics for example each line, phrase or couple of words. These each emphasise the vocals and rhythmic prominence. There are also conflicts between these two elements due to there being cuts away from shots of lip-syncing to different things, for example dancing during the lyrics being sung, shots of the audience or flashback type shots, all of which make it hard to distinguish which element is being emphasised.
• He also borrowed a theory, of conflict being resolved from a narrative theory - it is relevant to the images seen and the music heard in music videos. 'Mr brightside' has elements of a conflict being restored due to the male lead walks away at the end, the words "I Never" are repeated and there is a closing guitar riff and drum beat.
  
  The Killers Debut Album - Hot Fuss;

The Killers album Hot Fuss is a very simple Album Cover which doesn't actually link very well with either of the music videos. This suggests that The Killers and their Manager/Producers wanted to go for different images in each of the media products. There are 4 sky scrapers along the bottom of the picture, each with japanese/chinese writing on each in a flaming red/orange colour which stands out against the blue background. Each of the sky scrapers have been tinted with a light blue colour - this may have been to make the writing stand out a lot more. Also the bands name is in white and a font which involoves the writing being made up of squares - this suggests a light effect. 'Hot Fuss' is the name of the Album Cover which is underneath the name of the band, this is in a deep red colour and a tahoma kind of font - because it stands out more due to the lettering being spread out. The title 'Hot Fuss' suggests that the band is 'hot' as at the time they were new and needed to be recognised. Also 'Fuss' would suggest to people that this band may already have an audience and that they like them. The lightened colour around the bands name and title of their album makes them look iconic and almost angel like as they are surrounded by light. This could suggest that the band has a sense of innocence about them as they were a new band at the time. Also the lightened blue surrounding the bands name and title along with the brightness of the white for the bands name could be a symbol of the paparzzi taking photo's of the band when they become famous - it suggests that after this album this will be the beginning of their career in the music industry.

The Back Cover;

The back cover of the CD album is very simple, its' background is a grey/blue colour fading diagonally down and to the left where the colour lightens. There are two discs to this album, the second is a DVD (which ties into the CD/DVD package we will be producing for our production). The track lists take up two halves of the CD back cover - on the left all of the audio tracks in disc 1 and on the right all of the DVD tracks in disc 2. The font of the writing is simple to go with the whole arrangement of the cover and it is in an off white colour (whether that is the quality of the image or not, I'm not sure). On the bottom left is a list of the producers, directors, writers etc. of the album - this establishes the different people who worked together to create the album - along with The Killers as a band. On the bottom right there is a barcode so it can be scanned through the till when purchased in a shop. On the far left and far right it has "The Killers" in the same font as the front cover and "Hot Fuss" is in a red colour and is in capitals - both of which carry theme on from the front cover - on a blue background.

Inlay; The inlay has the front cover image on it - as you can see in the bottom left hand side and then a block of a different shade of light blue has been edited on top of this picture. It looks like that has happened because on the right handside the blue colour is exactley the same as the front cover and the shade of blue on the far left. This is a cheaper way to create album covers as they don't need a different image for the inlay.

The actual CD; The Killers CD is bright red - which is a contrasting colour to the blue that will be surrounding it once inside of the CD case - this makes it stand out. It also has "The Killers" logo on the top - in the same kind of font as the front cover and on the sides of the CD case. The red goes with the name "Hot Fuss" as it is in the same colour.

Extract from a newspaper advertising a gig; As this is a newspaper ad it is in greyscale - mostly because a lot of newspapers come in black and white only or it may have been cheaper to advertise their gig in the newspaper in a greyscale compared to colour because the printing cost of the newspaper may have been slightly more expensive for them to have their advert printed in colour. The band name is in the same font, size and arrangement as it was on their CD album cover - apart from it is right along the top of the ad - establishing this as their logo for their band name - so if the name was to be printed anywhere in those fonts and arrangements, audiences would know that it was this band that the name was representing. The image of the band covers atleast 1/2 of the ad - this establishes further who the band actually are so if people don't see the band name first they may see the image of the band first - so both aspects are quite important as they are eye-catching - the more people who notice the ad, the more people will go to the gig. Along the bottom section of the ad there are detials of when the gig is, where it is held, when tickets go on sale and also logos of production companies involved etc.

Out of the media products involved, the UK version of the music video links better with the newspaper ad and the CD album because they all reflect each other and suggest the type of music which the band plays. The US version of the music video is more suited to the song in question however it doesn't seem to link in with the image of the band which the CD cover and gig ad portrays. The most striking link between two of the media products is name "The Killers" is in the same font and arrangement wherever it is placed - as shown on the CD album and newspaper ad.

Beyoncés Music Video research with linking Album Cover and Poster

Beyoncé - If I were a boy Music Video

• The lyrics are about boys who think they can do whatever they want whilst they are in a relationship and they don't really care. It's from the girls point of view saying that the way some boys act does hurt even they don't notice the hurt it causes due to them not caring. It's a very emotional song but the lyrics do appeal to a lot of girls and some boys as well. This was a very popular song which proves its' appeal.
• The music has a slow beat to it with long takes to go with the pace of the song. It is a very mellow beat with some on the beat editing and some off the beat editing.
• The genre for the look of the music video is romance due to the narrative being about a man and a woman's relationship, this reflects the lyrics and the nature of the song. The music genre is ballad/R'n'B. This video has a narrative structure mainly - this portrays the lyrics of the song. The whole music video has been edited to be black/grey and white which shows the simplicity of the situation going on. The situation is simple because the boy only has to change a few things and pay attention and their relationship would be better already. Also the connotation of the black/grey and white used could suggest binary oppositions, for example boys and girls or good and evil. This suggests further that in some relationships it may seem like they are opposites in personality as well as opposite sexes as they may not understand eachother - this is displayed by the lyrics of the song. The music video doesn't start with music straight the way it starts with Beyoncé and the man who plays her boyfriend saying qualities of a good relationship. This relates well to the song and the rest of the video because the qualities are broken by the male figure which suggests to female viewers that they should find a male figure who will give them those qualities so they won't suffer heartbreak. Beyoncé starts off by wearing very simple clothes which hide her figure. This is because she is in the role of a man at the start as the roles have been switched and men just wear whatever they want regardless of what they look like. Her hair is scraped back into a tight ponytail which gives her a tough edge, along with this she has a career in the police force - she has to look and dress as much as possible like a man so she will be able to establish her authority over the criminals. Within the camera movement there are mainly static shots and quite a few shots seem to be taken with a hand held camera to show the audience the urgency of the police and some of the situations. Also some of the hand held shots are for point of view shots this is effective because people aren't always standing still, so it makes it more realistic. For editing there are mainly cuts between shots however near to the end of the song there is a break in the music and there is a fade to black for 3 seconds then a fade in from black for 1 second to reveal part of the storyline with speech. The roles are switched back and Beyoncé becomes the girls point of view again which relates to the lyrics. She is now seen in more girlie and fitted clothing, and her hair is also down, this shows a softer tone to the character she is playing and also portrays her as more feminine now. The man is now the policeman and is doing everything Beyoncé did in the beginning of the video. Also now the roles have changed there are cuts between the storyline and Beyoncé singing on her own with a white wall for the background - this shows innocence. It's the same shot position she was in for the speech at the beginning.

Camerawork and Editing;

• Very fast fade in from black to medium close up of Beyoncé
• Cut to medium close up of character boyfriend
• Cut to medium close up of Beyoncé
• Cut to medium close up of character boyfriend and a voice over edited in of Beyoncé saying "you"
• Cut to close up of Beyoncé and a voice over edited in of the character boyfriend saying "me"
• Each clip is getting shorter however they are quite long, for example the first shot is 5 seconds long.
• Cut to medium shot of the back of Beyoncé putting a top on and there is a voice over edited in of Beyoncé and her character boyfriend saying "us" in time with each other. Also slow motion is edited in for when Beyoncé is putting the top on to make the clip a bit longer
• Cut to medium close up of the back of Beyoncés head as she's walking down the stairs
• Cut to medium shot of Beyoncé and her character boyfriend who is putting plates on a table - breakfast?
• Cut to medium long shot of breakfast table with the two of them there, Beyoncé is standing up and her character boyfriend is sitting down - this shows the superiority that Beyoncés character has in the relationship, it also gives her a sense of urgency because she doesn't have time to sit down
• Cut in to a medium shot the character boyfriends expression to show he wasn't impressed that she didn't sit down to eat and has just gone
• Cut to a medium close up of Beyoncé walking into the shot putting on her policewoman's hat and to show she's in uniform
• Cut back to a medium shot of the character boyfriend who does a fake smile to show he's not impressed
• Cut back to a medium close up of Beyoncé walking away towards the door - the camera pans to the right slightly
• Cuts to medium shot of Beyoncé coming out of door and putting on sunglasses - slow motion is edited in to make her look sexy putting sunglasses on and walking down the steps - which will appeal to a male audience even though she is characterised as the male role.
• Cut to long shot of Beyoncé walking down the steps and the camera pans diagonally downwards and to the right to reveal her male co-worker who is in the drivers seat
• Cut to the outside of the car which shows a two shot through the window screen of the car which could symbolise someone looking through the glass and watching them. People on the outside of the co-workers friendship may get the wrong idea about them for example the boyfriend may assume something's going on just because the co-worker is the opposite sex.
• Cut to three shot of the co-worker on the right, Beyoncé in the middle and the empty stairs on the left. The co-worker and the empty steps are the most eye-catching images in this shot. This is because the empty steps may symbolise how the character boyfriend feels, empty and someone to walk over and the co-worker is one of the reasons for this.
• Cut to the backseat when the car is being driven - shaky camera suggests that there is urgency because the policeman is also on his radio. This may have been a hand-held camera.
• Cut to a two shot of looking through the window screen with the window screen wipers going
• Cut to long shot of a group of policemen/women standing and then looking like they're about to pounce
  

I have researched the camerawork and editing up to 1 minute and 10 seconds however the rest of the research I have conducted have been based on the whole of the video.

Application of Andrew Goodwin's theories to the music video for 'If I were a boy';

• One of Andrew Goodwin's theories is that within music videos there are visual parallels with the tempo of the music which are directly represented in music video clips. The speed can be represented in the clips by the movement of the camera, fast editing, post production and any effect edited in by the computer. In the music video for 'If I were a boy' the tempo of the music is quite slow and there are parallels to this by there being slower paced editing than an upbeat song however there are still some sequences within the music video where the editing is fast pace - it depends on what is going on in the narrative as well, and the movement of the camera parallels the music tempo.
• Andrew Goodwin suggests that the voice, the rhythm and the backing which supports them are three central elements of the arrangement of pop music videos. 'If I were a boy' is edited on the beat however it isn't edited to every beat (it skips some depending on the meaning and importance the shot has to the narrative). This puts an emphasise on the rhythm of the song which drives the narrative, rather than having emphasis on the lyrics, this may be because the lyrics are being represented by the narrative.
  
  
  

Beyoncés latest album - I Am... Sasha Fierce Beyoncés Album Cover is very clearly linked to her debut single's music video due to the hair style and the fact she hasn't got any clothes on. In the introduction to the music video it shows Beyoncé and her character boyfriend saying to the camera qualities of a good relationship. This front cover is clearly related to that introduction as she's wearing a white strappy top in the intro and her hair is done similarly. Also the fact that on her cover she is 'stripped bare' suggests that the songs on the album will be emotional and have 'stripped her bare' of her emotions to put into the lyrics of the songs. She is also wearing a bracelet with a cross on it, this suggests that she may be religious and also that the songs made will be peaceful and emotional. The font and colour of her name is in a grey and white with a fading effect also there is a shadow coming off the bottom to reflect her name - this suggests that the target audience will be seeing two different sides/personalities of Beyoncé in the songs within the Album. Also along the side is the title of the Album - 'I Am... Sasha Fierce' - this is Beyoncés stage name or alter ego - this also suggests to the target audience that the other personality they will see is Sasha Fierce. Along with the title it says 'Duluxe Edition' which is eye-catching to any audiences because they think they will be getting more for their money and will be getting special treatment by having more songs put on the Album for them. The whole picture is in a grey colour which also relates to the video as that is all in black and white as well. It suggests that it's very emotional and not as lively as the second CD may be. In the background it looks like its the sea - this can symbolise a new beginning because the tide turns which symbolises change. The new beginning could be that Beyoncé is revealing to her fan-base that she has two different personalities which will reflect in her music. Also it is showing that she is trying to appeal to a larger audience as she has got two different styles of music.

The Back cover;

Unfortunately I couldn't find the deluxe album's back cover so I have analysed the original album's back cover because it has the same kind of feel to it.

The back cover has got a picture of Beyoncé lying in quite a sexual position with a stern but sexy look on face - showing that she means business. This image is meant to portray Beyoncés alter-ego, Sasha Fierce, which is her stage name. This is the first world wide public display of Sasha Fierce being Beyoncés alter-ego and it has been incorporated into the "I Am... Sasha Fierce" tour 2009 and also into many of her songs. The mise-en-scene of the image shows Beyoncé as a 'Diva', she is wearing lycra which hugs her curves - which will be appealing to both sexes (female to be inspired to look like her and males to be attracted to her physically). The colour black seems to be the only colour clothing in which she is wearing, this colour represents her as sexy, mysterious, and can be evil in some ways etc. These represent the Sasha Fierce character more than Beyoncé herself, so the evil and mysterious aspects may be hinting towards Beyoncé and Sasha Fierce are opposites and still puts Beyoncé in a positive light. There is also a hint of a particular convention of film noir, which is there is always a femme fatal character. Sasha Fierce seems like a femme fatal character because she is wearing sky-scraper heels, with just a leotard on - which seems like she is enticing the male population and the heels show she means business. The tint to the whole image is a grey-scale/black and white - this is carried on from the front cover and also links to the music video. Accessories worn in the image seem to be metal, metal-like or metallic and if this was a colour image you could imagine that these would be a gold colour. These can represent the diva personality of Sasha Fierce and also the glamour role that she takes on - mainly because Beyoncé uses Sasha as her other mind-set when performing so she needs to be glamorous and also fearless. On the bottom left of the back cover is the name 'Sasha Fierce', the font and colour of this name is the same as the front cover. This is in a grey and white shade with a fading effect also there is a shadow coming off the bottom to reflect this name - this suggests further that the target audience will be seeing two different sides/personalities of Beyoncé in the songs within the Album. On the bottom right of the back cover there is the barcode so the shop will be able to scan it through when it is being purchased. On the bottom, in the centre of the back cover there is a cluster of writing which seems to be a list of people who worked on the album for example the producers and co-writers. Finally, in the centre, underneath the image of 'Sasha Fierce' and above the list of people who worked on the album is two lines of the list songs which are on the album. Each line is for a different disc on the album - there are two discs - for different tempos and styles of music - one for each personality (Beyoncé and Sasha Fierce). The track lists are in the same font as the name of the album and Beyoncés name on the side of the album.

The two Cd's;

The two Cd's a represented as opposites, firstly because the tinted colour of each CD is an opposite and gives each image a different feel to if they were the same colour.

• Disc one has a silvery tint to it and Beyoncé has a fitted black dress on with floaty bits of material drapped in the background - which are also connected to the dress, also she isn't wearing any shoes. The bottom of the image seems to be rocky. This suggests that the songs on this disc are going to be relaxing, slow beat and may have lyrics relating to issues which would show distress and 'hurt'. Towards the bottom left, Beyoncés name (in the same font as her name on the front and back covers), what disc it is and track names are listed etc.
• Disc two has a gold tint to it and Beyoncé has got a very different representation to her image. Her hair has been pulled back slightly and has got a quiff type hairstyle on the front, she has got a very stiff/metallic looking cropped tank top. It is difficult to see what she is wearing on her bottoms - maybe only some shorts of the same style? There is a black fade going across the screen - this is why it is hard to tell what she is wearing. This gives Beyoncé a rough/tough edge with the mise-en-scene of the image. This is infact the Sasha Fierce side of the album - there is a suggestion by the image portrayed that the music is going to be upbeat, have hints of hip-hop and the lyrics may show a tough side of Beyoncés personality. Towards the bottom right, Beyoncés name (in the same font as her name on the front and back covers), what disc it is and track names are listed etc, and at the top in the centre is the name of Sasha Fierce in the same font as the front and back covers.

A CD Album advert; This is a poster for the original Beyoncé Album which was out on the 18th of November 2008. It also has the same features and theme as the CD album covers have and also it shows elements of the music video in it (in the Beyoncé side). The two images used are two of the images used for the CD covers, as are the two smaller images on the bottom left hand side. These give the audience a flavour of what is to be expected from the Album which is due to come out.

• The "I am..." part, on the left, has a picture of Beyoncé 'stripped bare' like on the album i have analysed - this is to show that the lyrics to the songs in that side of the Album are going to be quite personal to Beyoncé, be quite emotional and the audience will be able to relate to them. Also the cross on her bracelet is a symbol for Christianity which could give an innocent feel to the image and represent beyoncé as innocent.
• The "Sasha Fierce" part, on the right, has a picture of Beyoncé dressed in clothing which has a metal feel to it and it looks like if the image was in colour that the clothing would be yellow gold. This symbolises Beyoncés 'Sasha Fierce' side as tough and daring to be different. Her hair is down and has a lot of volume to it, this shows that 'Sasha Fierce' is glamorous as well as daring - this should attract the audience and dare them to be different to follow in Beyoncés alter egos footsteps.

The writing is in the same font and colour as the CD cover - which is following the overall look that Beyoncés manager, producers etc. want to present to the audience. Underneath Beyoncés name (which is in a very large font size to attract the audiences attention) is when the album will be released - 18th of November - Roman Numerals have been used because they fit well with the font used rather than actual numbers - they also have a sophisticated look about them, which is another look that the whole poster is trying to portray. On the bottom right it shows two of the hit singles which the album includes - this is there to attract people who have enjoyed/loved those tracks previously and may want to listen to more songs of Beyoncés.

All three of the media products link in very obviously with eachother - one striking link is between the colour of them all - they have a grey tint/black and white tint to them. This suggests automatically to the audience that they are all part of the same package - so when people see one of the products then the other they will associate them together and want to buy more products by the artist or even go to their tour due to a poster. This is a good way of promoting an artist/band - by linking their promotional materials so they are associated clearly with the artist/band.

Black Eyed Peas Music Video research with linking Album Cover and Tour Poster

Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow Music Video

• The lyrics beat are electro sounding, the mood the video and song is trying to create seems to be a party/rave and also the beat is upbeat suggesting there is a happiness to the change and advance in technology as also suggested by the lyrics. So altogether they are suggesting that we should celebrate the advance in technology by having a party and also move with the times or we will get stuck in the past.
• Within the music, the tempo is very fast paced, has a techno feel to it and is edited on the beat.
• The genre of the look of the music video is edging towards being sci-fi with the computer generated imagery and how it seems to be at first glance to be set in the future however it isn't really because that's not the image of the band. The band is seen as falling in to these categories of music genre, dance/electro/pop/r'n'b because their music reflects attributes of each. The video is edited on the beat of the music and there are mostly cuts, jump cuts and quick fades used as transitions to keep the editing up to speed with the upbeat tempo. There is lots of computer generated imagery used and some blue/green screen to help to produce some of it. As part of the mise-en-scene used in the making of the video, props include, a touchscreen HP computer, metallic and black clothing with a techno vibe especially Fergies' and Will.iams' headsets which they wear as they suggest the transition from analogue to digital especially for radio as the headsets symbolise that. All of the band is seen wearing black leather at one point of the music video this represents the band as sexy, cool, rock chick/dude image, tough etc. The extras are wearing full body suits of the background colour and black which gives the feel of the transition from analogue to digital as the full face mask gives the extras no identity which shows that soon analogue won't have an identity due to everyone having digital instead and analogue will be a thing of the past "your so 2000 and late". Fergie also wears a black skintight leather/plastic catsuit with most of her back ad hip/waist area showing bare. This will be seen as sexy and will be used to entice men, along with the extended fingers with lights on the end, which would draw them in. Fergies mise-en-scene in this particular section of the video can be associated with the new technology which is forever being produced as it usually comes with a black coating (mainly tv's and some comps/phones) along with her glossy finish which is on all the latest technology. So Fergie is almost being used as a symbol for new technology because men seem to be enticed by the look of technology as a first impression of it. In a quite a few shots towards the end there are lines criss-crossing on cubes in the background whilst the cubes are moving down and twisting to the beat. This gives the impression of the band being trapped inside the computer. There are many hints and images of technology (for example, radio, HD TV's, CGI, headphones and metal/plastic looking clothes) which makes it obvious to the target audience that the Black Eyed Peas are trying to display a message about technology and themselves combined. At the end of the music video the bands visual image shatters like glass (which is the transition from one shot to the nest) and reforms to say 'THE E.N.D' on the HP touchscreen computer. 'THE E.N.D' is significant to the band as it is the title of their album cover. They have cleverly done this because some people may think that 'THE E.N.D' just means it's the end of the music video however it does give the target audience a very clear link between the album cover and the music video.

This music video follows the conventions of an abstract video mainly and there are elements of performance in there with the lip-syncing however there aren't any shots of live performance.

Camerawork and Editing;

• Pans down to touchscreen computer, zooms in to comp - visual images assembling like bits of comp info being sent from one place to another
• Cut
• Medium close up of Wil.iam
• Extreme close up of digital combination of the genetic make-up of the band members - made with green screen or blue screen
• Medium close up of Wil.iam again, about 8 cuts to beat of the same image - this is so he appears more in touch with the technology as his voice has been distorted with an electro twist to it - this also makes the video flow better with the music than if it was just one shot
• Very quick fade to black then fade back in from black to reveal visual effects of box like shapes with raised panels vibrating to the beat as a speaker would do - it looks very cocoon-like
• Cut
• 2 beats on the lyrics 'boom boom' - medium close up of Fergie
• Cut to shot of 3 speaker-like shapes for 3rd 'boom'
• Cut
• Medium close up of other band member on the lyrics sung: 'boom boom'
• Fade to 5 smaller speaker-like shapes with a mushroom cloud in the middle of the background
• Fade to medium close up of another band member
• The medium close up of each band member is repeated on the lyrics 'boom boom' and on the 3rd 'boom' there is a cut to the speaker-like shapes pulsing to the beat with different pictures in the centre of the background - for example the mushroom cloud, gas mask, and explosive container - which are all seen as bad things as they represent tragedies which have happened. The repetitive medium close up establishes who is in the band and what message they're beginning with - they need fast paced, to the beat shots to keep their target audience engaged and interested with the music video.
• Beginning of verse - medium close up of Wil.iam
• Cut to medium shot of him then there are jump cuts backwards to the beat
• Medium shot of ball of speaker-type things pulsing to the beat
• Fades in from black to red background with 4 people dressed in full body suits
• CGI may have been used to illusion of ball transforming into people - this could portray that technology is changing all of the time
• Medium shot and jump cuts backwards to beat again
• Cut to interview and slight high angle shot - CGI effects used to create an electro feel - outlining major features and bones on his face - creating the image of him electronically like he is inside a computer - this links to technology
• Fade to medium long shot of 4 people - blend with background because of their red and black suits
• Cut to a high angle forward panning shot which ends as a medium shot
• Extreme close up - interview shot of a digital combination of the genetic make-up of the band members creating the illusion that they are inside the electronic world of a computer
• Cut to a very very fast paced shot which could be a close up? - could show distortion of a message trying to be sent by the computer?
• Cut to medium close up - moves hands and electronic-like yellow light outlines major features and bones again - further establishing that he's inside a computer - at the end of the take it seems like it vibrates to the beat suggesting he's electronic also.
• Cut to medium shot - jump cuts backwards - these are to remind the viewer that it isn't reality as it distorts the continuity of the video.
• Cut to medium close up
• Cut to long shot of a few speaker balls unraveling/transforming into 4 people in full body suits - suggests there is a growth in the popularity for new technology as it gets recognised
• Cut to medium close up of Fergie
• Fade to long shot - Fergie's dancing - only female - good for the image of the band - appeals to boys/men to watch the video
• Cut to long shot of lots of people in full body suits dancing - doing the move which Fergie was doing - she's setting the trend and people are following - trend for new technology - people following the trend for the latest
• Cut to medium close up - jump cuts forward
• Cut to close up and she turns to face the camera
• Cut to a slight high angled interview shot
• Cut to forward facing medium close up where green electronic lights outline her - green symbolising envy - people are envious of people with new technology if they haven't got it - so they get it - also electronic images symbolise being inside the computer
• Cut to medium shot and jump cuts backwards
• Cut to medium close up
• Cut to medium long shot - jump cuts forwards
• Cut to medium close up
• Cut to medium shot - jump cuts backwards again
• Cut to medium close up - vibrates screen like electricity is running through it like inside a computer
• Finishes verse with a cut to medium close up
• Images featured in the video include a grenade which gets turned into a lollipop, a gas mask which turns into someone with headphones and finally a mushroom cloud which gets turned into a tree with a swing etc. - This suggests to the audience that not all technology is bad because it shows the transformation from bad to good. It implies that the Black Eyed Peas are promoting the use of good technology through their music which also promotes their image as a band
  

This camerawork and editing research was mostly conducted for a minute of the pop video however the rest of the research was for the whole video.

Application of Andrew Goodwin's theories to the music video for 'Boom Boom Pow';

• One of Andrew Goodwin's theories is that within music videos there are visual parallels with the tempo of the music which are directly represented in music video clips. The speed can be represented in the clips by the movement of the camera, fast editing, post production and any effect edited in by the computer. In the music video for 'Boom Boom Pow' the tempo of the music is quite fast and there are parallels to this by there being fast paced editing mainly, computer effects giving the clips an 'electrical' look, and the movement of the camera parallels the music tempo.
• On certain beats in the chorus there are cuts to a visual effect of a speaker-like pulsing object pulses to the beat - this puts emphasis on the rhythm - important due to it being part of the dance genre and emphasis is usually put on the beat.
• Andrew Goodwin suggests that the voice, the rhythm and the backing which supports them are three central elements of the arrangement of pop music videos. 'Boom Boom Pow' is edited on the beat and is also edited to the lyrics for example each line, phrase or couple of words. These each emphasise the vocals and the musical beat. There are also conflicts between these two elements due to there being cuts away from shots of lip-syncing to different things for example dancing during the lyrics being sung which makes it hard to distinguish which element is being emphasised.
  

Black Eyes Peas latest album - The E.N.D (The "Energy Never Dies")

Front Cover;

The Black Eyed Peas Album Cover is simple but effective. It is also easily linked with the music video for their debut single from it. The computer generated image of all the band members genetic make-up combined is in the music video as well as on the front cover of the CD Album. The bright green colour against the black makes the image stand out from the background so it is easily recognised and also easily associated with the music video. The computer generated image has been selected for the front cover to represent the transition from analogue to digital and that the Black Eyed Peas are not only promoting the change but are also showing their fans that they are incorporating the transition into their work. The title and the name of the band on the front cover are in white, which stands out from the bright green/dark green colours of the computer generated image. The colour and the fact it's on the top and in the centre of the album colour makes it eye-catching to the target audience because they will see the band name instantly and it would appeal to that audience. Also the font of the titles gives an electronic vibe as there are jagged lines coming off of the Y and the A - this suggests that they are meant to be lightening bolts - further suggesting that the album with have electronic based beats and also promoting the transition from analogue to digital.

Back Cover;

The back cover for the Black Eyed Peas Album is kept quite simple but it is effective. The colours are kept simple also - the background is black carrying on from the front cover and the writing is also white and in the same font as it is on the front cover. The title and all of the track names are in the centre so they are the focus of attention, also the white on black makes them stand out which draws more attention to them. This establishes to the audience which tracks are on there and hopefully they will recognise some of the tracks and will buy it. Usually there will be a sticker on the front of a CD cover establishing which tracks have been out and how far they got in the charts - this entices the audience. The usual bar code is on the back cover (on the bottom right) so it can be scanned when bought and has a certain product number on it. On the bottom left there is a cluster of writing printed in a small font, this will be the usual list of people who produced the album, helped to write the songs, directed it etc.

The actual CD;

The CD ties in with the album colour combinations and fonts - which just establishes further that it is part of that album and reminds you about the name of the album to get the message across.


The tour poster for 2009/2010;

This is the only tour poster for their resent album that I could find. It actually looks like a teaser poster because it hasn't got any tour dates or venues on it, it just establishes the band name, tour name, that it's a world tour and also the names of each band member. The band name, name of the tour (which is the name of the album as well), the world tour and the names of the band members are all in the same font which has been used on the CD front and back covers and also at the end of the music video - this makes the link between all 3 of these media products very obvious. The background behind the band name is black so the name stands out and behind each band member seems to be a wave of computer imagery to give the sense of them spreading new technology all over the world - they look like they are each doing a running motion apart from fergie who seems to be striking a pose. The colours red, orange and yellow stand out from the black background and the silvery colour of the writing. The use of green screening may have been used as it looks like the backgrounds have been layered on and the band have been the last layer to be added as they stand out a lot in the foreground. This is very effective because the bands name and the band members are the figures which stand out the most, attracting their fans and a target audience to read the rest of the poster. The mise-en-scene of the poster is very similar to the music video as they are wearing similar textures and fabrics of clothing for example Fergie looks like she is wearing a lot of leather like she is in the music video.


The World Tour poster, the front and back CD covers and CD link with the music video in a very obvious way. The colour scheme for one, this is because in most of the shots in the music video the background is black - this makes the foreground stand out. Also the Computer Generated Image of the combination of all of the band members genetic information is featured in the music video as well as on the CD cover, this establishes another clear link between the two media products. Along with this the poster uses computer generated imagery in a different way - in a wave trailing behind the band members - this establishes that there is a link between all three media products because they all use computer generated imagery to give the message that the Black Eyed peas are making the transition from Analogue to Digital. This means that anyone who sees either one of the products then one of the others, they will associate the two together and be attracted to the other - so they may have bought the CD album and see the music video and want to buy the music video from itunes. Also they could see the music video first then see the CD album in the shops or the album cover on itunes and be attracted by that because they enjoyed the music video. The same principle can be for the tour poster as it has clear links with the CD covers and music video.