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.