Gold Digger - Kanye West ft. Jamie Foxx

I am going to analyse Kanye West's 'Gold Digger' music video which was released in 2005 as I believe through studying Goodwin’s theory I can say that I believe it is a great example of the key features Goodwin describes a music video including. He has 6 key points in which he says most videos follow, these are:

1. Links between lyrics and visuals
2. A relationship between music and visuals
3. Genre related style and iconography
4. Demands of the record label (how the artist is presented)
5. Voyeurism
6. Intertextual references

There are several links between the lyrics and visuals within this music video, for example when he says ‘From what I hear she got a baby by Busta’ and here is a woman standing with ‘Baby by Busta’ al in red capitals. A particular part of the music video where Goodwin’s link between lyrics and visuals can be picked up is when we hear ‘We want pre-nupt’, the audience at the same time see’s a magazine cover with another woman on and the headline is ‘PRE NUPT’. Also within the Gold Digger music video another clear relation is when the words ‘You don't want your dude to smoke but he can't buy weed’ we are shown another magazine with the word ‘SMOKE’ above a provocatively dressed woman. The mise en scene is also relates extremely well to the video throughout. The ‘SMOKE’ magazine shot is a perfect example of good mise en scene as throughout the shot, lots of smoke is used and the black background indicates a contrast to the rest of this music video as during the other shots they are usually bright and colourful

Within the first minute of this music video the music and visuals relationship is met through a fast paced drum beat and quick jump editing showing off woman’s features eg. Lips, body, eyes etc. This both draws in the male attention which was intended and is a good example of how the sound is in sync with the visuals we see. When the tempo of the music increases the pace of the editing also increases, as this music video does not follow a linear narrative it relies on this to in order to create a clear understanding of particular important parts.

The genre of this music video is clearly represented through several aspects, for example the dancing is a clear indication of this R&B track. The genre of R&B is also portrayed through the use of women dressed in a provocative way wearing very little, but sexual none the less clothing. These sexual references along with lots of dancing and flashing lights link to the particular genre of this song well.

In this music video of ‘Gold Digger’ the main focus is around predominantly Kanye West and then Jamie Foxx which is to help promote and expand themselves as artists. This is represented through the use of plenty of women and is the reason behind the many close up shots used throughout the 3 minutes and 28 second video. During part of this video there is a couple of shots where Kanye West is showing a woman how to do a particular dance of his which is used to help involve the audience, as they can then learn and use it. Kanye West is also dressed to represent himself throughout this video, for example he wears his shirt half tucked in and half out trying to set a new trend, which then became very popular.

Throughout this whole video voyeurism is a particular key feature which largely shows up of which Goodwin talks about. There are lots of women and you see women in most shots. They are all portrayed as sex symbols that are there particularly for male attention but also for females to look at not necessarily in a sexual way but in comparison to themselves. There are lots of shots of particular parts of the female’s bodies which highlight this sexual symbolism and throughout the video women play an important role which is intended as it relates to the meaning behind the lyrics too.

Intertextual references are used within the whole music video at different points, Kanye West refers to other artists for example Busta Rhymes. Also the use of women on magazines is another specific reference as women are used specifically on front pages of male magazines.

The Auteur Theory

Auteur is the French word for author, which suggests that a director’s film/advert/music video etc. is a reflection of his or her style. French directors first introduced the Auteur theory in the 1950’s. A key person was Francois Truffaut who pushed a focus on to the contribution that directors have on the style and form of a piece of work. He quoted “A true film auteur is someone who brings something genuinely personal to his subject instead of producing a tasteful, accurate but lifeless rendering of the original material” An auteur is a director whose signature style and distinct qualities are represented through their creative media pieces.

Alfred Hitchcock, born 13^th August 1899, is very much regarded as an auteur theorist. His most famous films are Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds and Rear Window. Hitchcock’s technique was known widely for its intelligent plots, funny dialogue and the mysterious murders that occurred. One of his most renowned pieces of work was the shower scene in Psycho, this featured 70 distinct shots in less than one minute. His genre was very much based on Thriller and used the power of suspense to capture the audience, he would allow the audience to know more about what is happening than the characters do themselves which leaves the audience trying to figure out what will happen when the audience learn as much as we know. Hitchcock also featured in his films quite a lot although most of these were mostly minor roles.

Harold Williams, better known as Hype Williams is an American music video and film director. Williams has created and directed many music videos for various artists including 2Pac, Jayz, Kanye West, Ne-yo, Nicki Minaj, Missy Elliot, Busta Rhymes etc. 

Up until 2003 his signature style was the fisheye lens which distorts the camera view around the central focus. Another particular signature style of his was putting shots in regular widescreen ratio with another shot split and placed above and below, this style shows up in music videos such as My Hood by Young Jeezy and Beyoncé’s Check On It. 

Since 2003 Hype Williams has adopted a new signature style including a centre camera focus on the artist or actor’s body from the torso up combined with a solid colour background with a soft different coloured lighting being shown in the centre of the background. This can be seen in music videos such as Gold Digger by Kanye West and Digital Girl by Jamie Foxx.

Some example's of William's work inluce:

Busta Rhymes : Gimme Some More

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rtn06ZW9Xm0

Busta Rhymes music video 'Gimme Some More' portrays Williams use of the fisheye lens perfectly and shows us the creativeness he was able to bring to life through this in the video.

Ne-yo : So Sick

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxszlJppRQI

This is a perfect example of Hype Williams second signature style of the splitscreen above and below the widescreen shot.

Beyoncé : Video Phone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGkvXp0vdng

This music video for Beyoncé's 'Video Phone' shows Hype Williams newest signature style through softer lighting in the centre of the background compared to the darker colour around the edge. For example At 2 minutes 8 seconds we can see a a very dark, dim red background with a bright circle of red in the middle behind her.

3 influential music videos

Kelly Clarkson - Because Of You

This music video takes us on a journey throughout the length of the song. the lighting used is very dark which creates a strong atmosphere connecting the visuals with the music and lyrics. I particularly liked the shot of the mum clearly waiting for the husband to come and eat the dinner she made, this shot is built up well through the use of lighting and the visuals really match at this point, the low lighting, the rain outside the window and the emotion shown through the womens face and body language creates a good bond between that itself and the particular lyrics in that shot and the ones that closely follow. Another part I really liked was when the mum was sitting on the bed taking pills and the young girl who is suppost to represent the artist at a younger age, is standing outside although we cannot see her at this point, the mother comes to close the door and because it has a mirror on it, when the door is shut we are able see the emotion and sadness of this little girl which striked me as a clever idea which merged well within the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra-Om7UMSJc&feature=related

Taylor Swift - Love Story

Taylor Swift's lyrics of Love Story are portrayed through her music video completely. There are specific times when the visuals match up to the lyrics, such as 'see the party, the ballgowns' and in this specific shot there are several men and women at the party in the background with the women dressed in ballgowns. Taylor Swift plays the main character in this video and refers to herself and the man as 'Romeo and Juliet' she also refers to particular scenes of Romeo and Juilet incorporating this in to the storyline of her video. For example, Taylor Swift is up on the balcony whilst the male character is on his way to rescue her. The scenery and buildings used in this video stand out in a good way, the visuals and storyline match the lyrics extremely well and the cuts between each shot match the music well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xg3vE8Ie_E

Enrique Iglesias - Do You Know
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqON44CLaQM&feature=relmfu

I really love this video because it uses some brilliant shots, for example when the 'director' says "black and white" it changes from colour to black and white. I also really like the uniqueness of the idea of the director telling Enrique the ideas for the video and the music video is portrayed through the eyes of them picturing what it would look like. The use of lots of close ups on the artist and the girl matches the music and lyrics really well. Everytime the director is talking to Enrique the video is suddenly bright and the lighting used is very strong which visualises for the audience lots of colour, however when we see the shots of the proposed music video within this almost short film concepted idea, it is all very dark, the lighting used is very soft, and all the character's clothing are dark too.

Artist Confirmation

Andrew Goodwins Theory

Andrew Goodwin identified various techniques which in are the key to a music video.

He said that there is a bond between the lyrics and the visuals, meaning that the visuals will illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics themselves.
He also said there is a bond between the music and the visuals, again with the visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
Goodwin also stated that in all music videos, close-ups of the artist or vocalist are always used, along with the video following a genre-related style, such as having a story to match the meaning of the lyrics.
Close-ups of the artist/vocalist are used to build up the connection between the audience and themselves, it helps us learn a little bit more about them through their emotions and is undependent on it's genre. It gives us a good representation of themselves and their music.
Andrew Goodwin says that Voyeurism often plays a huge part in music videos, especially in connection to women. It is used to draw attraction to the video and particularly works well for males.
He goes further to state that intertextual references with other media texts could be present.
Goodwin suggests that music videos are often established by the relationship between both the visuals, the artist and the song and the music video creates these links.

Music History Timeline

In 1894 the first 'illustrated song' was produced, this involved several still images which were projected on to a screen whilst a live performance of Little Lost Child was played. This allowed the audience for the first time ever to have a visual whilst listening to a song at the same time.

By 1926 the arrival of the 'Talkies' brought the idea of visuals with music further through musical short films. These featured bands, vocalists and dancers which gave a live experience of what was to become a music video.

Longer musical films were established during the period of 1930 - 1959 and this was a genre in which songs were incorporated in to the film itself.

1940 - 1949 saw the arrival of many promotional clips which showed many famous jazz artists and their bands on in a mini movie type of clip.

In 1964 the Beatles release their 'A Hard Days Night' which was a motion picture featuring themselves, this was definitely a step forward towards the modern music video.

Shortly after in 1965, the Beatles recorded 10 films which were then used to promote the release of albums. This is what really kick started the idea of video promotion into practise.

Music marketing by the mid 80's was starting to be taken over by music videos as the launch of MTV, which was a 24 hour music programme allowed music videos to be shown around the clock.

Michael Jackson's music video 'Thriller' was released on December 2nd 1983, the music video was 13 minutes and 43 seconds long, it was voted as the most influential pop music video of all time and it was listed as the most successful video ever in 2006 by Guiness World Records.

Following 'Thriller', on May 31st 1995 Michael Jackson released his song 'Scream' which featured his sister. This video won many MTV music awards along with a grammy. It cost in total around 7 million dollars landing itself a spot in the Guiness World Records for the most expensive video ever made.

The launch of Youtube in 2005 was a massive step forward for the music industry and in terms of music videos and reaching a wider audience for an artist to promote their music, this was definitely set to be a huge success. Youtube is a video sharing website which allows not only signed artists to post music videos online but it allows absolutely anybody the ability to upload their videos for people all over the world to view. In May 2011 Youtube said in a blog that they were receiving more than 3 billion video streams per day, however in January 2012 this figure had risen to over 4 billion views per day, showing us that Youtube is still a consistently growing social media site 7 years since it was first available.

In 2005 we also saw the launch of iTunes, which is a media player that allows you to play, save and organise music, but more importantly allows you to download music videos directly from the internet. iTunes was proved to be a huge success and crucial step forward within music videos after reaching a mark of over one million downloads after just twenty days.

In 2010, 183 million viewers boosted the number of music videos viewed online to roughly 34 billion, this just shows how relevant and necessary music videos are to both the artists target audiences and other audiences as they are easily accessible and there is a clear demand for them.

A2 Task

The task for A2 media this year is to plan and to create a promotional music video with the original music track of an unsigned artist, we are also required to produce a digi-pack which is the CD cover and also a magazine advert, these are all forms of promoting the artists song and will allow me to improve on skills i have already gained through AS media whilst also allowing me to develop new skills. 

I’m looking forward particularly to brainstorming ideas and putting them into action to put together my final music video piece and see the overall outcome at the end. I also enjoyed using final cut express last year for my AS so I will also be looking forward to the editing side of it as well.