Carol Vernauis

Carol Vernallis is a theorist who is know for her theory based on music video, more specifically music video editing. Her theory is based around 4 key concepts that all relate to how a music video is manufactured. These concepts include: Narrative, Editing, Camera movement and Framing and Diegesis.

Narrative
Carol Vernallis often described that the video is a visual response to the narrative, therefore what usually was shown on the screen reflects the songs lyrics that is being sang by the artist. However she also goes on to state that the narrative may not always be completed and can be partial with the video resulting in appearing disjointed or disconnected and potentially appear in fragments. Music videos often have something driving them forward but that but that may not necessarily be the the narrative and instead could be the music itself or other elements in the video. However if a music video is left unfinished that can lead to many questions about the narrative that won't neccasarily be answered throughout the video. Carol also stated that although videos may have themes or narratives, it will most likely be displayed in a montage style rather than in one clear focus.

Editing
Carol delved into the fact that a clear convention of music editing is that it may disrupt or break conventions of continuous editing and lead the video to become visible, making the audience aware they are watching a music video and not experiencing a story. This can lead the music video to have a distinctive style of editing running throughout that is shows a directors/videos specific style.Examples of these are:

-Cutting with the lyrics
-Jump Cuts
-Breaks of the 30' Degree Rule
-Graphic Matches
-Extreme changes in pace
-Juxtaposed Frames

Camera Movements and Framing
Carol Vernallis states that establishing shots are often key features of a music video and are used rather frequently throughout along with close up shots. Once again the style of framing of the music video is quite distinctive and the cameras move in time with the lyrics. Another common shot used are also master shots and are used rather frequently.

Diegesis
In terms of media the diegesis is the world of the music video which Carol Verallis explains will be revealed rather slowly. She stated that actions in the music video will not always be completed and can occasionally be disrupted in some way or another. She stated there will be many repetetive things throughout music videos and often some frames will appear more important than other in the video due to the ways they have be framed/shot.

Scenery Lyrics

In the streets filled with flowers
I see you today as well
Would it be possible to carry it inside me

In the park that the dawns moon has passed over
I now fill it with my emotions
This is headed towards you

I hear the sound of the film
That is lit up by the moon in the night sky

I still wonder wonder beautiful story
Still wonder wonder best part
I still wonder wonder next story
I want to make you mine

My heart is sad that it is missed
The image of the split second
I regret it, hoping that the split second will come again

I will create a light by
gathering the moonlight piece by piece
So please come to my side
The same way that you did yesterday

I still wonder wonder beautiful story
Still wonder wonder best part
I still wonder wonder next story
I want to make you mine

Ahhhhhh (x3)

I still wonder wonder beautiful story
Still wonder wonder best part
I still wander wander next story
I want to make you mine

If you leave, leaving your footprint behind
I will keep that warmth safe
I will keep it inside the black and white

Music Video Analysis

Troye Sivan Heaven

The music video to the song from his album 'Blue Neighbourhood' was released Friday 20th January;the day Donald Trump and vice president elect Mike Pence-who previously signed a "religious freedom law" allowing businesses to deny service of lgbtq+ patrons among other things.

The video contains black and white scenes  of Troye Sivan embracing an unfazed man who was later revealed to be his boyfriend Jacob. Along with the black and white scenes the video contains a montage of monumental people and moments that have impacted the lgbtq+ community;including the icon Harvey Milk, and protests for same sex marriage play out. The music video is pro gay and was praised and appreciated by so many members of the lgbtq+ community due to them finally being seen in a piece of media and for their relationships to be seen as normalised and shown all over the world on TVs and streaming sites alike to show that their love is like anyone else's. Though the video is pro gay it does show heterosexual couples between the various shots of gay couples to show that all love is equal and one should not be shunned whilst the others prosper.

By using the old shots of home videos taken from freedom marches and of gay couples having exactly heterosexual couples have, it enforces the emotional meaning behind the video also whilst addressing important events and people in history that have helped or stood up for equal rights for the lgbtq+ community. Along with the home videos, the shots in the studio enforce the normalisation of gay love with the closeups of Troye and a man being affectionate and loving and not shying away from showing the attraction they have for each other, much like music videos with heterosexual couples do. This is particularly shown at the end with the close up of Troye kissing the mans exposed chest tenderly and erupting into a smile as the man cradles his face and wipes the tear that was streaming down his face due to crying out of what appears to be a fear of people not understanding his attraction to a man. However Troye is accepted at the end of the video which gave many viewers who are apart of the lgbtq+ community hope and promise of them too being accepted, with many of them taking to social media to express their thoughts and how happy they were to finally be seen.

Logic 1-800-273-8255
The entire concept of this music video is the topic of suicide and many things that may lead to it;starting with the title of the song,which is the number of the national suicide prevention lifeline. The video follows the life of a young boy as he navigates high school along with all the troubles of being a teenager,inlcuding discovering that he likes boys upon meeting one of the boys at school, this is shown by a multitude of close ups between the two along with their close nature like touching and sharing a bed and extreme close ups of their eyes in a somewhat dream state as they look at each other. The lead boy clearly struggles with his sexuality and it only appears to worsen upon his father finding out he's gay as he runs away from home. The homophobia expressed by family due to unacceptance along with the insistent bullying at school provides the backstory to the songs dark lyrics: "feel like I'm out of my mind, it feel like my life ain't mine, I don't wanna be alive,I just wanna die today"

The vide reaches an emotional peak as the young boy finds a gun in his home and contemplates suicide; using close up shots of the boy crying and clearly breaking down as he musters the courage to use the gun, as shown through the close up of said gun that holds connotations to danger and immediately puts the viewer on edge. After the boy decides to call someone instead of taking his own life, the video uses a non linear narrative to flash forward to slow motion shots of him running before cutting to various scenes in the future of him being a grown man and marrying another man and later having a child with said man that he loves.

This video not only addresses serious topics such as mental health, suicide and sexuality but it does it in a respectful way by showing the harsh reality of the repercussions of such things, such as kids who are a part of the lgbtq+ community being made homeless just because of their sexuality and hitting emotionally with the shots of a potential future that could be lost if help is not seeked out. It shows representation and acceptance to people who need it the most; showing the normalisation of non heterosexual couples and putting out a clear message that help is always available and that you are not alone.





Beyonce Formation
The opening long shot of 'formation' establishes the situation pretty clearly:a flood, but this is not just an actual flood,it has a symbolic meaning relating to hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. By placing herself on top of a police car submerged in water,Beyonce invokes the aftermath of said flood and the recent controversies of the year of release (December 2016) surrounding police shooting of minorities. The music video showed many representations of people of colour and different positions they are in instead of showing them in stereotypical ways or the way the media usually shows them;in a negative light.

The music video meant something so sincere to people of colour by using the platform she possesses to acknowledge people of colour and her roots. The video was praised by many people due to the addressing of many issues people of colour have faced, whilst also showing cultural markers that people of colour are associated with. However the music video was also critiqued and was addressed by many people of colour to the slight racism that was included in the music video and many people who thought that Beyoncé didn't need to address the black lives matter movement but those views were not massively listened too due to the people who were talking about it not being people of colour and therefore being told they didn't particularly have a right to say that due to the fact they don't have to suffer with what people of colour; especially black people, have to deal with and therefore they should instead listen to people of colour instead of talking over them.

Although people called out the music video as anti police and caused white conservatives to complain about it they were shut down by many people of colour for being unfair and not understanding the video and the message behind it. The music video is about black people and praised black features; such as afro's and big noses, that are mostly shamed by people who aren't people of colour. At the end of the video it has a mid shot of the police car sinking along with Beyoncé, this showed a potential meaning of that if people don't conversate or collectively work together to end the problem thats between white people and people of colour due to unacceptance of their ethnicity, then everyone is going sink to the same place due to everyone being human at the end of the day and that ethnicity or sexuality don't change that everyone should be treated equally.





Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1JW_4YOWYk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzqJ6xJifiY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOJTg9cL5bM
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-grammys-hip-hop-logic-1-800-music-video-don-cheadle-20180126-story.html
https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/beyonce-formation-music-video
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/7668926/troye-sivan-interview-heaven-music-video
https://www.fuse.tv/2017/01/troye-sivan-heaven-video-larger-meaning-lgbtq-community

Andrew Goodwin

Lyrics and visuals
The first feature of a music video, Goodwin claimed was that there is a relationship between lyrics and the visuals on screen.

This can either be:
-illustrating
-amplifying
-contradicting

Genre Exists
The next key feature of a music video which Goodwin discovered was that music videos demonstrating genre characteristics. Not just the genre of the music but the genre of music video itself.

Genres include:
-stadium performance
-studio performance
-location
-narrative
-conceptual/experimental

Artist close-up
Goodwin expressed that a key feature of music videos is several close ups of the artist. This is due to the record companies requirement that the artist is strongly featured within the music video. Some artists will often develop motifs that reoccur across multiple videos.

This includes:
-artistic branding
-celebrity culture
-artistic portrayal
-implications on looking good

Star Iconography
This is a feature that will link to artist close up,which artist will develop in their music videos.

This could be through either:
-branding
-style
-brand values/unique selling points

Looking and Voyeurism
Goodwin also indentified that withing music videos that there is the concept of voyeurism; meaning the audience see something that they would or should not usually see.

This can be seen in forms of:
-nudity/near nudity/revealing clothes
-exhibitionism
-intimate location e.g. the bedroom
-frame within a frame

Research Techniques

Questionnaires and Focus Groups

Questionnaires

Pros of questionnaires:
1)Cost efficient-one of the affordable ways to conduct research
2)They're affordable
3)Speedy results
4)Scalability
5)User Anonymity

Cons of questionnaires:
1)Dishonesty
2)Lack of consciences response
3)Hard to convey feelings and emotions
4)differences in understanding and interpretation
5)Respondents may have a hidden agenda

Focus Groups
A group of people assembled to participate in a discussion about a product before it is launched or provide feedback on a political campaign, television series, etc.

Pros of focus groups:
1)A group answer can be developed
2)It provides and increased reach
3)Both convenient and fun
4)They can provide a certain level of anonymity
5)Focus groups can be cost effective
6)Question can be altered to fit the needs of the conversation

Cons of focus groups:
1)The results can be altered by strong leadership
2)There may be a lack of direct participation by some
3)Group dynamics sometimes create a personal bias
4)Responses that are non-verbal may be misinterpreted
5)There are always security concerns
6)Moderators can inadvertently can influence the data

Sigmund Freud- Freudian Theory Essay

Freudian Theory in Disney Films

Sigmund Freud, born in 1865 to a middle class jewish family was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. Despite his medical career not being a success at first, he went on to give us one the most famous psychological terms called Neuroses. He proposed that humans are all driven by something called the pleasure principle; which inclines us towards easy, psychical and emotional rewards. Freud believed that as infants humans are driven by something called the pleasure principle; an instinctive seeking of pleasure and the avoiding of pain in order to satisfy biological and psychological needs, but then as we grow older we sopparently have to adapt to something Freud called the reality principle; the ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it accordingly, as opposed to acting on the pleasure principle. Though humans have to bow to the reality principle, Freud believed there were better or worst kind of adaptions. Hence where the term neuroses came from, with Freud calling the troublesome ones this name. 

Freud believer neuroses were the results of faulty negotiatians (or repression of) the pleasure principle. Freud described a conflict between 3 parts of the mind. The Id; driven by the pleasure principle, The superego;driven by the desire to follow the rules and do the right thing according to society and the ego; which somehow has to accommodate between the other two. In every day you encounter the conflict between these three parts of your mind , facing the internal struggle without even being aware of it. In this essay I'm going to analyse the use of the three driving forces of the psyche in Walt Disney movies, more specifically The Lion King, Emperors New Groove and showing how they are used to show the everyday struggles that are faced by them even in the child friendly animated films. 

A Disney movie that shows the working of the Id, ego and the superego in many ways is "the Lion King' but it is all done rather subconsciously, not shoving it in your face and discreetly addressing them whilst still keeping the light tones of the movie for the young eyes that watch it. At the beginning of the movie when he is nothing but a young lion cub,Simba is the driving force known as the Id,wanting to purely act upon the pleasure principle and not think of the consequences the come with it, only wanting to follow his desires and do what he likes. A scene where this is shown is the scene where an excited Simba runs to his friend Nala,boasting about an incredible place he's heard of and wants to check out. Simba logically knows he shouldn't go there due to the warning from his Father Mufasa earlier on but despite the warnings he rather listens to his uncle Scar and deems himself strong enough to handle whatever is thrown at him. He knows what hes doing is wrong,hence why when Simba's mother questions him about where this cool place is he lies right to her face and acting upon his own desires despite the safety precautions he knows it can cause and how much trouble he can get into if he gets found out for disobeying orders. Much like society and the hierarchy it has established where as humans who have been raised to respond to the reality principle and not our Id's desires there are consequences to us acting out of our own needs, like stealing something that we desire so badly but instead we think logically and sensibly and know that it has to be brought, not taken. Simba doesn't care about the repercussions and instead goes straight ahead and disobeys his father to fulfil his desires. It is later shown in the film once Simba has followed his pleasure rather than logic that there are consequences, with both Simba and Nala's life being put at risk for acting on a whim and not thinking of anything but his own needs and desires. However it can be argued that Simba himself is the ego and Scar is the Id,with Mufasa being the superego and therefore the deriving force behind trying to keep Simba on track and do what is right. Scar himself is the reason behind Simba following his curiosity and actually going to the elephant graveyard to begin with, meaning just like it happens in real life with people such as thiefs or other people who break the law that their Ego ends up listening to the Id instead of the Superego and ending up in bad situations. This is further supported by the mise-en-scene of the movie as it progresses. In the beginning everything is in low key lighting, with the mise-en-scene being lush and green and full of life as Mufasa; the Superego, is guiding Simba;the Ego on the right path and watching over him to make sure he does the right thing. But when the death of Mufasa occurs the mise-en-scene changes to barren wastelands as he is discord to be dead, showing the slow decrease of the loss of a guiding force,The mise-en-scene continues to darken at pride rock when Scar;the Id,takes over as the colour palette changes to dark hues and with the lush greenery fading and everything being dead and dark now that the driving force of the Id has taken over and is in control. This can be seen as polysemic,not only is one meaning that when the Id is left to reign that chaos ensues but also a subtle hint of the fact that its being shown that without all 3 parts of the psyche when it comes to neuroses that it is unbalanced and that things never go well. When Simba returns and defeats Scar,therefore getting his Id under control and having a balance between the three driving forces again; with Mufasa  the Superego's guidance being present in Rafiki and the lessons that were taught to Simba,pride rock once again returns to how it was before, with the mis-en-scene showing the rain clearing and the sun shining once again,showing Simbas world in brightness and light colours again,showing through the mise-en-scene that balance has once again been restored amongst the three parts of the psyche and that although the balance will still be threatened by desires and needs again as life goes but that things seem to be okay when the reality principle is followed instead of the pleasure principle, therefore putting the sublime message in the movie that society rules should be followed and people should be well behaved and not act on the Id.

Another Disney movie that uses Sigmund Freuds theory of Freudism and the idea of neuroses and the three parts of it known as the Id,Ego and the Superego is the movie 'Empereors New Groove'. With the whole movie revolving around the young and arrogant empereor Kuzco and him self narrating it, there is the underlying tone of the movie that with how selfish and willing to punish people who disappoint people or 'throw him off his groove'  Kuzco is,the narrative itself makes a valid show of showing Kuzco himself as the Id,purely going off his now desires of doing as he please due to his power and bothering to listen to anyone but himself. However for a majority of the movie as he narrates the story himself and doesn't particularly want to paint himself in a bad light, the idea is subtle pushed aside and it focuses on showing the three parts of the psyche of neuroses in different ways. One scene in particular that very blatantly shoves the idea of the Id,Ego and the Superego existing is the scene where Kronk goes to dispose of Kuzco as he lays unconscious in a bag that he's been tasked with washing down the river to his ultimate demise when it comes to the waterfall at the end. Kronk is placed as the Ego in the situation, just doing what hes told and getting rid of Kuzco before he has a moment of self conflict. He has a stereotypical angel and devil on the shoulder scenario that is often used to show the three parts of the psyche as he debates if what he is doing is right. The angel appears on his left shoulder which is subsequently on the right side of the screen to subtly let the audience know through framing that the Superego is right and should be followed rather than the Id which is shown on the opposite shoulder of right, showing that following the Id is not the right way to go. The conflict is also show in the dialogue between the 3 characters on screen, with the Id and the Superego childishly quarrelling as the Ego sits there quiet. This shows the battle between the Id and the Superego trying to win over the Ego into doing things their way, either the right way of the wrong way. It even further goes to show the true quarrel by having the Superego somewhat agree by saying "he's got a point" showing that the Id is a very tempting force and even ends up deterring the Superego for a brief moment from time to time; until the Ego steps in, in this case Kronk and dismisses them by saying "you're sorta confusing me" and thus leaving him and abandoning his turmoil so he can decide what to do when they have given their points and disappeared.

Mulvey

Male Gaze

The “male gaze” invokes the sexual politics of the gaze and suggests a sexualised way of looking that empowers men and objectifies women. In the male gaze, woman is visually positioned as an “object” of heterosexual male desire. Her feelings, thoughts and her own sexual drives are less important than her being “framed” by male desire.

A key idea of feminist film theory, the concept of the male gaze was introduced by scholar and filmmaker Laura mulvey in her now famous 1975 essay, visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Adopting the language of psychoanalysis, Mulvey argued that traditional Hollywood films respond to a deep-seated drive known as “scopophilia”: the sexual pleasure involved in looking. Mulvey argued that most popular movies are filmed in ways that satisfy masculine scopophilia.


Although sometimes described as the “male gaze”, Mulvey’s concept is more accurately described as a heterosexual, masculine gaze. Visual media that respond to masculine voyeurism tends to sexualise women for a male viewer. As Mulvey wrote, women are characterised by their “to-be-looked-at-ness” in cinema. Woman is “spectacle”, and man is “the bearer of the look”.
The postman always rings twice (1946) offers a famous example of the male gaze. In the scene below, the audience is introduced to Cora Smith, the film’s lead female character. Using close-ups, the camera forces the viewer to stare at Cora’s body. It creates a mode of looking that is sexual, voyeuristic, and associated with the male protagonist’s point-of-view.

It also establishes some important plot points: that the hero desires Cora, and that Cora recognises his lust. But the strongest message is that Cora is sexy. Indeed, the viewer learns that Cora is sexy before they even learn her name. Even if a viewer isn’t attracted to women in “real life”, the scene still makes sense. A lifetime of seeing women sexualised in television, music videos and advertisements has made us very comfortable with assuming the male gaze.


The male gaze takes many forms, but can be identified by situations where female characters are controlled by, and mostly exist in terms of what they represent to, the hero. As Budd Boetticher, who directed classic Westerns during the 1950s, put it:


"What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance."

This can be see in the different ways the camera repeatedly positions us to look at women’s bodies. Think of rear window (1954), for a literal framing of women’s bodies, or she's all that (1999), which revolves around a make-over. For a modern example, the transformers film series (2006-2014) presents women as sexual objects to be desired.



The “male gaze” invokes the sexual politics of the gaze and suggests a sexualised way of looking that empowers men and objectifies women. In the male gaze, woman is visually positioned as an “object” of heterosexual male desire. Her feelings, thoughts and her own sexual drives are less important than her being “framed” by male desire.

A key idea of feminist film theory, the concept of the male gaze was introduced by scholar and filmmaker Laura mulvey in her now famous 1975 essay, visual pleasure and narrative cinema. Adopting the language of psychoanalysis, Mulvey argued that traditional Hollywood films respond to a deep-seated drive known as “scopophilia”: the sexual pleasure involved in looking. Mulvey argued that most popular movies are filmed in ways that satisfy masculine scopophilia.


Although sometimes described as the “male gaze”, Mulvey’s concept is more accurately described as a heterosexual, masculine gaze. Visual media that respond to masculine voyeurism tends to sexualise women for a male viewer. As Mulvey wrote, women are characterised by their “to-be-looked-at-ness” in cinema. Woman is “spectacle”, and man is “the bearer of the look”.
The postman always rings twice (1946) offers a famous example of the male gaze. In the scene below, the audience is introduced to Cora Smith, the film’s lead female character. Using close-ups, the camera forces the viewer to stare at Cora’s body. It creates a mode of looking that is sexual, voyeuristic, and associated with the male protagonist’s point-of-view.

It also establishes some important plot points: that the hero desires Cora, and that Cora recognises his lust. But the strongest message is that Cora is sexy. Indeed, the viewer learns that Cora is sexy before they even learn her name. Even if a viewer isn’t attracted to women in “real life”, the scene still makes sense. A lifetime of seeing women sexualised in television, music videos and advertisements has made us very comfortable with assuming the male gaze.

In this clip from the film 'Bad Teacher' the idea of the male gaze is very much prominent and Cameron Diaz's teacher is very much sexualised. The first shot we see of her is a close up of her leg which immediately plays upon the idea of fragmentation, reducing her to just a part of her body and not a full human being,instead reducing her to just an object, implying she isn't a human being and that she is just an object to men and nothing else. Her character is also dressed in minimal clothing that is both tight and revealing, once again not showing her for the personality she has and instead just showing her body to appeal to the males. Although it can be argued that she's using her sexuality to get what she wants in raising money with the car wash but with he shots used it reduces her to an object and dent give her any power.

The male gaze takes many forms, but can be identified by situations where female characters are controlled by, and mostly exist in terms of what they represent to, the hero. As Budd Boetticher, who directed classic Westerns during the 1950s, put it:

"What counts is what the heroine provokes, or rather what she represents. She is the one, or rather the love or fear she inspires in the hero, or else the concern he feels for her, who makes him act the way he does. In herself the woman has not the slightest importance."

This can be see in the different ways the camera repeatedly positions us to look at women’s bodies. Think of rear window (1954), for a literal framing of women’s bodies, or she's all that (1999), which revolves around a make-over. For a modern example, the transformers film series (2006-2014) presents women as sexual objects to be desired.

"Woman as image, man as bearer of the look"