Assignment 3: Existing product research

The first part of Assignment 3 is Research and Planning. This begins with existing product research - analysing existing music videos and learning from them for our own productions.

Existing product research: task

Research six music videos, writing a minimum of 150 words for each video. Try focusing on a different aspect for each video:

Video 1: Creative concept / visual effects
Video 2: Narrative
Video 3: Performance element
Video 4: Camerawork (shots/movement)
Video 5: Mise-en-scene (everything you can see in the video - setting, costume, props etc.)
Video 6: Editing (inc. counting the shots in the video)

Example:

Writing analysis

You should embed a screengrab from the video into your Word document along with the title of the song and artist. In addition, you need to identify the specific aspect of media analysis you are focusing on to make it clear what you are analysing (e.g. camerawork, editing, narrative etc.) 

For each video you need to make sure you don’t just describe what is happening, but instead are making analytical comments about the following features using key media terminology:

• Camera movement, shots, angles
• Editing transitions, special effects
• Mise-en-scene (costume, props, location, facial expression, lighting and colour etc.)
• Representation – how the artist / band / characters are represented through these technical elements above
• Genre of the music and how this is signified in the video (eg iconography, colour, people etc.)
• Intertextuality – whether the video features any intertextual references, where and why? Intertextuality is when another media text (e.g. film, TV programme) is referred to or suggested in the video.
• Audience reception – how might an audience react to or view the video?
• Audience pleasures - why might an audience watch / enjoy this video (Uses & Gratifications theory - Blumler and Katz).

You can use videos of your choice, but if you need some guidance these are some memorable videos that you could use as inspiration:

Creative concept: OK GO - Here It Goes Again



Narrative/editing: Coldplay - The Scientist



Visual effects: Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be

You will need to complete this research for homework as a summer project - deadline set by your Media teacher.