Analysis of a Media Product P2 (a-g)

Meaning & Purpose

To put it simply (I go into more detail later on), the meaning of this section in my blog is essentially to look upon a music video, produced by an artist under Columbia Records; I will use the correct language and analysis skills to study it, and try to decipher how the video was made (and more specifically, the different types of shots used, the genre, etc).

a) purpose
b) genre
c) form
d) style
e) content
f) meaning
g) production process

Music Video Analysis

The Script - Science and Faith
(Signed to Columbia Records)

Purpose:
I believe the main purpose of this music video is to try and highlight what the lyrics in the song actually mean; the editing is incredibly clever in doing this, masking a very simple shoot in a studio with various other incredible shots, filmed all over the world. The contrast between the shots of the band and the other shots provide the audience with a very subtle sense of emotion and discovery, which of course is what the video is trying to convey. The purpose of the video as a whole is to sell and promote the artist of whom the video was made for, as well as the song. (In this case, the band is The Script and the song is called 'Science and Faith'). The video was made with the core purpose to promote the band, primarily so they are able to sell records and get a high chart position. However I believe the purpose of this video is also to highlight the lyrics of the song, which as I said before they do very well.

Genre:
The genre of the band's music (in particular the song they promote in this music video) is pop rock/soft rock. However the band have also dabbled in Contemporary R&B, and sometimes even straight up rap! Of course there is no gender that would be specifically suitable for the band and their music, and the nice thing is that actually their audience is very mixed. However I would say that usually people under the age of 21 tend to go to their shows more, and just generally are the biggest group of supporters.

Form:
The form of media I have chosen is video/film (a music video for the band The Script).

Content/Meaning:

The music video starts with 3 establishing shots of the members of the band. The background is very simple (throughout the whole video actually) but I think that this makes the video a lot more powerful. Using the colour white is a clever way of highlighting the title of the song too; the lyrics express confusion between loving someone or pinning it all down to science, and the title of the song is 'Science and Faith'; I'd say that the white reflects the purity that people who have faith appear to radiate. This is a very clever form of symbolism, and is expressed very well through the simplest of methods. Returning to the 3 establishing shots at the beginning of the video though, the close up of the lead singers face, to the long shot of the guitarists and then a slightly closer one again of the drummer is a great way of introducing the video, and building up the initial main guitar riff. However it is not obvious that the video will have a lot (if any) visual effects at this point; I think this is clever because it doesn't throw the audience immediately into the video. There are lens flares though; whether they are natural or were edited

in post, they are still subtle enough that they look effect and not over the top. I think overall the introduction to the video is very nice and simple. Layering clips on top of the the band later, however, makes the whole thing a lot more interesting than if it was just shots of the live performance all the way through; another reason why I like the video! There are no very outstanding angle changes at this point in the video either; however it does look like there is a small dolly, going from top to the bottom, when filming the drummer. This adds a very subtle but nicer, more interesting effect to the video.

The rest of the video, shot-wise, is very similar to

the 3 establishing shots. There is shot variety in the sense that there is a mix of close ups and long shots; this provides a nice contrast for the viewer and makes the video more interesting. The band members are clearly placed in order to get the framing right too, presumably in order to make the editing in post easier! (Shown with the picture of the lead singer posing with cracked glass layered onto him). There is a pattern in that there tends to be more close ups on the lead singer; his head is usually centred in the shot. Again this looks pleasing to the eye and is effective in The shots layered behind the band are incredible though! The lighting on the band is also very interesting; it gives a slightly diffused effect and makes everything in the frame look softer. The only props in the video are of course, the instruments; the simplicity makes the video bolder! There is a definite contrast between black and white (which I would say is the predominant colour scheme) in the video too; it is clear when the band members move into the path of the studio lights. However I think the lighting in the video is done extremely well; the emphasis on the silhouettes against the

white background is just as effective as half of the members faces partially lit; the contrast between the two colours is particularly highlighted when this is the case. Cropping-wise, there are no bars on the video; I think this works well actually, because although they make videos look more cinematic, the full picture we are able to see in this music video makes the background shots stand out more. There are no sound effects in the music either; just the single audio.


Poster:

This is another form of advertisement that the band used when their music was released (from around the period of the song 'Science and Faith'). The poster's purpose of course again is to promote the band to people of all ages; these were stuck all over London at the time of the album release, meaning that the message got across to a much larger audience (as opposed to a specific group of supporters, like followers on social media sites). The genre of the poster is visual; the design is very eye catching, particularly the multiple exposure effect of the lead singers head (and face), with the two other members enclosed within the shape too. The form of the media is a poster! In terms of content and meaning, the poster (as mentioned before) was obviously edited in a very specific way; I think the overall effect it gives is actually incredibly striking too! The multiple exposure effect makes the poster so much more interesting, than if it were just a picture of the band standing together and looking at the camera. The colour scheme is also effective; the contrast between the light and dark makes the poster stand out more, and also works very well as a facial replacement. The desaturated look also gives a more mellow feel to the poster, which in turn is very reflective to the songs in the albums 'Science and Faith' and '#3', which are mostly about heartbreak etc. The cropping of the poster is also significant; the logo for the band is not empowering, as some bands like to design their adverts. Instead the spacing between the logo and the main feature of the poster, the band members, is small and provides a comfortable spacing between the rest of the poster. The choice of font for the band logo itself, I believe was original and designed by the band's team; this immediately makes it stand out more than if they had used 'Comic Sans' (etc). The originality of the logo also plays a factor in gaining people's interest in the band. The costumes and lighting on the band members are also subtle but as a result they make the poster look less bold and more pleasing to the eye.

Production Process (touring)

In terms of the production process for The Script, I will be using their most recent UK headline tour (where they actually played several nights at the O2 in London!) as an example of how they complete things and what goes on behind the scenes, both in concerns with the band and spreading further out to all sorts of other areas on making the tour the best one it can be.

Back in 2014 the band went on a massive tour, to venues all throughout the UK; their production manager, Bob O'Brien, and tour manager, Ian Quinn, set out to make the tour the best one it could be. O'Brien stated at the very start of the production process that he did not feel any need to change the existing suppliers; he says that if the band has a good relationship with the companies already, there would be no need to change them (and they do a very good job as well).

Rehearsals start at LH2 Studios. Adlib are called in for audio, PRG for lighting, and PRG Nocturne for visuals (as well as BPM SFX, who handle the lazer aspects to the show). LS-Live were the chosen staging company, Stardes supplied trucking and Coach Services supplied the tour bus; everything seemed to be arranged incredibly well by the team behind The Script's world tour. O'Brien said about chosen rehearsal studio, for example, "LH2 were absolutely fantastic, they were perfect actually. They look after us really well and the facilities are second to none."

In terms of moving the whole tour with the band, O'Brien and his crew actually required four tour buses! Three for the crew and one for the band; as well as 11 more trucks, used in order to ensure that everything was taken along for the venues. The team include 46 crew personnel, 15 drivers, and double drivers when they were needed. In the production office, O'Brien was also assisted by Production Coordinator Jane Woolfenden.

There are several areas of the production process of a tour that needed to be looked at, planned and executed very carefully. These included (for The Script):
- FOH SOUND (Richy Nicholson)
- MONITORING (Paul Moore)
- CONSISTENT PA (Adlib Audio supplied L-Acoustics K1 PA system for the tour)
- LIGHTING DESIGNS (Jamie Thompson)
- VIDEO (Paul Eggerton)
- LASER LIGHTS (Nick Lloyd)
- STAGING
- CATERING (Stephen Knudsen)

All of these areas were seemingly handled incredibly well, as everything went to plan and the tour was actually a huge success.

Production process (song writing):

In the video above, Mark, Danny and Glen explain how they go about in the 'production planning' of song writing; Mark explains that they really do not have a specific set of rules they stick by in the writing process of songs, because if they did the songs would not sound the way they wanted.

Production process (recording):

In terms of the production process for The Script's recording ethics, the band (in the 2 videos above) have recorded themselves in the studio, providing a very useful walkthrough of everything they do to set up in a studio, before the album. For example, frontman Danny explains that although they initially set up 10 microphones, they only use 3 for the actual recording; however they like to turn all 10 on so they are able to capture everything.

Production process (festivals):

In the video above The Script talk about their past experiences with festivals before going on to play the main stage at one of the biggest festivals in the UK; Glen, the drummer in the band, explains his own personal production process, and what he likes to do at festivals before going out and playing.

Production process (touring):

The Script, in the video above, record their production process when touring around the UK; it starts in Glasgow, and they film their antics and what else goes on behind the scenes (for example, the sound men working on the soundboards, etc).

They also film what goes on just before the show is about to start; the bass player joins in too and we are able to see the whole production process, right up until the band are actually on stage!

In terms of the production process between an artist and a record label all the way up to a release of an album, etc, it really depends heavily on the relationship the artist has, and whether or not they are independent. I will be using an independent artist as an example here:

The record labels will provide them with useful resources, such as marketing teams, radio pluggers, press teams and more. As the artist is also able to create great music along with great music videos, the audience will be more interested in them too, which again means more revenue for the record company and the artist. Once artists are signed with record labels, they are under their control; it gives the record labels the power to alter the artists as well as the music (which is when problems begin to occur...)

For an independent artist though it means they are able to take more financial risks, plus the money they make from their music goes more to themselves than the record label.