Request to use our chosen song - contacting the record label

<--- email sent to Polydor records - under the universal corporation



The email says :





Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a year 13 student currently attending Walton High School, Stafford. I am writing to request permission to use the Snow Patrol song - 'You could be happy' for our A2 media studies coursework which would consist of creating a music video for the song. This would be strictly for educational purposes and completely non profit making. Your co-operation would be much appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours faithfully,

Matthew Bentley

possible filming locations!

(Initial idea - Narrative video)

Wildwood









Wildwood was where the group looked first. The large housing estate offers a diverse range of surroundings ranging from built up housing areas to greenr areas which would allow for a range of imagry to be shown. The estate is sat in the centre of a 'ring road' which loops round the whole estate meaning easy access to other areas, and a continous loop for a moving car shot if required. The estate is reasonably quiet meaning filming will not get in the way of residents. The houses featured here tend to be of an older design compared to other estates.

Meadowcroft Park










A small/medium housing estate is relativly new compared to the houses shown on Wildwood. The estate has a lot of built up area but little grass, and contains a lot of turns on the road giving a variation in setting slightly.

The Meadows

The meadows is a medium sized estate and has houses that are different in appearence to both Wildwood and Meadowcroft. The area has a large grassy area which features a park and canal which would allow for the filming to have some diversity. The estate has quite a lot of road area which would also allow for decent car shots etc.

(New idea - Concept/Performance)

Shugborough Hall

Shugborough Hall and grounds is a popular tourist attraction and within it's huge grounds we would be able to access a wide range of terrain and scenery. The grounds also contain many elegant statues which we would be able ot intergrate into our concept video. We decided that this location would be tricky to film in however because we could not gain full access to all of the rooms within the mansion home and large parts of the gardens were fenced off.

Acton Trussell farm

Acorn farm in Acton Trussell belongs to one of our group member family members making it extremely accessable and open to us. Some of the areas we specifically looked at where the large grassy fields, the barn, an old oak tree and the farm house itself which we are lucky enough to be granted access to. We would be granted access to the animals if needed and would be able ot use power extensions from the farm house for our lighting needs etc. One downside is that if it rains heavily, the farm becomes a muddy landscape which could cause problems for our filming and themes.

Cannock Chase

Not far from Acton Trussel Cannock Chase is a public area meaning we could have full access to all areas of the forest. Parts of the wood vary from open areas to dence forest meaning we had a diverse range of places to film. The gloomy areas could also be linked to our themes and concepts as our chosen song is depressing. The broad range of scenery and full access would make Cannock Chase a strong possibility for our location.

Lyric analysis - You could be happy (chosen song)

To develop concepts that had relevance to the song we thought it important to understand what the message the song was promoting was. Below are the lyrics.

You could be happy and I won't know
But you weren't happy the day I watched you go
And all the things that I wished I had not said
Are played in loops 'till it's madness in my head

Is it too late to remind you how we were
But not our last days of silence, screaming, blur
Most of what I remember makes me sure
I should have stopped you from walking out the door

You could be happy, I hope you are
You made me happier than I'd been by far
Somehow everything I own smells of you
And for the tiniest moment it's all not true

Do the things that you always wanted to
Without me there to hold you back, don't think, just do
More than anything I want to see you, girl
Take a glorious bite out of the whole world.

Meanings, connotations, symbolism

Without doing any research we attempted to analyse the lyrics our self. We sound got a sad and depressing vibe as the tempo is slow and melodic. The choice of words and construction of the sentences creates a very gloomy and a definite feeling that the singer is heart-broken due to a failed relationship. Although the lyrics reflect upset emotions about a break up, they do not suggest anger resentment towards his 'ex' lover.

After analysing the lyrics our self we decided to due a survey on yahoo answers to get additional information.

"The singer is thinking about their relationship and how most of it was good, but he also knows that it could have been better. He knows that she wasn't happy but he wishes he could have stopped her. He misses her but wants her to be happy. He wants her to go on with her life and all the things she couldn't do before while in the relationship....I love the last line of the song "Take a glorious bite out of the whole world"" - a member of my media group


"It's like he’s looking back on the relationship and saying she can now go and do the things shes always wanted to without him there to hold him back." - classmate

"My favorite track on the album. The message is easy enough: let go of the person who wants to be happy without you, but never let go of the happy memories. What's exceptional is the way it achieves this message, its pairing of lyrics and music." - Yahoo Answers


"The lyrics are simple and bitter/sweet. They are sung with a tiredness and loneliness that is very appropriate. The music is simple too, but almost cute and child-like. Absolute sweetness and absolute caring with undertones of sadness, truth." - Yahoo Answers


".. he realises that it's too late to mend their relationship but he still has an ounce of disbelief.. he's giving her closure, getting it for himself.. saying i loved you, i love you and i want you to be happy in doing all you ever dreamt but never imagined you could with me by your side.." - family member


"maybe it is about him actually killing - he wishes so much that he hadn't, Or maybe he or she just died. And he feels like there was nothing he could have done. As days go on he realises what they had was amazing and he realises how much he loved her or him. But it also kinda sounds like he died.Or.....killed himself to get out of the way. He wanted the best for her. But saw that killing himself was the only way to achieve this." - classmate


"The beginning of the song has a childish lullaby sound to it, and it reminds me of how when a relationship is over, after all the crying and blaming, sadness, and anger you're left feeling little and wanting someone to hug you and tell you it's okay; you find comfort in the things that remind you of the past." - family member


"As for the lyrics themselves, they just blew me away because of how much they reminded me of the end of my own relationship. "And all the things that I wish I had not said / Are played on lips 'til it's madness in my head", the person is thinking of all of his or her mistakes, the would haves and should haves of the end." - Yahoo Answers

Our response

Now we have some idea of the lyrics meanings and connotations we can sit down and develop some ideas of what imagery and concepts we should include. This information will not only have an effect on the development of our main music video but also our ancillary tasks. (Digi-pak and Website).

songs we're considering to use

1) A-punk - Vampire weekend
2) Matchbox - The kooks
3) Choices - The Hoosiers
4) Elizebeth - Kid British
5) razorlight - Somewhere else
6) Razorlight - America
7) Snow Patrol - Run
8) Snow Patrol - You could be happy

All of these songs fit the 'Indie' genre and are our preferred choice as they include instrument playing, rather than the use of synthesisers to create the track. This is helpful as we can show the band 'playing' the music to create an entertaining visual for the audience.

We finally decided to choose the Snow Patrol song 'You could be happy'.

Snow patrol have released many hits! We decided to choose this song as it currently does not have a music video available which allows for a 100% un influenced production making ideas our own, rather than simply subconsciously mimicking those of the original if it was applicable.

comparing characteristics of different genres in music videos

The two genres I have chosen to compare are the R&B/Rap genre and Indie/Folk genre. I have chosen these two very different genres to show how large the production style differs between music categories due to what is expected of producers mainly by their target audiences as well as the record labels themselves.

1) clothing and props

This is the first main difference most people will notice between the two videos after watching them both through. The 50 cent video features no visual instruments as the majority of the soundtrack will be created using a synthesiser. This is to allow a unique, repetitive sound that can be very difficult to replicate using conventional instruments. The clothing worn by the 'rappers' largely consists of tank tops, flat peak caps and sports jackets which is clearly to exaggerate the 'gangsta' image to it's audiences. Again large gold chains, gold teeth, grills and fancy cars are carefully placed to boost the 'macho' 'gangsta' image and represent the rappers as wealthy and idolised.

Comparing this to the Mumford and sons - little lion man video, which features only instruments such as guitars and banjos as props. The country style clothing worn by the band match well with the genre of folk and add a slightly more rural feel to the members themselves. The clothing does not glorify the band as powerful or rich but in fact does the opposite. They appear more like the average man, and more scruffy which is what is expected from the audiences of Indie, or folk.

2) imagery used

P.I.M.P by 50 cent contains a large amount of revealing women who again are there to show that the artists are wealthy, sought after, and loved. The women are shown as objects belonging to these men, even the name of the song 'Pimp' suggests ownership of these women as the classic role of a pimp is to own prostitutes. This is a good example of the male gaze theory, as these women are shown as sexual objects by the men. For example at one point in the video, women can be seen wearing leads, depicting them as animals. Micheal Shore believed that music videos were simply recycled styles and therefore largely contained male fantasies. He believed that these videos contained excessive levels of speed, power, women and wealth, being presented through cliche, soft pornographic imagery. This can be clearly linked to 50 Cents video as the artist is shown in a powerful situation with wealth, as well as semi-naked women almost worshiping him.

Comparing this to Mumford and sons song, no revealing imagery is used. In fact the only real footage shown is the band themselves performing on a stage. This gives the audience the feeling of a more 'live' performance.

3) cuts and camera angles

Mumford and sons video - 'Little lion man' seems to follow a common pattern where cuts and camera angles are concerned. The video appears to play a mesh of close ups of varying between the band and the instruments they use. These close ups then appear to follow onto an establishing shot of the entire band which seems to hold for several seconds whilst they mime the song. The reason for the quick cutting between close shots is obviously because unlike the 50 cent video, the scene does not change, so it is a tool used to keep it's audience entertained for the entire length of the song.

50 cents song 'Pimp' however takes a slightly different approach than the Mumford and sons video. Close ups and mid shots of 50 cent himself rapping establish the artist in the production and after several short cuts the images change to a clip of the artist performing a task with several other people, e.g getting changed or walking around. This is to create the feeling that the two clips are running parallel to one another. moving through the video, lots of mid and tilt shots are used to show off the women to the audience as sexual objects, and could be described as 'time fillers' to increase video content and make it last throughout the duration of the song.

Applying Goodwin's theory to Snow Patrol - Run

1) Genre characteristics towards the music video

Snow patrol's song 'Run' released in 2004 fits into the 'Indie'/'Alternative' genre of music. Its clear that this genre often offer specific features. One key element this genre offers is showing the band in one from or another! for example, in 'Run' the main singer in the band is shown simply walking outside continuously and the band emerge once the chorus kicks in. This can be compared to the Verve's song 'Bitter sweet symphony' where the leed singers walks through a town whilst miming the lyrics and the whole band are seen at the end of the video and merge into a group. Although Snow Patrol have taken this approach of portraying the band in the video, many 'Indie' videos show the group actually playing instruments to give the audience the feel of a 'live' performance.

2) Relationship between lyrics and visuals

No clear connections can be seen between the lyrics and the visuals of 'Run' except for the the chorus. The lyrics 'Light up, Light up' are accompanied by the band lighting flares in the dark which obviously matches the lyrics to the visuals.

As well as the chorus the final verse, 'To think i might not see those eyes, Makes it hard not to cry' also fits in with the visuals of the video as the main singer is shown wandering in the dark almost and gives the audience the feeling that he is almost lost and may not see his love again. The darkness could also be represented as a metaphor for being stuck in the dark not knowing when he will see his lover.

3) Links between the music and the visuals

The music itself reflects largely on the visuals them self. For example, the slow tempo of the song allows for long clips with very slow cuts on each scene. The tempo also links to the depressing feel given off by the lyrics mixed with the music. This melancholy sound links very well with the dark visuals as black and other dark colours are well known as psychologically depressing colours.

4) Demands of the record label

It is almost impossible to find out the exact restrictions of the individual record label responsible for the production of Run by snow patrol. However Sven E Carlsson had a theory that suggested that artists were restricted in the way they can perform. He believed that this was because with established artists, audiences would be used to seeing similarities in image, facial expression and movement and large differences in these areas would potentially confuse, if not put off the consumers. After all, image, presentation and body language are all factors that audiences either are used to, or simply expect from the genre being presented to them. We also found this out from our market research as various audiences we contacted had strong opinions on how they believed the artist and other imagry should look after listening ot the song we had chosen.

5) Voyeurism and the notion of looking

The music video shows no voyeurism and has no sexual content in the entire production. Only male actors are used and all of these are not shown in a sexual light in any way. since there are no women shown this rules out the use of the male gaze theory and the idea of the opposite sex being 'sex objects' and the lyrics themselves provide a caring, and non exploitative song which reflects on the video.

6) Concept, performance or narrative based video?

The music video uses a mix of concept art aswell as performance based imagry to show the miming of the lyrics aswell as being able to provide it's audiences with sybolic messages incorporated in the video. For example the use of flares once to chorus kicks in ot only matchs the lyrics 'light up, light up' but is symboli for hope, love and of course light.

7) interextual reference

Media theory, Goodwin's theory, male gaze

What is Goowin's theory?

Goodwins theory is based upon 8 main principles;

1)Links between lyrics and visuals
2)links between music and visuals
3)Genre characteristics
4)Intertextual reference
5)Notions of looking ( male gaze?)
6)voyerism
7) Demands of record label
8)Performance based, narratvie based or concept based music videos

Goodwin's theory allows us to analyse or compare a music video/s in depth and cover all the vital elements that a video will contain or be a part of. It allows us to see trends and connections between genre and content.

THE MALE GAZE THEORY!

The maile gaze theory suggests that the media produces imagry that is 'through the eyes of a man'. This of course often results in women being seen as sex objects, less powerful and often less intelligent. This theory is used largely in certain music genres such as rap, and R&B. With male rappers displaying 'power' it is not uncommon to see half naked women shown lower than the artists to give the audience the idea of power, and seductive powers.

REVERSE MALE GAZE THEORY!

Although not as common, it is possible for the opposit of the male gaze theory to take place. This is simply media through the eyes of women, making men the sex objects here, and the common steryotype of stupidity. A good example of this is the Alpon advert for breakfast cerial in which the ad starts of displaying 5 women doing aerobics in front of a lake and the narrater then says,' But this would be sexist'. The imagry then changes to men doing aerobics and the speach ,'That's better'.

How has cencorship of the market decreased over the years?

Over the years many media productions have shook the market and caused controversy and outrage to the establishment. Although this is common in the music video industry it also applies over the whole media market. For example when famous director Alfred Hitchcock released his legendary 'Psycho' in 1960 the film was almost band due to the opening scene showing a couple having an affair.

Famous channels that host music videos such have MTV have been criticized as over censoring what they show for years. Although censorship in the market has decreased due to gradual changes in the populations attitudes and values, we hear bleeped out words, deemed inappropriate and extreme sexual imagery removed.

Many modern songs today that have words removed or censored include;

-Akons - 'i wanna fuck you' - where the word 'fuck' was changed to 'love'
-Maroon 5 - 'Misery' - where violence is buffered by animated flowers and props such as knifes have been replaced with animations such as ice cream cones etc.

Although censorship has decreased over the years, it is still in place and will always provide a boundary in civilised communities. It is easy to say that censorship has platoed over the last 5-10 years and has hit a boundary that is deemed to be pushing social views of the public. However this could be said in 1970, as it seems the media are always pushing the boundaries of what is acceptable to raise public interest, and make their products have a dangerous element that provides enjoyment for many of it's consumers.

It is important to also point out that the music industry as well as the film industry which are interlinked, now have many more formats in which to distribute their products making it increasingly hard for cencoring powers to limit content. The biggest being the world wide web of course.

Indie music - what it is?

Our group are swayed more towards the genre of Indie Rock such as artists like;

- The Kooks
-The Hoosiers
-Razorlight
-The Wombats
-Arctic Monkeys

'Indie rock is a genre of rock, and a means of producing that music, that originated in the United Kingdom and the U.S in the 1980's. It is rooted in earlier genres such as alternative, post punk, and new wave.' - Sourced from wikipedia

The artists themselves

Indie artists are usually presented as scruffy, usually male and are often shown playing there instruments as the music itself provides a more genuine style of music in comparison to the electro/pop genre where mainly synthesisers are used to give artificial sounds.

The word 'Indie' is an abbreviation from the the phrase 'Individual record label'. this simply means any record label that is not owned by the few large labels and instead remain 'independent'.


There appears to be two types of understanding of what the Indie rock genre is. For example many people class indie rock as any song produced through the independent music labels such as Domino Records. This means that any artist that is signed under these labels can be classed as 'Indie'. However the second perception of the term 'Indie Rock' is as a genre of music itself. Instead of how it's made it is the sound that is classified into the genre. This appears to be the most common way the term is defined in modern society as the majority of consumers seem unaware of the record industry in general, but are subject to the audio tracks and artists everyday!

With the use of Internet sites it allows independent record labels able to promote their products with a relatively low cost, instead of artists taking the path of a major label which of course will inject large cash investments into promoting their clients. The major contract difference between an independent label and a major label is that independent labels tend to offer higher royalties in comparison to the major labels. This is usually because the independent labels have much lower costs due to lower levels of promotion and marketing. Independent labels do have some downfalls such as a lack of resources due to a lower initial capital investment. The appeal for many artists to take on an independent label are that they receive more flexibility and freedom compared to signing with a major label. Many independent labels are a simple one or two man operation making the work in hand very personal and closely linked to the people running the operation as well as the artist.

Many artists sign with a major label because they believe they are more likely to because famous. This is not necessarily the case, as only around 1 in 10 Cd's released by major labels actually make a profit. It could be argued also however that since 1991 only 12 independent labels have been able to reach the top spot on the billboard 200 chart showing that maybe they do not have the same scale of sales output as these larger firms.

Music videos through the ages!

Although music videos were developed to some extent far before the 1980's, from then onwards was when the real rise in interest and large development predominantly by the MTV corporation. The promotion of music videos by MTV was so large that in China music videos where known simply as 'MTV's'.

Techniques often used include;

-Animation
-live action
-documentaries
-Abstract film

The long running TV show Top of the Pops began playing music videos on the show in the late 70's to promote the artists on the show and increase sales. the fact that the BBC placed strict guidelines and limits on the number of videos top of the pops could play shows that at the time, attitudes and values where much different to today.

Music videos appear to have gone mainstream when in 1981 MTV launched and played the well known track, ' video killed the radio star'. It was clear at this point that by the end of the decade music videos where to play a large part in selling records all over the world.

Large landmarks in the industry such as Micheal Jackson's 'Thriller', released in 1983 lasted 14 minutes and cost more than half a million U.S Dollars.


Modern day allows for a much broader scale of distribution to the market. For example, any individual with access to the Internet can watch almost any music related product such as videos etc. through websites such as YouTube.com. The increase in consumer options will have certainly effected the TV industry as consumers now have the resources to not view the TV at all if chosen as all information can be found online!

review of a music video - Basement jaxx - Do your thing

The simple video to compliment the song 'Do your thing' by Basement jaxx manages to keep its audiences satisfied by using snappy quick moving images consistently throughout to match the upbeat tempo and atmosphere set by the lyrics of the song . The key feature the video offers is the lyrics provided throughout the clips on items of clothing worn by the actors and actresses featured in the video.



The lyrics provided do add a nice feature to the target audience, however without them being combined with bright colours and changes in font etc, the music video would lack enough content to keep the eyes of its audience busy and would soon leave the entertainment factor largely to the music itself and not the visuals. By combining all of the visual elements with the audio track 'Do your thing' provides an entertaining visual that fits the lyrics, beat and tempo of the song itself.

The genre itself fits well with the visuals provided in the video. The Electro/pop genre matches with the bright vibrant colours used throughout the clip. This conforms to the usual conventions of the genre as can be seen in other videos from this genre such as clips from the music video 'Hands' by the Ting Tings, a relatively new band who can be fitted into the Electro/pop genre! The two videos are similar in that they use quick cuts with vibrant colours to match the fast flowing upbeat vibe from the audio they provide. Electropop itself was started around the 1980's and is well known for its primary use of synthesisers and was often described as robotic or mechanical. It is clear from the simple, repetitive song with a catchy rhythm that Do your thing fits perfectly into the Electro/pop genre.

The strange thing about 'Do your thing' is that the artists are not actually shown throughout the video unlike in the majority of videos that the Electro/pop industry have created. Again in contrast to the Ting Tings video 'Hands' where the lead singer and band are shown often throughout and seem to have a novel dress sense that can be compared to artists seen in the 70's. Although this is not apparent in the Basement Jaxx video it is clear the record labels that promote this genre traditionally promote the band itself through visuals in the clothing that is also fits the conventions of the Electro genre itself.