HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME

We as a class did a re-make of Britney Spears's 'Hit Me Baby One More Time'. My group remade the video from 36s-51s. This allowed the hole class to experience making a video and helped us understand how videos ran, how long the shots were and lip syncing. By doing this it is giving us the knowledge we need to make our own music video. We faced problems in this as lip syncing was difficult and learning the dance routine was hard.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD MUSIC VIDEO?

Doing a presentation on music videos allows me to understand them and gain knowledge on how they work. I now gave knowledge on the different types of music videos and this will help me with my music video and being able to understand how they work.

PLAN B

 

The Genre of Plan B's 'Writings on the Wall' is Pop.  Plan B's typical music is pop/rap/soul so this song is not a surprise and is a similar genre to  his other songs. The music video has a narrative of a man and wife and how he is a well known singer  called 'Strickland Banks'  and has an affair/stays out late and therefore does not spend much time with his wife. There is an intertextual reference to Stevie Wonder 'Superstitious' in this video. In the music video the wife cooks a meal or her husband whilst he is out with other women and having affairs from this we get the theme of love/ heartbreak. In the music video we see and equilibrium with the man and wife, disruption which is the man having the affair and recognition when the woman puts the phone down. The video reflects the lyrics of the song, this is shown by the fact their relationship isn't over but he is having an affair telling us that their relationship wasn't good to start off with.

There are representations of gender in this, men are not seen in a positive light due to cheating and lying and the females are seen as naïve and domesticated where they are caring for the home while the man earns money. The most stereotypical gender representation in this is the woman in the kitchen cooking for her husband. The artist 'Plan B' has been presented as a star. He is playing a character called 'Strickland Banks' who is a singer and similar to 'Plan B'. He is seen as successful but being held back by the woman. 'Plan B' is seen as a celebrity in his music video but he is a fictional celebrity.
The video is set partly in a nightclub where 'Strickland Bank' is performing this gives connotations of rock and celebrities. The low key lighting and dark clothing gives off connotations of being sinister, secrets and lies.  The other part of the video is set in a home where the wife is. The bright clothing gives connotations of innocence and the white room connotes purity. The text on the nightclub also gives us pre-conceptions of 'Strickland Banks' and the video. The fact his name is written on the venue tells us he is performing there and the fact it says 'Sold Out' shows that he is popular.
There are shots used in the video that helps show power of characters, high angles are used on the wife to show her to be powerless and vulnerable, whereas there are low angles on the male showing him to have power and dominant. Close ups and long shots are used in the home to show how the wife is feeling. The close up of the saucepan bubbling and rising shows the increase of anxiety and the rising of love. There is then a long shot of the woman burning herself on the saucepan showing she is being burnt by love.
I believe the target audience of this video is teens to early 20s. This is because the characters used are young and the clubs are usually associated with this age. The storyline is relatable for these ages and therefore may appeal to them more.

There is a promotion of '679 Warner Music Group Record Company'  which promote a fictional character of 'Strickland Banks'. The character is promoted as a celebrity within the video and shows him getting everything he wants and is promoted as a celebrity. 
 


This will help me with my music video as it allows me to understand the typical qualities of music videos and how they should run. It also gives me ideas for my music video.