First things first: complete the previous lessons
Before you complete today's task, please make sure you work through the previous seven sessions. This is clearly a lot of work, and we would prefer it if you work through it slowly and steadily. Take your time on each session, complete all the tasks you are able, and please do not rush! Make sure all work is published on your blog.
If you have any questions about the remote learning process, your question is probably answered here. And if you have any questions about how to respond to particular activities, your question could be answered here.
Please let your teacher know if you have any additional questions.
If music videos come up in the component one exam, they will come up in component one section A. In component one section A, you will compare an unseen media product to one you have already studied. There will be a question on print based media, and a question on audiovisual (video) media.
If this sounds a little confusing, don't worry. You will have plenty of time in the exam to watch and rewatch the video, and because it's undeen, everyone will be in the same boat across the country.
If you want a taste of the kind of questions you'll be looking at, you can check out the past papers section of this blog. It's important to point out that if you are asked to discuss one of the case study music videos, you might be asked to compare it to a media product which is not a music video! For example, you might be asked to compare Formation to a news broadcast or Riptide to a beer advert. For today's activity, though, you'll be comparing a music video with another music video.
Comparing music videos
If you have completed everything and are all up to date, you can move on to the next task.
Exam question: compare and contrast how media language is used in the music videos to Break My Heart by Dua Lipa and Riptide by Vance Joy.
Make reference to:
- Cinematography and editing
- Music video conventions
- How visual elements create meaning for the audience
In the real exam, you will not have access to the Riptide video, but for today there's no need to limit yourself.
Task: Watch the video to Break My Heart three times in a row, making brief notes under the following headings:
- Codes and conventions – performance/narrative/experimental features
- Camera work (framing – shot types, angle, position, movement)
- Editing – beat-matched?
- Elements of continuity/montage
- How does the video interpret the music and/or lyrics?
- Structure/narrative
- Intertextuality
- Sound
- Mise-en-scene – colour, lighting, location, costume/dress, hair/make-up
In the real exam, you will be permitted to watch the unseen text three times, making notes the second and third time you watch it. This is a good habit to get in to. Repetition will allow you to notice things you would never see after a single viewing. I hope you like the song...
Task: Analyse and compare the music videos to Break My Heart by Dua Lipa and Riptide by Vance Joy.
You have two options here:
Option one: answer the above exam question under timed conditions (you can give yourself 45 minutes)
Option two: answer the following questions briefly, perhaps using screenshots to draw comparisons between the videos
- What key differences are there in style between the two videos?
- In what ways do the two videos visually match the lyrics of the song?
- What is the preferred reading of each music video/ And who is is the target audience?
- Both music videos rely heavily on costume and mise-en-scene as symbolic codes. What deeper meanings do these two videos hold?
- How do these music videos use binary oppositions?
- One video is conventional, the other unconventional. Why do music videos differ so wildly?
- What messages do these videos encode about young women?