Initial Response to Chosen Song

Genre and Style:

The songs genre and style described as an electropop ballad, featuring "soaring" synthesisers,"militant" drums, and hip hop beats with electronica, R&B, and reggae influences.

Length and pace:
The pace of the song is a medium pace but it varies from slow to medium pace in some parts. 

3.25minutes. 

Meaning:
Lyrically, the song has a melancholic theme, detailing the demoralisation and rationalisation of alcoholism through the typical thought process of a "party girl".

Narrative:
This song is about a party girl and her struggles that she faces after a night out, and how she feels the morning after.

Impressions:
This makes me feel like sad because of the struggles the girl is going through and what she has to do to make everything be blocked out. 

Imagery and semiotics: 

In the song, Sia repeats "help me I'm holding on for dear life, wont look down, wont open my eyes" meaning that the girl has drank so much she can't hold on any more. 

"Chandelier"

Party girls don't get hurt
Can't feel anything, when will I learn?
I push it down, push it down

I'm the one "for a good time call"
Phone's blowin' up, ringin' my doorbell
I feel the love, feel the love

1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, drink
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, drink
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, drink

Throw 'em back 'til I lose count

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier
I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist
Like it doesn't exist
I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry
I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

But I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight

Sun is up, I'm a mess
Gotta get out now, gotta run from this
Here comes the shame, here comes the shame

1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, drink
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, drink
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, drink

Throw 'em back 'til I lose count

I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier
I'm gonna live like tomorrow doesn't exist
Like it doesn't exist
I'm gonna fly like a bird through the night, feel my tears as they dry
I'm gonna swing from the chandelier, from the chandelier

But I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Help me, I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes
Keep my glass full until morning light, 'cause I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight

On for tonight
'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Oh, I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight
On for tonight
'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight
'Cause I'm just holding on for tonight
Oh, I'm just holding on for tonight
On for tonight
On for tonight

ASSIGNMENT B : Production Research

1  What factors make up the budget for a  radio advertisement campaign ? 

In professional radio adverting production , one of the key elements is the budget .

The cost of broadcasting the commercial is negotiated by local sales teams and national/ regional agencies. One factor that makes up the budget for advertising is ' Traffic'. This is when the commercial is to be broadcast affects how much it would cost. For example - if you were to broadcast an advert during 'drive time' (effectively the prime time of radio) where the audience figures are higher, it would cost more than if it were to be broadcast during a 'graveyard' slot where there would be a lower audience figure. 

Another factor is the fee for the artist voice over. Fees for Voice over artists vary depending on whether the voice is of a celebrity, the amount of skill and experience and the type of voice over session. Voice over artists in the UK are usually paid by the hour , known as a 'Basic Session Fee'

2   What is a music bed , and what are the three types ?

A music bed is background music that is in the advert. The three types of music bed are:

1. Live music recorded with the speech - this is using a live band or single musician.
2. Library music - this often is copyright free which is to avoid the licence you need to use pop songs.
3. Production music, - this is via CD (again which is often copyright free) or created 'in house' or on software such as Garage band.

3   Why does it cost money to use a pop song in a radio advert ?  What type of license would you need to apply for ?

If you plan on using music produced by somebody else you need to obtain permission as the composition is covered by copyright.

Mechanical: you need permission to reproduce, the royalties need to be paid to the artist, writer and publisher based on numbers sold.

Performance: blanket licence giving permission to broadcast / perform live, royalties paid to artist, writer and publisher when song is played or performed.

Print: royalties paid to writer and publisher based on sales of sheet music.

Synchronisation licence: This allows songs/music to be reproduced in a television program, film, video, radio and commercials as background music. 

4    What are the main differences between producing your radio advert using 

a)     Production facilities available at the radio station itself ?

In the radio station, they will be able to help you and if you pay the two or three hundred they will produce a quality radio commercial. The commercial production rate should include the scripting by a trained copywriter, licensing of music and Equity Voice Overs for broadcast on one radio station. If you wanted other services such as music production celebrity voices or broadcast on multiple stations, your local station should be able to help and quote you a price. Scriptwriting offered by a station is free on the basis that they produce the commercial. If you want to get it produced elsewhere you will probably be charged the same rate as a produced commercial. Many radio station have a dedicated studio for commercial production, or sometimes they are part of a group with centralised facilities. These kind of studios welcome guests to come and see commercials being made. Radio stations get favourable rates from Voice Overs, but if you are involved in the session they will charge an agency rate, and the studio may charge you studio time (because your involvement can slow the whole process down).

b)      An external production house ?

Another alternative is an "Out of House" Production facility With so many small radio stations opening the future of "Out of Station" or "Out of House" Production Companies seems bright. Some radio stations may only have three or four full time staff and cannot afford to employ writers and producers for their smaller local clients. Some radio stations may only have three or four full time staff and cannot afford to employ writers and producers for their smaller local clients. This is where Production Houses can offer a service. However the quality can vary from the very good to the downright dreadful.

ASSIGNMENT TASK B2 : Style conventions and techniques worksheet

A - Briefly define the following conventions of music video in your words and the effect they may have on the audience.

Lyric interpretation - This is when the music video matches what the artist is saying and in goes in time to what they are singing about.

Extending or consolidating song’s meaning - Extending is when the song itself has a different meaning to what the lyrics actually read, when a music video doesn't just simply interpret the lyrics, but adds content and meaning to the song and consolidating is add more detail to what is already there.

Focus on performer - This is when most of the video is all focused on the artist or artists including lots of closeups and mid shots

Lighting for mood - This is when the lighting in the video will be used to match the mood of the song, so for example, if the song had a sad meaning, the lighting will be dim and dull but if the meaning was happy, the lighting would be bright.

Pace of cuts - This is when the pace of the video will sync with the change of the beat , this is often most obvious in the chorus.

B - Write down the artist and title and provide a link to an example of a music video which shows the following:

1      special effects such as chroma key(green screen) - Kanye West - Gold Digger.

2      Multi-mage( multiple images on screen at once) - Alicia Keys - Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart.

3      Cutting to a beat - Beyonce - End of Time

4      An artist miming and lipsyncing to a playback track - Beyonce - Love on Top

5      Animation - Kayne West - Heartless

6      Reference to or includes another artist - Katy Perry ft Snoop Dogg - California Gurls

C     Briefly define the following styles of music video in your own words and link to an example of it being applied in an existing music video.

narrative - This is when a song tells a story within it lyrics, an example of this is Macklemore's - Same Love

impressionist - this is when there is more about mood and atmosphere than meaning, often uses lots of cutaways and  imagery an example of this is Lana Del Rey - Blue Jeans

interpretative - This is when the lyrics of the song match with the video, an example of this is Katy Perry - Fireworks

surrealist -  This is when weird imagery is used  that seems unconnected with song an example of this is Aphex Twin - Come to Daddy

pastiche /homage -  an affectionate  or positive copy of or tribute to another  artist's work an example of this is Chris Brown - She Ain't You as he is paying tribute to Michael Jackson

as-live - this is when the video is footage of a concert an example of this is Jay Z - Paris

ASSIGNMENT TASK B 1 : Artist Presentation

Beyonce's videos all have different aspects and meanings in them. Having a different variety of genres and meanings is important so that her success carries on. Beyonce started off in the band Destiny's Child with her friends Kelly and Michelle. They had countless amounts of success winning many awards and performing all around the world. They then went solo and started to produce their own songs. Beyonce has been the most successful but the others have been successful as well.





Video 1: Party


















The styles that Beyonce uses in her videos are all creative. Beyonce uses a lot of interpretative lyrics directly interpreting the song in a visual way. One song that is an interpretative song is 'Party' featuring J. Cole. In the video for this song, Beyonce is seen with many people having a party which relates with them name of the song.  Solange Knowles, Knowles' younger sister, and Kelly Rowland, former Destiny's Child member, both made cameos.  

In the video, the lyrics are mainly interpreted in the chorus where she repeatedly says 'Cause we like to party'. This is a good interpretation of the song title as it is called 'Party'. When Beyonce is repeating these lyrics , the video mainly focus' on her and her closest friends having a good time at the party. This is effective because when the chorus comes in, this is the bit that is the most catchy when it comes to the whole song and this is the bit that everyone is going to be singing in their heads when they think about this song.

I think with this song it has a different meaning to what the actual lyrics are saying. The lyrics in the song are Extending the meaning of the song. In actual fact I think that this song has a sexual meaning to it and when she is saying 'we like to party', I think what she actually means is 'party' in a sexual way. Even though the video is of them having a party, the real meaning is not of a party.

Video 2: Pretty Hurts




Beyonce loves to tell stories in her songs. One song that narrates a story is her song 'Pretty Hurts'. In the video, she is explaining how hard it is for girls to be perfect and the struggles they have to go through to be the perfect person. This song is also interpretive because the lyrics and the video go together in explaining the story.


This video is about a woman who is a battling the struggle of being perfect. In this video the focus is mainly on Beyonce because she is representing a woman who is aiming to be perfect and win the beauty pageant. During the video, there are plenty of close ups of Beyonce due to her being the main actor. Some scenes show her in the process of the beauty pageant and how the women prepare for it and what they have to go through to get to the winners place. One close up shows her without any make up on and looking like she has been defeated and that she's given up. 

Another convention in this video is lyric interpretation. In the video Beyonce is talking about the struggles of the girl world and what they have to do to fit in to society. In the lyrics it says "It's the soul that needs surgery" this basically means that people shouldn't judge what others look like on the outside and they should judge what's on the inside, so instead of people telling women the need surgery on their faces to look better, they should get surgery on their souls because they shouldn't judge women. When she is singing this line in the video, it shows her in a doctors office getting Botox injected into her face. Also, in the lyrics she says "Brush your hair, fix your hair, what you wear is all that matters" and as it goes along with these lyrics, Beyonce does the action of the lyrics by brushing her hair, putting Vaseline on her teeth, and putting on an outfit that she has to wear in the pageant.

In the video, there are some special effects of her in a swimming pool holding her hair and it looks like she's drowning to symbolise her drowning emotionally but in a few shows later it shows her going back up with symbolises her being saved from all the emotion and pain of trying to be the perfect person in society. These effects are all in slow motion. Using slow motion special effects gives the video a dramatic look.


Video 3: End of Time















'End of Time' is a good example of when Beyonce uses in concert footage for her video. In this video, Beyonce uses three different concerts for this one video. In the video as it goes on, the video will switch to another concert as the beat changes. 

In this Beyonce video, the focus is mainly on her due to the video being a mixture of concerts that she has performed this song at. There are many dicferent camera techniques that focus on her when she is performing such as close up, mid shot and long shot. The different camera shots give the video a more fun feeling because if it was all one camera angle the video wouldn't be as fun as it comes across. 

A technique in this video is cutting to the beat. As the song goes on, the are many different beats, the video will switch from concert to concert, which then will be in sync with the song and all the dancing she is doing is the same in every concert so it flows as the beats changes. Another techniques is special effects with then the video uses strobe lights. Now although these weren't added in when the video was being made, they still count as use special effects. This gives this the video a better more fun atmosphere which also makes Beyonce's concert look more fun.