Lip syncing and its importance

What is lip syncing?

Lip syncing is when the visuals of someone singing in linked completely in time with the sound. This is done during the editing process and can sometimes be very difficult to do perfectly. If the lip syncing is good you wont think about it while watching the video. However if the lip syncing is badly done it is very noticeable.

Why is lip syncing important?

Lip syncing is important because if the lip syncing isn't perfectly in time it can distract the audience from listening or watching the rest of the video.

How do help insure good lip syncing:

• Insure the singer knows the lyrics well
• make sure you singer can hear the song while lip syncing to be able to get the correct timings
• It can also help if instead of mouthing the words to singer sings along to the song so you get the correct lip movements

Biffy Clyro- god and Satan

This is video has good lip syncing because you don't think about it while you watch the video. The lip movements are in the time with the singing. It appears that he simply singing along and you don't think about the lip syncing.

Identifing Goodwin's Seven Codes in Music Videos

Blink 182: All the small things



 this video shows five out of the seven codes.The first code seen is where they demonstrate genre characteristics by performing to a crowd of fans.
there are a large number of close ups of all three members of the band, this is due to demands that are made by the record label.
there are motifs that follow through their other work, this band often has comical themes in there video, many of there video also involve shots of the three of them performing together.

They also show another code, of women being portrayed in a voyeuristic manner when you see the woman on the beach wearing a small bikini.

The code that is mainly seen in this video is the one that relates to inter-textual references, this is because the entire video is based around Blink 182 doing impressions of famous pop artists videos.

Goodwins Seven Codes

As part of the research our class carried out on music videos we looked at Goodwin's seven codes for music video, most music videos will have at least four of the seven codes:

1. 'Demonstrate genre characteristics': Stage performance for metal for example AC/DC shoot to thrill, or a dance routine for a boy band for example N Sync Bye Bye Bye
2. There are demands from the record label which often includes a need for lots of close ups of the artist, for example Katy Perry often has a lot of close ups in her videos
   
3.  There are links between the lyrics and visuals. This can either amplify, illustrate or contradict the lyrics, for example in ‘Single Ladies’ by Beyoncé 
   
4.  there are links between the music and the visuals
5. the artist may develop motifs and iconography that recur across their work, in Lady Gaga's videos there is always a dance routine at some point.
   
6. there is often a notion of 'looking' such as screens within screens. There is also a voyeuristic treatment of the female body for example Robin Thike's video there are a number of shots with women treated in a voyeuristic way.
   
7. there are often inter-textual references to films, tv shows or other music videos. for example Blink 182's video to all the small things, they mock other music videos from different genres.
   

Initial ideas

Our group has decided to do a music video for an unsigned band called 'Kill the Freak' as this is the first video created for this band we had more freedom when deciding what we would like to feature in the video. 

The song we have chosen to make the video is called 'I'm a Freak' which has lyrics that link closely with mental illness. 

For these reasons out initial ideas are to set this video in a mental institution. The front man of band will play the main character in the video. We plan to only film parts of the bands body/ instruments to keep some mystery around the band. We also wanted to show how the main character descends into insanity by writing the song title 'I'm a Freak' all over the characters arms and face. We used videos such as Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold for inspriation, this is because the video has a similar theme to ours and we wished to used similar effects to the ones seen in this music video as we felt they worked well in the video. We also took inspiration from the music video 'Before I Forget' by 'Slipknot' this is because in this video the faces of the band members are never seen which is done to maintain the unknown identity of the band members. Although we used this idea in our music video we did it for a different reason, we wish the instruments to be the focus during the performance shots rather than the people band members playing them. 

Initial notes on a music magazine advert

In adverts for albums in music magazines there is often every little information. For example in this advert for You Me At Six there is only seven pieces of information in this advert. It only shows The band and album name, the release date and where it can be found. The picture that is used is also always linked to the album cover, for example in this advert the picture is the same as the album cover. They used yellow font for the release date to make it stand out and use white writing for the majority to make it stand out from the dark background.

Analysis of a past pupils work

The genre of this video is very similar to the genre of the artist which is pop.
This video has a narrative that is very typical as it portrays a break up.
In this video we see performance scenes as well as a break up which is what people would except to see in this video, and there is very little that in unexpected.
In this video there are no obvious intertextual references.
The narrative in this video shows how two people cope after a break up.
In this video we only see one stage of Todorov's five stages, which is disruption. We only see this stage because we see then after they have broken up and there is no attempt to repair the situation.
There are two recognisable character however in this video it is difficult to tell if either of the two people are the protagonist or antagonist.
There are no links clear links between the lyrics and visuals in this video.
In this video genre is represented in a non stereotypical manner as men and women are portrayed as being equal in this narrative.
The artist appear in the video but is not represented as a star.
The video is set in various places set as a house, woods, and town streets. 
The video is in black and white which may connote the sadness felt by thw woman after the breakup. 
Most of the shots seen in this video are either mid or tracking shots.
The cuts vary in speed throughout the video but are often on beat with the song. The speed of the cuts increase as the song becomes more powerful.
I believe the target audience of this video are fans of Adele or females between the ages of 15 and 20.
I believe this is a successful video as it contains a clear narrative that fits the general theme of the lyrics. It also has a nice mix of performance and narrative shots.

The Purpose of a Music Video

The main purpose of music videos to Promote an artists work and advertise the artist. Another purpose of a music video is to entertain the target audience of the artist and leave a last impression on the audience so they remember the video and the artist.

Music video are a marketing device that allows the artist to advertise themselves and use them of another way to entertain their fans as well as the public, they can promote their songs and spark interest from the public that aren't already aware of the artist, by showing videos on music channels for example Kerrang! or 4Music the public are introduced to the band, the band also gain money from being played on the channel and the interest it sparks within the public will lead to an increase in sales for that band. Music videos can help sell merchandise from the band as well as other comapines for example The Blackout! sell t shirts with lyrics on them that link to songs and msic videos.
A good example of how to sell a music video is seen in an All Time Low video to 'I Feel Like Dancin' where in the narrative we see the sterotypical ways in which some artists make marketing through product placement and using intertextuality and voyeurisnm.