The analasys of my lyrics suggest that the song is reflecting on someone having a breakdown, themselves being the atomic bomb waiting to go off. To tie this in with modern day culture, I chose to have it celebrity based showing a sucessful famous star having a breakdown.
The artist Andy Worhol coined the phrase '15 minutes of fame' which means that everybody will be famous for at least 15 minutes. In this generation there has been a vast rise in in celebrities due to the easy acces of media, or what is called 'we media'. Celebrities are now not only formed on only talent, but through things such as reality TV and the internet. I have channeled this is my music video by making my main character but not tell the audience what she is famous for. She is dressed in stereotypically glamorous clothing such as a fur coat, lots of jewelrey and high heels. This connotates a typical glamorous celebrity. These give her star quality even if prehaps her skills dont.
Also in the rise of celebrity culture, there is such a demand for the latest news and gossip from the celebrities which can cause mental stress and worry which can lead to a breakdown. Stars such as Britney Spears have in the past had breakdowns due to the demand of celebrity culture, having papparazi constantly around them is sure to cause some stress. This suggests the theory of 'the fame monster'.
This theory suggests that although it appears glamourous, this is the dark side to fame which causes breakdowns. This side is the constant demand which adds unecessery stress to the star making them go mental. I adapted on this idea and decided to incorparate it in my video. I portrayed this in my video by having the camera as a the fame monster, playing a character in the film. My star breaks the fourth wall by having herself push the camera away when she realises that the camera is the fame monster and the cause of her breakdown. By the final scene the star leans down on the floor and looks straight at the camera. I decided to do this as it suggests that the fame monster has finally got to her. Although it suggests this, it could mean that instead of having a breakdown or going insane, she is ready to takle the fame monster and beat it. I decided to keep this unclear as it mirrors the breakdowns in real life celebrity culture, due to the manipulation of the media you are unclear of what the true story of events was and you never know what the true story is.
The combination of my main and ancilary texts are effective as they are strongly and effectivly tied in together. To ensure that they would be well combined, instead of taking new photos I took stills from the editing suite of my video to put as my front cover of the CD.
This is the front cover of my CD for my music video.I have tied it in with my music video and the song by keeping it in a 1980s design style.Instead of taking a new photo, I decided instead to take a stillshot from my actual music video. I decided to do this to mirror the same ideology I decided to portray in my video.
I also used props in my film that connotate the current 'constant demand' celebrity culture. I used a blackberry in my music video as it is a current iconic form of showing a constantly busy and constantly in demand. They also show things such as wealth as they are expensive to buy. It keeps my video upto date and shows that it is reflective of current society and its values.
My video was portraying a star at her peak having a breakdown due to elements such as the price of fame. The album title and song title 'atomic' suggest that she infact is an atomic bomb ticking waiting to go off. I also decided to use a film still that was taken outside as despite her running into the open away from all the drama inside her life, she cannot escape it and the fame monster has finally got to her.In my image, the main character is clutching her head with a dazed look of confusion and being lost, suggesting that she doesnt actually know who she is anymore and that the atomic bomb that she is has gone off.I used Adobe photoshop to edit my photo. To get it first off the editing suite, I had to save the still image as a .jpeg and then move it to a laptop with Adobe enabled using a memory stick.
On photoshop, I ajusted the brightness and contrast to make the colours more bolder and into an 1980s esque poster style, similar to David Bowie and Blondie Cd covers from the 1980s.I also ajusted the equilizer on the photo to create a more sharpened image, which creates the lines around in the image. I feel that this is a typical connotation of 1980s artwork. I decided to keep the writing bold and simple to keep the main focus on the picture. I think the picture speaks more words than the title and font would.
This is the back cover of my CD cover. I decided to use a montage of three pictures that channel the video, showing three stages of the break down with her looking straight into the camera in the final picture - mirroring the video. I used the same effects as in my front cover, using the brightness, contrast and equilising tools in Adobe photoshop. I also edited out the background using the magic and background eraser tool. I decided to do this to suggest that during her breakdown she is surrounded by unfamiliarity and empty space, she doesnt know her surroundings or what is going on around her.
This is the promotional poster for my media project. I have used a still shot from my video in my poster. The shot I have used is one where she is looking directly into the camera, realising that it is what is causing her breakdown. I have decided to use a purple tint on it from photoshop to create a 1980s effect, linking it into the song genre from the era.Compared to my AS project, my skills in media production have vastly improved. I am now able to sucessfully produce pictures and edit them in Adobe photoshop and create decent spreads where in my AS level I was using basic programs such as Microsoft Publisher and paint. I am now able to use the editing suite to edit videos, cut them, add music with the clips and then manage them all together.
For the research, I reasearched a wide range of media products from music videos to CD covers. I analysed two music videos, Beat it by Micheal Jackson, and Everytime by Britney Spears. These are relevent to my video I created as Micheal Jacksons video is the same era as Atomic by Blondie and I waneted to see the stereotypical connotations in the 1980s era. I chose Everytime aswell as it shows a celebrity breakdown happening in the video and how she has to save herself from herself and the pressures of fame. This was one of the inspirations of my music video that I had created myself. I analysed a Blondie CD cover and it was a simple cover with a plain white background with the writing and the picture. I decided to mirror this in my cover aswell by having a plain white background with the words and pictures. Mine however is more tied t
ogether compared to the Blondie one as it is all aligned in uneven places whereas mine is all blocked together in neat squares.For the planning, along with brainstorming ideas, I created a storyboard as a general guide to how my video should look. Doing a storyboard is important as it shows your ideas for the video so when you actually come along to do your video, your ideas are properly presented and it also shows you have a clear understanding of the media production, research and planning.
The opening lyrics open with 'It's been so long, I've been out of my body with you' and the video links in with this as the camera is overlooking the man on the stretcher as the paramedics rush around him with medical equiptment. This links because it appears to be the soul of the man on the stretcher overlooking himself as he may be dying, like his soul is parted from his body in limbo. As the next line kicks in (I feel alone, feel at home, feel like nothing is true ) a ghost figure of the man sits up from the bed and walks away. This suggests that he has now actualy died and the fact all the paramedics leave the room show that they have given up on him as they now cannot save him.
The next lyrics are 'You take me to a place where my senses gave way, turn it round, shut it down, what the people say Climbing up, coming down, gonna give you some, take my hand and let it come, let it come, let it... Take it back when she knows that your doing it right Cos everbody else knows what they're taking tonight'. To me these lyrics suggest that the man in question has been taking recreational drugs as the lyrics are saying 'climbing up, coming down' and coming down is a big part of taking drugs and the man in the video may have overdosed on some drugs which is why the paramedics have given up on him and he has died, because it is his own fault. The ghost figure is then seen panically running down the hospital hallway running into walls in a frenzy. This suggests that the soul of the man dying is scared and panicing due to his new found situation and he doesnt quite know what to do.
The next scene shows the infamous deadmau5 figure in a club environment surrounded by people in glittery masks dancing. By showing the figure it shows the audience who the song is by showing an inconagraphic figure.
The ghost figure is then seen doing things like riding down the street on a skateboard and getting a green tattoo on his neck. This suggests that the ghost has now come to an acceptance of his fate and is enjoying what he can while he can by doing crazy spontanious things. Although his fun is ended prematurly when he is met with other ghosts in the street which threaten to beat him up. This adds a comical aspect to the video and the storyline.
The next scene shows the ghost down and out in the street and then the deadmau5 figure and his crew walking down. They then encourage him to follow them and he does, showing that he has found some acceptance in his society. They then all enter the club from the previous scene and all dance to the song.
As the song is coming to a close the scene flicks back and forth from the club and a view of a nurse holding a light above the camera, this suggests that the man is actually now not dead and is now being brought back to life. As the ghost is met face to face with the deadmau5 figure, he wakes up in the hospital bed, bolting upright suggesting that prehaps the deadmau5 figure and the ghost are prehaps the same person.
When the man has awoken he still has the tattoo on his neck, suggesting that the scenes we just saw either actually a relapse of something that he has done previously or that that was what happened for him to get to the hosptial bed, that he had been out in a club and he had got there from either overdosing or getting into a fight.
Next, a pool hall is shown full of men. The lighting is quite dull, and the mood seems tense, like they are waiting for something or someone. One man in particular is focused on, he has an arrogant expression and then orders some other men to follow him. A woman, who was stood behind him, glances toward the group of men who are leaving, whilst smoking a cigarette. She has a relaxed expression, as if she knows what will happen or that she has seen this all before.
As the guitar kicks in and the song starts to pick up pace, another man is seen donning a white jacket, with a distinctive dragon motif on the back of it. The colour of his clothes is much brighter than those around him, which sets him apart from the rest of the pack. He also has a thick moustache and is wearing sunglasses; which further makes us believe that he may be a key character in the video, much like the man spotlighted before him. We see one group, led by the man with the moustache walk through the dark night. The setting and time of day casts an ominous shadow over the video, and makes me feel that something bad may happen. Although it is dark, he is still wearing heavy sunglasses which suggest he has a role of power as it is usually people such as celebrities who constantly wear sunglasses to show there power in society and so people do not talk to them. Michael Jackson is then seen lying on a bed, and he is singing the lyrics of the song, whilst looking concerned. More shots of the two separate groups are shown and this makes me think that they could be two rival gangs. The lyrics of the song suggest this also, as the lyrics have connotations of gang culture within them.
The crew are then seen walking through a street and as they are about to pass two people on the floor, they get up and join the group. This creates a sense of fear from the crew and that people are either ‘with them or against them’. Michael then exits his apartment or hotel room and the choreography begins. Michael dances in a dark corridor, with a large beam of light hitting him whilst he dances. His bright red jacket and blue t-shirt are contrasting of the dark colours seen throughout the video so far and are also iconic of him. Spooky alleyways, bland buildings and barbed wire fences convey the social class of this area. The setting looks depressing and rough; suggesting once again that these people may be up to no good.
