Deadlines/Brief

Music videos are so 80s/90s, right? They belong with the era when MTV screened wall-to-wall vids instead of 'reality' TV? Try telling that to the millions who bought Gangnam Style; were they really simply loving the music? 1.6bn (and still climbing) have viewed the video on YT, not to mention the many re-makes (school eg, eg2), viral ads + celeb link-ups (even political protest in Seoul) - and it doesn't matter how legit it is, this nightmare for daydream Beliebers is making a lot of money, even from the parodies + dislikes. All this for a simple dance track that wouldn't have sounded out of place in 1990 ... but had a fun vid. This meme itself was soon displaced by the Harlem Shake. Music vids even cause diseases it seems!
This blog explores every aspect of this most postmodern of media formats, including other print-based promo tools used by the industry, its fast-changing nature, + how fans/audiences create/interact. Posts are primarily written with Media students/educators in mind. Please acknowledge the blog author if using any resources from this blog - Mr Dave Burrowes

Thursday 29 June 2017

VINYL new plant points to continuing growth

Records come round again: Sony to open vinyl factory in Japan https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/29/sony-to-open-vinyl-pressing-factory-in-japan-records?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Saturday 24 June 2017

GENRE 40 sub-genres of metal

An example I've used before, a useful one to highlight the need to take care in defining genre. Each of these 40 (and there are still others - no grunge here for example) have some distinctive features that a videomaker should be aware of.

http://loudwire.com/best-metal-bands-different-subgenres/#photogallery-1=1

Sunday 18 June 2017

Female gaze of Torres, Mitski and female directors

A quick note on the Torres video: mostly very dull, but 2 elements that might inspire some useful ideas
the David Lynch-like unsettling intermittent red lighting, and playing with darkness (possible Twin Peaks influence there)
the stoney-faced singer continuing to lipsynch with shower water flowing over her (wind effects have been used in other vids, anything like this adds visual interest and impact to a key convention, arguably bringing a postmodern deconstructionist approach in revealing, and revelling in, the absurdity of lipsynching). In practical terms it would be better to try and rig a shower head to a hose - or even point it out of a bathroom window if the external wall framing works (as bathroom framing would be very limited)
This is desire: Torres, Marika Hackman and the artists redefining the female gaze https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/16/torres-women-pleasure-fleabag-female-gaze-videos?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Saturday 10 June 2017

DIGITISATION labels aren't needed can do all from bedroom Run DMC say

Some strong language in this article, but coming in the week when Taylor Swift announced an end to her 3 year boycott of Spotify (to 'celebrate 10m album sales' for her latest...and undermine Katy Perry's album release), here's a great quote summing up digital disruption:

Run-DMC have about 2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, that’s not bad is it? (1)


That’s not bad – that’s really good! We still get our royalty. You do a deal now, the labels get ownership of this and that – but these days you don’t need a record company, you don’t need a lawyer, you don’t even need a studio. You can do it all in your f***ing bedroom.



Run-DMC's Darryl McDaniels: 'We lived sex, drugs and rock‘n‘roll – but never put it in our music' https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/09/run-dmc-darryl-mcdaniels-we-lived-sex-drugs-and-rocknroll-but-not-in-our-music?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger




Like to make music? Turn your tunes into an income stream


https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/jun/10/make-music-income-stream-compose-stock-music?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard


Thursday 1 June 2017

MERCHANDISE death metal colouring book by Mastodon

http://www.metalsucks.net/2017/03/27/mastodon-emperor-of-sand-vinyl-doubles-as-a-coloring-book/