Tuesday 20 September 2011

Summer Task

1957–1960

At the age of 15, McCartney met John Lennon and The Quarrymen at the St. Peter's Church Hall in Woolton on 6 July 1957. He formed a close working relationship with Lennon and they collaborated writing many songs. Harrison joined the group in 1958 as lead guitarist, followed in early 1960 by Stuart Sutcliffe on bass. By May 1960, they had tried several new names, including "Johnny and the Moondogs" and "The Silver Beetles", playing a tour of Scotland under that name with Johnny Gentle. They finally changed the name of the group to "The Beatles" in mid-August 1960 and recruited Pete Best at short-notice to become their drummer for an imminent engagement in Hamburg.
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1960–1970: The Beatles

From August 1960, The Beatles were booked by Allan Williams, to perform at a club in Hamburg. During extended stays over the next two years, The Beatles performed as a resident group in a number of Hamburg clubs. On returns to Liverpool they played at the Cavern club. Sutcliffe left the band, so McCartney, reluctantly, became The Beatles' bass player. The Beatles recorded their first published musical material in Hamburg, performing as the backing group for Tony Sheridan on the single "My Bonnie". This recording later brought the Beatles to the attention of a key figure in their subsequent development and commercial success, Brian Epstein, who became their next manager. Epstein eventually negotiated a record contract for the group with Parlophone in May 1962. After replacing Best with Ringo Starr on drums, The Beatles became popular in the UK in 1963 and in the US in 1964. In 1965, they were each appointedMembers of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). After performing concerts, plays, and tours almost non-stop for a period of nearly four years, and giving more than one thousand four hundred live performances internationally] The Beatles gave their last commercial concert at the end of their 1966 US tour. They continued to work in the recording studio from 1966 until their break-up in 1970. In the eight years from 1962 to 1970, the group had released twenty-four UK singles and twelve studio albums, often released in different configurations in the USA and other countries.

After the break-up of The Beatles, McCartney continued his musical career, in solo work as well as in collaborations with other musicians. After releasing his solo album McCartney in 1970, he worked with Linda McCartney to record the album Ram in 1971. Later the same year, the pair were joined by guitarist Denny Laine and drummer Denny Seiwell to form the group Wings, which was active between 1971 and 1981 and released numerous successful singles and albums. McCartney also collaborated with a number of other popular artists including Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Eric Stewart, and Elvis Costello. In 1985, McCartney played "Let It Be" at the Live Aid concert in London, backed by Bob Geldof, Pete Townshend, David Bowie, and Alison Moyet.


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It was announced in the 1997 New Year Honours that McCartney was to be knighted for services to music, becoming Sir Paul McCartney. In 1999, McCartney was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist and in May 2000, he was awarded a Fellowship by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The 1990s also saw McCartney, Harrison, and Starr working together onApple's The Beatles Anthology documentary series.

Monday 19 September 2011

Lesson 1 Notes

Media Studies
Music Video:

- A look into the technical codes and conventions of a music video.

Technical Codes:

- Camerawork. Camera movement, angle and shot distance all need to be analyzed.

- Editing- Fast cut montage grips the viewers. This assuring multiple viewing. CGI

- Chroma-key (Green Screen)

Andrew Goodwin:

1. Music videos demonstrate Genre characteristics.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals.
(Amplifies, illustrates, contradicts)
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for many close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which occur across their work. (A visual style)
5. There is a frequent reference to the notion of looking and partially voyeuristic treatment of the female body.      
6. There is often intertextual referencing.

Lesson 2- Notes

Media

Analysis of music videos:


Jay Z- 99 Problems



Genre Characteristics:
- Urban setting- Brooklyn, NY, Jay Zs hood. Makes point by revealing name on hoody.
- Representation of a "gangsta" lifestyle- Cruising in cars, dog fights, loitering in streets, getting pulled    over by police, basketball and gangs.
- Street Dance/Free-styling
- Scantily Clad 'sexy' women- cheap looking, gold bikinis.
- Jail scenes- All inmates are black.
- Stereotypical race representations- White guy in suit, police officer is white, black people are in jail or are on the streets.
- Goes against convention of wealth, lacks fancy cars, bling, women etc.
- Women are a minor Element in this video. Usually a lot of women in hip hop videos.

Relationships between lyrics and Visuals: 
- 'From the hood'- Jay Z pulls down hood.
- 'Radio'- Image of radio.
- 'Bitch'- Images of women.
-'Jay Z'- Points to himself.
- 'Fast Forward'- Moves hand along to demonstrate.
- 'Paparazzi'- Camera flash images of criminals identity shots.
- Clear and strong relationship between lyrics and visuals. Illustrates what we see, sometimes in a more subtle way.

Relationship between music and visuals:
- Music is hard hitting, aggressive-sounding with an emphasis on beat rather than melody. Visuals are also harsh looking and edits are fast paced to emphasis this aggression.

Influence of Record Label & use of close ups:
- Lots of shots of Jay Z- Not all close ups, but there are some.
- Close ups of other men as well. Aggressive looking.
- Shots of women are long shots/mid shots- because they're not important.
- Less emphasis on Jay Z on his own- he is an established artist and doesnt need as much exposure.
- Jay Z has his own record label as well as being part of Island Def Jam/Roccafella- quite independent. Evidence of less control by the label in this video than you might expect from a more mainstream/major label.

Notion of Looking:
- Jay Z puts his hand over the camera so that it seems as though the audience is looking through his fingers.
- X-Ray vision shot of money in boot- We can see through the boot.
- Scopophillic treatment of women is quite uncomfortable to watch- Seems totally unnecessary.
- Early establishing shots are almost point of view, creating the impression that the audience is looking around the hood.
- Video of Jay Z outside subway station.


Tenacious D- Tribute



Genre Characteristics:
- Comedic feel with the images shown.
- Performance with guitars is typical in a rock video.
- Topless Devil shows rock ideology.
- The video takes some characteristics but for a comedic effect.

Lyrics and Visuals:
- 'Hitch hiking down a long lonesome road'- Shows them walking down a deserted highway.
- 'Shined a shiny demon'- The Devil appears.
- The lyrics for the most part of the video shows a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The video tells a story of what they've seen.

Music and Visuals:
- Devil speaks when words are spoken on his part.
- When they go 'Ahhhhhhhh', a heavenly light appears behind them. This shows the battle between good and evil.
- Relationship between Music and Visuals is clearly seen when there is the guitar solo. The makes a guitar appear and plays.  

Notion of Looking:
- When we hear the voices from outside the box. This is because we know whats going on the booth, whereas, others on the outside do not.
- Its like they are performing for us when inside the booth. Everything is inclosed and cramped.

Intertextual References:
- Dave Grohl plays the part of the Devil.
- Ben Stiller walks past when they bust out of the booth.