Semiotics & Links in Video

What are the links between the music, the lyrics & the visuals?

Goodwin's six point theory indicates that:

• Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

• There is a relationship between music and visuals

In our music video, we use both literal and abstract depictions of the lyrics & music. For example, the scenes shot in the park reflect the lyrics in a more literal way ("there's some teenage smell to summer"/"there's some simplicity to sunshine"/"breathing in the air here makes it fine"). However the use of fractal jellyfish shots as projections give the video a more abstract feel and while these shots don't link directly to the lyrics, we thought the fluidity and surreal aspect of them worked well with the music.

Audience Focus Group Feedback

We got a group of four 17/18 year olds to watch our music video as they are the primary intended audience demographic. We asked them their thoughts and these were the results:

What did you like?

•         The jellyfish are in harmony with the music and add to the music video
•         General feel of the video is good
•        Said that this video would influence to buy the song more than if they’d heard the song by itself and they’d be more likely to watch and listen if it was being screened rather than listening on the radio
•         The juxtaposition of Calvin and Adam was good

What would you change?

•     Thought the beginning with Adam in the park was a bit incongruous because of Calvin in the same location later on
•      Possibly make Calvin seem more isolated through filters on the shots (e.g. make them less vibrant than Adam’s shots)

Any other thoughts?

•      Adam is better when he’s relaxed – for example in the last shot when he didn’t realise he was being filmed
•       Thought that the genre was ambient dance – this is different to when we asked the focus group without showing them the video, who thought it was indie rock

Kermode's View of Censorship

Film critic and broadcaster Mark Kermode argues against censorship using the following points:

1. Everyone has different reactions and interpretations on what they see in the film.
2. It is unfair that we are being told what we can and can't watch. As human beings we know what is right and what is wrong so it should be our choice whether to watch it or not.
3. The issue of responsibility; policing films is impossible, the films we watch should'nt be seen to be encouraging however they should be seen as showing the audience realistic situations e.g. rape/ murder etc.

Forna's View of Censorship

Aminatta Forna, a writer, journalist & broadcaster, spoke in a Channel 4 broadcast about censorship, saying that as a writer she recognises the importance of freedom of expression but argues that with freedom comes responsibility:

"If my right threatens the freedom of others then it can't be an absolute right and since 1976 British laws have recognised that argument in terms of racial hatred. Allowing some groups to use their freedom to stir racial hatred removes the freedom of minorities to live without persecution".

Forna uses Australian film Romper Stomper (1992) to illustrate the point that extreme racism and violence is being normalised and endorsed in cinemas. She makes three main points to argue that censorship is necessary:

1. The public associate themselves with different characters and may be influenced to put themselves in that situation.
2. Some films may start to break down the barriers us as humans put up, for example there may be a film about a woman being raped however the woman starts to enjoy even though before they watched the film the audience would think it wrong for her to do so.
3. The power of words and images featured in some films may affect the audience and have the potential to stir racial hatred etc.

Media Regulation - Classification

In order to understand film classification decisions and the role of the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) better, I looked at 3 films of different genres and thought about why the film was given the certificate that it already has, and if & why I would change the certificate. The first film I looked at was Nightmare On Elm Street (2010), which is an 18 certificate. It is easy to see why this film is an 18, as it shows a lot of gory violence and has deeply disturbing psychological horror themes. In the case of this film, I wouldn't change the certificate as I think it fits the content of the film well.


The next film I looked at was Girl, Interrupted (1999), which is a 15 certificate. This film revolves mainly around adult themes such as suicide, although to a younger audience this may not be obvious. There are a few scenes which make it obvious why this film has a 15 certificate, though these scenes are short and could easily be cut out if the film was marketed towards a younger audience. However I think that considering the film generally would appeal to an older and more mature audience, the certificate is fitting.

Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie in Girl, Interrupted

The last film I looked at was Heathers, which was given an 18 certificate in the UK and and R certificate in the USA. I disagree with this rating: although the film does display adult themes such as teenage murderers and suicide, it is definitely not scary or shocking enough to warrant an R rating, as the film generally gives the 'scarier' moments a satirical edge. Heathers definitely should not have been given an older age rating than Girl, Interrupted, however I think that the reason Girl, Interrupted was a 15 and Heathers was given an 18 certificate could be because of the 11 years between their release. I would have given this film a 15 certificate rather than an 18, because of the reasons I listed above, and the fact that recently with the rise of the internet and easier access to films, Heathers has become incredibly popular with a younger teenage audience, and so in marketing this to 18+ year olds, the distributors missed out on a huge demographic.

Winona Ryder in Heathers (above) and the IMDB Parents' Guide page for Heathers (below)

Promotion Progress

Recently we have been focusing more on the online promotion of our artist. We have each focused on different ways of promoting him: I am currently working on Adash's Facebook page, and Rachael is working on the Wix page, which we're using as his official website. The cover photo on the Facebook page (pictured below) is currently set as a collage that Adash/Adam created himself. As Adam is an artist and creates 2D work that can be used digitally, we are considering promoting Adash as a graphic artist as well as a musician, and creating a page on his website dedicated to his art.

Artist Photoshoot

The following photos were taken as promotional artist shots of Adash for us to use on the artists' website and digipak. We projected a short edited film of jellyfish onto him and took photographs as it played, which made it less predictable how the photos would turn out. However I think they turned out well, and we can definitely use these photos to promote Adash in the way we intended.