P1: Explain the structure of identified audio-visual promos for different purposes
M1: Analyse the different approaches used in the identified purpose
Research product 1: Music video
This music video is performance-based, but also has elements of a concept video. I think the audience is a mass audience, since Childish Gambino already had a big following before the music video came out, and with a political message like this, he would probably want it to reach as many people as possible. The purpose of the music video is partly to entertain, but also partly to persuade and inform people about the amount of gun violence that occurs in America - especially racially-motivated attacks.
I think sound is used very effectively in this video because the different genres used within one song add to the shock value of the violence, representing how these attacks can come seemingly from nowhere. The choral sound combined with trap also shows how music made by black creators has evolved over time, and how both genres serve an important role in American history/culture. Lighting also adds to the effect of the video because it is very well-lit and shows the details of the video very well - which contrasts the themes by using bright colours and cheerful lighting. This contrast makes the audience uneasy, as we are used to seeing dim lighting for dark themes, like in horror films. We as an audience are used to the characters on screen showing us how we should react to the events of the film, so when violence takes place and the people on screen react by dancing happily and acting like there wasn't just a shooting, we find it very unsettling.
The mise-en-scene of this video is very complex, in a lot of scenes there is a lot going on in the background, which encourages the audience to watch the video again to see every detail. The visuals of the video are a stark contrast to the themes discussed, as they are bright and colourful, which further adds into the effectiveness of the music video with pushing its message. I feel that the dancing and exaggerated facial expressions shown are almost satirical - seemingly mocking how we are so used to hearing about gun violence in America that we are desensitised and can go back to our normal daily lives after hearing such shocking news. The fact that there are no cuts as the artist moves between sets (e.g. from the church to the warehouse) implies that no time has passed between these events - this is how quickly we move on and forget. Across the video, there is very little editing and the shots have a very long duration, which I feel creates this effect of seeing a real-time series of events. If you look closely in the background of the warehouse scenes, there is a boy on a balcony recording the riot that is taking place below. This could be a comment on how people would rather watch discrimination and violence happen than get involved and stop it, and we are so desensitised to it that people will even share it on social media.
Research product 2: Music video
The structure of this music video is a mix of performance and narrative. The artists are shown performing the song with choreography, and other models are used to represent fans across the world who can relate to the artists as aspiring women. The target audience is young women, as the music video shows aspirational female figures along with an inspiring song about finding your voice.
The primary purpose is to show the choreography and the song, as the song was first released in full on YouTube before being released on music streaming platforms. However, the purpose as a self-contained video is to show diversity of fans, since the actresses reference previous music videos by the artist, showing that they are aware of the diversity of their fans across the world, and they are encouraged to interact with the artist.
The only sounds used outside of the song itself is some ambient sound at the beginning of the video. This includes birdsong, which sets the mood for a spring song, and the start of a new day symbolises re-birth, a theme linked to the lyrics of the song. The lighting of the video is very bright on the whole, as this shows the artists' faces and helps the audience become familiar with what they look like so they are more memorable. Three different types of lighting are used for the choreography scenes: light (with white shirts), dark (with black shirts), and black and white. These are used very effectively in the video as the transition from light at the beginning of the video to dark at the end shows a contrast between daytime and sunset, while the black and white shots create contrast to the rest of the video which has very high saturation.
The mise-en-scene of shots with the actresses is very urban - it shows bridges, a mosque, rooftops, and city streets. In contrast, the set with the artist is very dream-like, and offsets the realistic settings shown throughout the music video. In terms of editing, there are no obvious visual effects or complex transitions, the main editing is cutting all the shots together. However, I think this minimal editing works well, as it allows the focus to be brought to the complex choreography and message of the song, rather than distracting from this. Also, the visuals of the video are impressive enough that no extra visual effects are needed to add to the video.
Research product 3: Social-realism film trailer
The structure of this trailer is chronological, as it shows the events in order as they happen. However, the clips used aren't linear, as they aren't supposed to give everything away, therefore creating intrigue. Most of the shots used are close-ups to help familiarise the audience with the characters, and a lot of action scenes are included to show the audience that a lot of violent action takes place, so they can decide whether they want to see that or not. Since the film is an 18, the target audience is adults who live in Britain, as a British audience can understand the issues talked about (e.g. the Falklands war). The purpose of the trailer is to make people want to watch the film, and it does this by introducing the main themes of the story but not answering any questions the audience might have.
Most of the lighting in this trailer is natural, as it is a social realism film, so a lot of it takes place outside, or in houses with their existing lighting. It is meant to be a representation of real life, so dramatic lighting isn't needed, and having the indoor scenes in fairly low lighting makes them look gloomy and dull, reflecting the tone of the film. Sound is used very effectively in this trailer - the music in particular. The music starts off sad and reflective as the audience is shown that Shaun is upset his dad has died and is also being picked on at school. In the middle of the trailer, the music becomes a happy reggae-like song as he makes new friends, has fun with them and meets Smell, who becomes his girlfriend. However, when Combo is introduced, the music changes to the rock genre and becomes very aggressive to show that Combo is a dangerous and aggressive person, and the main themes of the film (racism, xenophobia and radicalisation) are introduced. I think the sound very effectively shows the tone of the film without giving too much away. It tells us that we will see Shaun go on an emotional journey, and the film will address heavy themes that are based on some of the director's own experiences.
The mise-en-scene of the film has clearly been thought out well to be as true to the 80s as possible. A lot of the target audience would have grown up in the 80s, so it is important that they are able to relate to the film and be immersed in the world it creates. The clothing, cars, buildings, hairstyles and home decor would be some of the major considerations, as these are some of the most memorable parts of 1980s England. The editing is fairly simple, with some title cards to give context to the film, e.g. telling us that it is set in 1983. A convention of social realism films is minimal editing, as they are meant to be a dramatised documentary, so complicated transitions or CGI would not be appropriate for the genre.
The main messages conveyed in this trailer are that this is a gritty, hard-hitting film that tackles social issues faced in 80s England, and that we still see today. This is shown through the gloomy lighting, change in music and dialogue, and lets the audience decide whether it's a film they would be interested in watching, or if they prefer other genres.
D1: Compare and contrast the messaging within these identified promos
Each of the above products have very different messages, which I will now explore further.
The main messages of the This Is America music video are about gun violence, the media and racial issues. There is a scene after the first chorus where Childish Gambino guns down a choir singing, which could be representing the Charleston Church shooting, which was proven to be racially motivated against the black community. After both of the shootings shown in the video, the guns used are carefully wrapped up and taken away, while the bodies are dragged off screen, or the camera simply pans around and doesn't show what happens to those people. This could represent how the 2nd amendment (giving all Americans the right to bear arms) means that people care more about looking after their weapons rather than the people who have been killed by gun violence. As more and more mass shootings occur in America, there is an ongoing debate about the 2nd amendment and if it should be removed from the Constitution - many argue that if gun laws were more strict, less shootings would occur, but others argue that they wouldn't feel safe in their own home if they couldn't own a gun. Gambino makes it obvious in this music video that he doesn't agree with the 2nd amendment, and uses racially motivated attacks as examples to show how black people are often the victims of gun violence and making it harder to get a gun would make them safer as a minority group.
The 'This Is America' music video also discusses the media's role in how we as a society feel about gun violence and the death of members of minority groups. One of the most memorable scenes of the video is when Gambino and 5 others are dancing in the warehouse setting while there is chaos in the background behind them. This could represent how the media uses entertainment to distract people from the violence and chaos that really goes on, and could also represent how viewers enjoy black culture (like the dancing shown), but turn a blind eye when ethnic minorities are being discriminated against. One of the dance moves they do is called the gwara gwara, and is a South African dance move - this is one example of black culture that other ethnic groups enjoy consuming, other examples are certain foods, hip hop music and types of fashion. The discrimination is shown at the end of the video where Gambino smokes cannabis and in the next scene is on the run from what looks like the police - this reflects how the majority of people in prison for possession and/or distribution of cannabis are black.
There are other symbols that tie into these themes - like how the trousers Gambino wears can be compared to confederate clothing, or his exaggerated facial expressions could be a reference to the Jim Crow caricature - but most of the imagery centres around the message that we need to stop ignoring and covering up the discrimination that still exists, and our reaction to this shouldn't just be a shrug of the shoulders and "this is America, it's normal to us now".
The second music video that I looked at - Butterfly - also touches on issues of representation, but is more subtle and positive rather than being as upfront and blunt as 'This Is America'. The music video can be divided into two parts, performance and narrative, with the narrative section showing women from around the world. In the performance section, colour has been used very effectively to reflect the lyrics, as shown below.
In the screenshot on the left, we can see there is a blue sky outside the set, and the lyrics talk about waking up in this section, which represents that it is the beginning of a new day, which has many connotations like new beginnings, new opportunities, etc. Loona are wearing white here, which connotes purity, associated with starting a new day and starting fresh - these white outfits also represent the day, which is contrasted later in the video by all black outfits for the night.
These two screenshots were taken within the same second of the video, and as the second verse begins we see the sudden change from day to night, and the white blouses do not appear again until the final chorus. This links to the title of the song, as it can represent the butterfly hatching from its cocoon, and entering the later stages of its life. There are lots of lyrics in the song that can be linked to the life span of a butterfly, for example, "like I'm being born again", "You just fly like a butterfly", "It starts with a small flap", "On top of the clouds" and "Let me fly right now". If we just look at the performance aspect of the video, these lyrics have only one meaning relating to the life of a butterfly, but if we look at the narrative scenes too, the lyrics are encouraging women to have freedom and take control over their life.
No men appear in the music video, and this makes it very clear that this music video is designed to empower and inspire women. Lots of different women are shown expressing their freedom and creativity by dancing and running, and the lyrics reflect this message that all women should be free to live their lives independently. There are numerous references to past Loona music videos with props like apples and a tape recorder, and there are a couple of scenes where the actresses mimic iconic scenes from other Loona music videos, for example one woman running and hitting a wall, which is a reflection of the end of their music video called Hi High. The symbols of rebirth discussed earlier could also link to themes of personal transformation, be it physical or emotional. This encourages women to realise their own worth and 'transform' into a more confident person who stands up for themselves and what they deserve.
In comparison to the Childish Gambino music video, the messages of 'Butterfly' are more inspiring and not as depressing as the harsh reality shown in 'This Is America'. 'Butterfly' is a positive message of empowerment with a diverse cast and uses pretty scenic shots to mirror this. If the messages of 'Butterfly' were done in Childish Gambino's style, we would expect to see the real struggles women have to shock the audience, with a sarcastic and satirical tone. However, I feel that there is a lot of cynical media at the moment, so Loona's music video is refreshingly positive and gives the audience hope for a better future. With 'This Is America', on the other hand, I feel that the tone fits the purpose well, and a less shocking music video wouldn't be as impactful as the existing video is.
Lastly, the trailer for 'This is England' has a very different message from the others, as it isn't the complete product, it is only encouraging the audience to watch the full film, so the key purpose here is promotion. The main messages of this film are about coping with the loss of a loved one, radicalisation and fitting in. 'This is England' shows how a series of events can lead to radicalisation of children, and explores how complex the issue is with many different factors linking into it.
The trailer provides context with a short montage at the beginning, making it clear to the audience that this film takes place in 1983 with the use of text on screen, and showing historical events like Charles and Diana's wedding, Margaret Thatcher giving a speech and the Falklands War. Without this clear context, the film trailer wouldn't be as impactful, as many viewers will have grown up in the 80s and can relate to the main character as they were also children at this time. This trailer shows in chronological order how Shaun was radicalised, as demonstrated by the title cards telling us he wanted new friends, being introduced to other more extreme members of the group who encourage him to feel proud of his country to mourn his dad, with Shaun being too young to realise that this patriotism was a slippery slope to he himself being involved in committing racially motivated crimes. By showing this journey, it is clear that the film is taking a stance against this process, and wants to share how easily children can be manipulated so that similar events can be prevented in the future.
Transformation is used to represent how Shaun changes over the course of the film, and gives the audience conflicting emotions as he seems to be a lot happier when he is with his new friend group, but the audience as adults know that they will be a bad influence on him. By the 1970s, mainstream media started using the term 'skinhead' in reports of racist violence, regardless of whether the people involved were actually skinheads, and thus began to skew public perceptions of the skinhead movement. 'This is England' touches on the skinhead movement in this trailer, and it is clear that Shaun doesn't understand the political implications of calling yourself a skinhead because he is only a child, and would think he is called that because he has a shaved head. For viewers who grew up in the 80s, they may not have known themselves that skinheads weren't always extreme right wing, although a large amount of members of the National Front - a far-right political group - were skinheads. This political divide is shown in the trailer when Shaun separates from his closer friends at the beginning of the film to be with Combo instead, who takes him to far-right meetings and is the ring leader of racial attacks. The theme of transformation in 'This is England' further shows the audience how Shaun doesn't understand what he is signing himself up for until he is in the thick of it, and how easily influenced he is by people much older than him who he looks up to.
The messages of 'This is England' and 'This is America' are fairly similar as they both use shock value and realism to discuss issues of racism. The issues of two different decades are very different, but a social realism film has the same gritty tone as Childish Gambino's messages about the state of America in the 21st century. 'This is England' and the 'Butterfly' music video are almost polar opposites, as the film trailer isn't inspiring or uplifting, it is meant to be more hard-hitting and show the harsh reality of life for some children in the 1980s. However, the tone and messages of both the music video and the trailer fit their purpose, and this is what makes the products successful, as their tone, genre and messages are all appropriate for the intended product.