Justice Previous Videos

Here are some of Justice's existing video's which I will take into account when making my own, as I would like my video to associate well with the rest of Justice's videos.

Justice - Phantom Pt. II (2011)

A concept/performance video of the duo live in various clubs as well as them clubbing, meeting girls and getting in trouble.

Justice - Stress (2013)

A narrative video of a gang creating havoc in their city.

This video actually has part of the song I am doing featured in it, the D.A.N.C.E. chorus is heard playing in the cars radio before the gang smash it.

Justice - DVNO (2011)

A lyric/concept video made up of really well made graphics of the songs lyrics.

Justice - New Lands (2012)

Concept video of a new futuristic sport that involves American football, cycling and lacrosse.

Justice - AUDIO, VIDEO, DISCO. (2011)

A performance video simply consisting of Gaspard and Xavier playing various instruments and singing the lyrics to the song.

After watching all of the videos by Justice I have found that they often make videos which go against the norms of pop and other popular dub-step artists videos and instead focus on the unique and concept style video's. I would therefore like to try and replicate this in my own video.

Video Inspiration

I have recently done some research on music video's that might give me some inspiration for my own. When doing this I realised that most of the best videos and my own favourites (examples below) involve quite a lot of dancing in some way or another, sometimes being the main theme. This is even more relevant to me due to the name, lyrics and message of the song being about Dance.

For example the music video voted the best ever made was all to do with dance:

Michael Jackson - Thriller (1983)

As well as my personal favourite Jackson music video which involves all dancing:

Michael Jackson - Black or White (1991)

 

The song and video won many awards including the Billboard Music Award for Number 1 World Single. Which means that other people are interested in the idea of equality through dance which is what I am trying to get across to my audience.
Click here for Michael Jackson's Black or White lyrics relating to equality.

Another video that tries to narrate the meaning of the song through dance is one of my favourite music video's:

Sia - Chandelier (2014)

 

Although the video is very controversial (as explained in my post about this video link here) it does translate the message from the lyrics well to the audience just through the medium of dance. And I would like to try and replicate this in my video.

Fatboy Slim - Weapon of Choice

 

Another song made famous by its conceptual dance music video. This song by Fatboy Slim was accompanied by a conceptual dance video that starred Christopher Walken. It was so popular simply due to the usually reserved and posh Walken dancing weirdly to a song not easily associated with his acting roles. A good song made viral by its unique video.

After a good amount of research on dance videos, I have come up with an interesting idea for my video to accentuate the theme of equality in dance and therefore equality in life. I will post my idea and plan for it in the next few posts.

Lyrics to Justice - D.A.N.C.E.

Below are the lyrics to Justice - D.A.N.C.E (2007) taken from AZLyrics:

Do the D-A-N-C-E
1, 2, 3, 4, fight
Stick to the B-E-A-T
Get ready to ignite
You were such a P-Y-T
Catching all the lights
Just easy as A-B-C
That's how you make it right

Do the D-A-N-C-E
1, 2, 3, 4, fight
Stick to the B-E-A-T
Get ready to ignite
You were such a P-Y-T
Catching all the lights
Just easy as A-B-C
That's how you make it right

Do the D-A-N-C-E
Stick to the B-E-A-T
Just easy as A-B-C
Do the dance, do the dance

The way you move is a mystery
Do the dance
You're always there for music and me
Do the dance
The way you move is a mystery
Do the dance
You're always there for music and me

Do the D-A-N-C-E
1, 2, 3, 4, fight
Stick to the B-E-A-T
Get ready to ignite
You were such a P-Y-T
Catching all the lights
Just easy as A-B-C
That's how you make it right

Do the dance (Do the dance)
The way you move is a mystery
Do the dance (Do the dance)
You're always there for music and me
Do the dance (Do the dance)
The way you move is a mystery
Do the dance (Do the dance)
You're always there for music and me

Do the D-A-N-C-E (Do the dance, do the dance)
Stick to the B-E-A-T (Do the dance, do the dance)
You were such a P-Y-T (Do the dance, do the dance)
Just easy as A-B-C (Do the dance, do the dance)

Under the spotlights
Neither black nor white
It doesn't matter
Do the dance, do the dance

As strong as you might
Working day and night
Whatever happens
Do the dance, do the dance

Under the spotlights
Neither black nor white
It doesn't matter
Do the dance, do the dance

As strong as you might
Working day and night
Whatever happens
Do the dance, do the dance

The way you move is a mystery
Do the dance
You're always there for music and me

The way you move is a mystery

As you can see I have no worries about offending anyone with the lyrics of the song and it is completely clean with no swears or offensive language.
For a link to the lyrics click here.

Change in Song Choice and Video Ideas

Recently I have completely changed my mind on which song to make a music video for. My original idea (as posted below) was to do a video using Alesso - Years. However a few days ago I decided that the song is a little plain and boring. So I decided to go a different route completely and focus on upbeat and unique songs that I could make a unique and unusual video out of.

So after a few days of researching possible music I have landed on this:

Justice - D.A.N.C.E. (2007)

Justice is a French Electronic dance music DJ due which consists of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay. The two DJ's started signed under Ed Banger Records in 2003 and are one of their most successful artists. They have only released two albums: † in 2007 and Audio, Video, Disco in 2011 however the due have recently announced (22 June 2014) that they are working on a third studio album.

D.A.N.C.E. is Justice's second single but the first and most popular single in their † album. Justice admitted to the inspiration of their song being from Michael Jackson as they are both huge fans. Many references and tributes to Jackson can be found in the lyrics of the 3:29 song. Such as "Black or White", "A.B.C.", "Working Day and Night" and "Music and Me". The song has won many awards including the 4th best song of 2007 by Rolling Stone Magazine, and was number 1 in the UK dance charts.

Due to the surprised popularity of the song the label decided to release an official video in 2011. It has since reached over 11,000,000 views.

 

It is directed and filmed by a French directing duo known as Jonas & François and the animations on the shirts was later added by animator So Me. It features the two artists Gaspard and Xavier walking down hallways with the graphics on their shirts constantly changing and you never see their faces.

Personally allthough I quite like the video and it is really well made, I dont think it relates well to the video and I dont believe it effectively gets the message of the song accross to the audience.

Having listened to the song and reading the lyrics I believe the song is about equality in Dance representing equality in our lives. And if I am to do a video on this song that is what I would like to base it on.

Questionaire

Questionnaire time!!! I have written out a few questions that I will ask my school friends, family and general public to try and gather more information on what type of music videos are most popular. This will hopefully give me some ideas on what to do for my own video.

1. What gender are you?
Male       Female

2. What age are you?
Under 16       16-20       21-30        31-40       41-50       50+

3. How often do you watch music videos?
More than once a day       Once a day       Once a week       Once a month       Less than once a month

4. What devices do you most usually watch music videos on?
Ipod       Phone       Computer/laptop       Tablet       TV

5. What is your favourite music genre?
Pop       HipHop/Rap       Country       Electro/Dubstep       Rock       Indie       Jazz       Other

6. What type of music video do you like? (show examples)
Narrative       Performance       Conceptual

7. What type of things do you like to see in a music video?
_______________________________________________

8. Do you prefer music videos in black and white or colour?
Black & White       Colour

9. Do you like special effects and editing techniques used in music videos?
Yes       No

10. What is your favourite music video?
_______________________________________________

I will ask as many people as possible today to fill out my questionnaire and enter the results into various graphs so the results are easier to understand. The graphs will be made into a powerpoint and posted onto my blog using SlideShare.

Weird and Controversial Music Videos - Positive

Music videos can still be weird and controversial but ultimately be seen in a good light. These videos use unusual lyrics, beats and scenes in the music video and this captivates the viewers interest and hopefully markets the song well just through word of mouth through social media etc. without them having to pay a thing. Here is an artists music video which did just that:

DJ Snake & Lil Jon - Turn Down for What

 

Turn Down for What was released on the 18th of December 2013 and instantly received an explosion of attention. It is co-produced by both DJ Snake (DJ who originally produced the track) and Lil Jon (a rapper who wrote the lyrics to the track).

The song is 3:33 seconds long and just repeats Lil Jon singing his lyrics "Fire up that loud, another round of shots!" and "Turn down for what!" The song popularised the phrase: "Turn down for what!" and is used by people at raves and parties as slang to not stop partying or get sober.

Lil Jon had this to say about his role in the song:

"When DJ Snake sent me the track with a sample of Redman saying 'bang the underground,' he wanted me to redo it with my voice. When I heard the song I was like this beat is too crazy for that sample. I wanted to make it hip and current, and the first thing that came to mind was the phrase 'Turn Down for What!"

Turn Down for What has sold over 3,000,000 copies in the US alone and has reached the top ten in music many music charts around the world. A reason for this success is partly down to the very popular music video released for the song on March 13th 2014. It has since been viewed over 133 million times on YouTube. The accompanying video was directed by lesser known filmmaker duo DANIELS comprised of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The video shows what seems to be a sort of "Virus' where anyone who watches someone contaminated dancing then becomes infected. The video stars Daniel Kwan (the director) and Sunita Mani. Daniel Kwan explains how he got inspired for his strange conceptual music video:

"For a while Daniel and I had been wanting to explore male sexuality in a really weird way. For some reason our brains came up with this image, and this other universe where dudes are so pumped up on their own dicks—and they’re so into their testosterone—that the way that they show that is by breaking shit with their dicks. So, whatever happens, that would just be a funny logical progression."

Throughout the video is dancing and special effects to attract the viewers attention. Editing with slow motion and close ups on the dancing allow the audience to really get involved with the video and makes it easier for the dancing to relate well to the beat. The dancing in the video is based on sexual positions and movements and although many have complained about this, I believe the directing duo did it to create a 'buzz' over the video and generally increase the songs popularity since it is targeted towards teens and young students who engage in these types of activities. The video has won a number of awards for DANIELS including Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects at the MTV Music Video Awards 2014, and it has since been used many times in various media forms including, commercials, touch down songs, television and film including 22 Jump Street and Horrible Bosses 2. It was even used to help promote US youths voting in upcoming elections (the lyrics were changed to "Turn Out for What") All of this media usage was to help raise the songs awareness.

Watching the video what really stood out for me was the mise-en-scene and lighting used. This is because the apartment where the video is set comes across as dirty, unorganised with dust in the air, cheap dated furniture and rubbish around the room. The same goes with the characters clothes being dirty and plain as well as them not having any makeup on. And the lighting makes the apartments seem dark and unloved. I believe the video was filmed like this so that it relates to the audience they are targeting. Students who cannot afford expensive furniture, buy new clothes and clean up the apartment regularly. This inspires me since I have a very small budget for my video so using normal backdrops, people, props and clothing etc might actually help me reach my audience allowing them to relate with my video.

Potential Song Choice

Recently I have been trying to decide on a song that I will make a music video for. Inspiration through research has brought my interests to doing an Electronic Dance Music (EDM) , Dubstep or a Trap music video.

Various songs have come to mind while looking for a suitable choice. I had an idea of using a favourite song of mine: N.A.S.A - Hide ft. Aynzli Jones (Tropkillaz Remix). Which is relatively popular but does not have a music video.

I then decided that this song was not for me as it included no lyrics and many of my video ideas need lyrics in the song to work. I also believed that for a first time music video without lyrics would be too boring.

Keeping this in mind another song I liked also had no music video but was surprisingly very popular. It is by the 23 year old internationally famous Swiss DJ Alesso (Alessandro Lindblad).

Alesso - Years ft. Matthew Koma

The song is 4:38 long and features lyrics sung by an unknown female artist, the video which is just the album cover's picture (Alesso made up of pictures of him performing live with YEARS spaced out above his head) was published onto YouTube on the 4th of August 2012 and has since raised over 17,650,000 views. I really like it and would like the chance to improve on the video.

Over the next few days I will try to gain inspiration on possible music video ideas for the song. And I will soon write to Alesso and ask his permission to use the song for my video.

Weird and Controversial Music Videos - Negative

Below are some famous music videos that gain attention all for the wrong reasons! But as they famously say in the media business: "There is no such thing as bad press!"

Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball (2013)

 

This was a huge single in 2013 bringing so much attention, complaints and abuse all aimed at Miley Cyrus. It was originally written by MoZella, Stephan Moccio, Sacha Skarbek, Lukasz Gottwald, and Henry Russell Walter for the singer Beyoncé. But it was realised while making the song that it would not suit her singing style and was instead offered to Cyrus.

Wrecking Ball was Miley's second single from her album 'Bangerz' (2013). Her first being the equally controversial "We Can't Stop" (2013)

In both videos Cyrus was praised for her originality and Wrecking Ball's lyrics were pleasantly received as emotional and moving. However the increasingly provocative image that Miley was portraying in her video's, moving from good girl country singer with Disney's Hannah Montana, to bad girl pop queen was worrying many people and creating allot of controversy and attention for Cyrus. Something that she was most likely aiming for, as bad attention can make a career much more successful and therefor better than good attention.

What most likely made the videos so famous were her very provocative live performance at the VMA's in 2013. She dressed in two very revealing outfits (both of which have become costumes which you can buy due to the huge amount of reach and attention it got). And her doing sexual dances.

This was Miley's view on the video:

I think the video is much more, if people get past the point that I'm naked and you actually look at me you can tell that I actually look more broken than even the song sounds. The song is a pop ballad. It's one of these songs that everyone is going to relate to, everyone has felt that feeling at one point. If people can take their minds out of the obvious and go into their imagination a little bit and see kind of what the video really means and the way it's so vulnerable and actually if you look in my eyes I look more sad than my voice sounds on the record it was a lot harder to do the video than it was to record the songs. It was much more of an emotional experience.

Rebecca Black - Friday (2011)

Annoying, repetitive, disturbing and awful. All words used to describe Rebecca Black's "Friday". The song has received all negative response from critics since its release on March, 2014. The response is mainly due to the unimaginative, pointless lyrics as well as Black's singing skill.

However all that the negative response did was create a huge hype over the song and has since been viewed on YouTube a total of 239 million times! The original video that was posted up by Rebecca's record label ARK Music, took it down after legal disputes with Black. However it was later re-posted a few months after.



Media theorists suggest that the huge amount of social media attention and humour of a terrible singer and video but done professionally is what caused such a large hype surrounding it and what ultimately brought the views up. Is it a successful video? Yes completely! Despite the cliché's, cheesy uninspired lyrics and awful singing this video has seen more views and generated more sales than many artists could only dream of. So is this the way forward for artists to keep pushing the boundaries and making more and more provocative and untalented performances? Quite possibly yes, otherwise how will the audience's attention be caught, many believe that traditional marketing methods are out of the window and this generation is a new age of increasingly controversial 'art'.

Other examples of weird and controversial music videos in the wrong light are:

Avril Lavigne - Hello Kitty (2013)

The song by Lavigne was first critisized of having immature lyrics and emabarrasingly weird. When the music video came out however the focus fell on Lavigne's racist portrayal of Japanese Culture (e.g. Kawaii culture) and the use of Japanese women in her video like toys. However Lavigne had this to say about her 'misunderstood' video:

"I love Japanese culture and I spend half of my time in Japan. I flew to Tokyo to shoot this video...specifically for my Japanese fans, WITH my Japanese label, Japanese choreographers AND a Japanese director IN Japan."

M.I.A. - Born Free (2010)

This song by M.I.A. was relatively unknown and passed off as just another pop song by the artist. However when the music video for the song was released (without prior notice to M.I.A.'s record label) it shot up the charts and the video was viewed millions of times. This was all a result of the backlash and critics response to the highly controversial music video. Its main storyline was that of a mass genocide of red haired (ginger) people. M.I.A. was inspired for the video by the news and mobile phone footage of the Sri Lankan Army killing Tamil males in an inhumane and disgusting manor. I for one actually like the video, since I believe the message of the song and video is to try and show what actual genocide is like to previously unaware public. Even though it features over the top violence and footage of people being shot in the head and blown up etc. It still enlightens people into what has actually happened before and inspire them to help. However the majority of other critics disagree saying that it is a disgusting display of demoralizing red haired people and almost making fun of genocide and using the shock of it to make money.