Storyboards

Star Image Task- Steven Tyler

Mini Bio

Born Steven Victor Tallarico on March 26, 1948, in Yonkers, New York, Steven Tyler is the iconic songwriter, composer and voice of Aerosmith - America's Greatest Rock and Roll band - and is considered one of rock's most recognizable and dynamic frontmen. Rolling Stone Magazine has cited him one of the greatest singers of all time. steventyler.com

Star Construction in a music video

Steven Tyler - (It) Feels so good

Steven Tyler’s star image is constructed in the music video to his solo song (It) Feels so good by tapping into the rock star image he has created for himself in the rock band Aerosmith as lead singer.

Firstly the star image is constructed through mise-en-scene. The mise-en-scene in this particular music video contains a lot of elements that you would associate with a rock star. For example, firstly, lots of people in an entourage pampering you before a performance. This evokes the image that he is a massive star. Furthermore, Steven Tyler is then seen pushing the pampering away, tying back into the element that he isn’t just a star, but he’s a rock star because this demonstrates a sense of rebellion. This sense of rebellion is again captured when the music video moves from being pampered in the trailer to the actual performance and moves from black and white to colour. This demonstrates the restraints of preparing before an actual performance.

This music video also contains a lot of seemingly random, but of course carefully placed, objects, for example monkeys and elephants. This demonstrates a character that can afford all of this and be surrounded by wild things because of the life they lead. Star image is also constructed by the sets on which Steven Tyler performs on because they are all wildly or imaginatively decorated, representing his personality or the persona around him in the media.

The music video then moves on to centralise around Steven Tyler’s performance. In this, he gives a typically energetic performance, capturing the seemingly long-lasting youth that comes with being a rock star. 

The editing in the performance is fast paced and fragmented. This could represent the fast paced lifestyle he would live as a rock star and the energy of his personality. Furthermore, the camera angles used clearly show the scarves tied to his microphone stand, and image he associated with himself while singing for Aerosmith.

During the performance, there are fragments of narrative. These images include girls, good weather and cars, all elements you would again associate with a rock star. The music video here also uses voyeurism as this is another stereotype associated with the genre of rock music.

Star Construction on an album cover

Star image is carefully constructed on this album cover for (It) Feels so good in a number of different ways. Firstly in the top right hand corner appears a symbol that appears as part of the ‘brand’ that has become associated with Steven Tyler and is also an iconic tattoo that he can be recognised for.

Secondly, the album cover clearly depicts the scarves on the microphone stand as was done in the music video. Again, this is done so because it is a part of an image that has already been built up from his years in a rock band, therefore constructing the image that he is still the same rock star he was, even on a solo single. The clothes on this album cover also depict star image because he is shown wearing ‘out-there’ clothing, again relating to a sense of rebellion and standing out from the crowd. This also speaks volumes for his loud personality.

The use of a white background draws maximum attention to Steven Tyler and makes the person looking at it feel the importance of his presence, another stereotype as a rock star.

Finally, the use of depicting band equipment reiterates the fact that he is not just a pop singer, but a rock star.

Star construction on a website

Above is a screen shot from steventyler.com, the official website for promoting Steven Tyler. The first obvious point to make about the construction of his star image on the website is the use of the symbol in the top left hand corner. Again, this reinforces him as a brand that an audience can recognise just by seeing the logo of an eye and his name in this particular font.

In the centre of the website, different images of Steven Tyler play as a slideshow. Each of these different images contributes to constructing a star image because they are stereotypically showing him as a rock star character. For example, the image in this screen shot is a classic pose for a lead singer of a rock band and has become a symbol of rebellion. Other images that appear on the website also add to this stereotypical rock star persona, many of them with his mouth open for singing. This also contributes to the nickname he already has established as the ‘demon screamer’ of the rock n’ roll world. Some of the other photos shown on the website are from his earlier days in the music business in Aerosmith. This contributes to the construction of his star image because it communicates to the audience that even though its years later, he can still be the same rocker he always was.

Lastly, in the bottom right hand corner there is an advertisement for Steven Tyler as a judge on American Idol. Having this on the homepage contributes to the construction of his star image because American Idol is a huge programme in the United States so this makes him seem very important, powerful, and current, to be part of such a huge franchise. It also helps a younger audience connect with him as a star because they might be too young to remember him in a rock band, but being in the current public eye keeps him alive and fresh as a rock star.

Risk Assessment

Hazard: Drawing pins.

What could cause harm? We could prick our fingers on the pins we are using to move the felt characters.

What is the likelihood of this happening? Very unlikely.

Who or what would be harmed? Helena and I.

How much harm? Minimal.

Applying the following priorities, how will this risk be managed? We will have personal protective equpiment in order to reduse the risk. We will also take care when pinning the characters to the background.

(1) Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment


Hazard: Car park.

What could cause harm? There is the risk of it being near a road.

What is the likelihood of this happening? Unlikely as we will not be on the road.

Who or what would be harmed? Ally, Helena and/or myself.

How much harm? As it is unlikely to happen there would be no harm.

Applying the following priorities, how will this risk be managed? We will take control of the situation by staying clear of the road and remaining on the designated walking path.

(1) Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment


Hazard: Filming in the dark.

What could cause harm? Not being able to see things clearly – someone might fall over.

What is the likelihood of this happening? Unlikely.

Who or what would be harmed? Ally, Helena and/or myself.

How much harm? Minimal.

Applying the following priorities, how will this risk be managed? The situation will be controlled by personal protective equpiment, as well as reducing the likely hood of falling over as we will take torches and ensure there is plenty of light to see.

(1) Eliminate. (2) Reduce or substitute. (3) Isolate. (4) Control. (5) Personal protective equipment

Mood board

Influences

This is just a montage of a few of our influences from real artists.

(l-r you me at six, the script, beyonce, ed sheeran)

James Morrison - Up feat. Jessie J music video analysis

The music video to Up by James Morrison and Jessie J is effective because of its use of simplistic metaphors, camera work and editing, and performances both vocally and via the narrative that creates a simplistic yet sophisticated and heart felt video to the song.



Mise-en-scene, camera work and editing all go toward creating an atmosphere and mood perfect for this genre of music. Firstly, mise-en-scene creates a mood to the song by using dull lighting because the lyrics are about going through a break up. However, the song also demonstrates that you can come through this breakup, so mise-en-scene is again effective here because the lighting becomes brighter, symbolising hope, as do the settings. For example, at the beginning the video is full of dark stairways and poorly lit rooms where nothing stands out, but moves on to being on a rooftop looking over a beautiful city scape. This evokes the image in the audience of peace and tranquillity.

Camera work is also used to create an effective music video. The video consists of a lot of mid shots, close ups and also high angles. Mid shots are to show the audience or viewer the whole of the set, as this has been carefully arranged to evoke the feelings behind the lyrics. Close ups are used so that the audience can identify with the artists and the roles they play in the narrative to the song and lyrics. High angle shots are effectively used on the stairs to emphasise the metaphor being put across in this song, The camera shot creates the illusion of a long way down and seeing as the song is about moving upwards, it creates a sense of irony. It also evokes the feeling of the narrative characters having to travel a long way up physically to overcome the emotional values of moving up.



Editing is used very subtly and simplistically through out the video because the video isn’t trying to be interesting in cutting to the different beats and rhythms, it is trying to create an effective video through its use of narrative and metaphors. This keeps the attention of the audience firmly on the narrative, artists and the meanings to and behind the song, thus making it an effective music video by evoking thought.



The video is concerned with the themes of love, breaking up and moving on from this. This portrayed in many different symbolic ways that fit in with being a narrative. For example, scattered photographs represent memories and moving on from them. Another example would be when the two artists sit back to back. This represents the two characters being apart or in conflict. Towards the end of the video they are shown facing each other whilst they perform. This could be interpreted as confrontational, not in a heated, argumental way but as a way of getting closure to move on.  

The whole video is performance based, but there is also narrative through the two artists acting out two characters as the lyrics portray while they sing, for example when they sing to each other. Narrative elements also come into the music video through inserts of metaphorical imagery, for example a pyramid made out of cards falling down, representing a break up.

The Script - Science and Faith music video analysis

The music video to ‘Science and Faith’ by The Script is effective because it combines performance and narrative in a new and contemporary way by projecting images of narrative on a continuous performance by the band, therefore creating a music video that stands out from other music videos that combine narrative and performance by just continuously switching between the two different things. This also makes the music video run a lot smoother and makes it feel there is a more personal connection between the artist and the lyrics.



Atmosphere and mood is created through mise-en-scene, camera work and editing. Firstly the mise-en-scene is left very basic. Having the performers on a white background draws maximum attention to them and draws the audience in. This evokes a feeling of power that the vocals, as well as the lyrics have. Furthermore, seeing as images are being projected onto the artists, it also keeps the music video from being to busy and keeping balanced.

Through out the video, mainly close ups and mid shots are used. Mid shots are used to show either a whole instrument, or the band altogether. This is to reinforce to The Scripts target audience that they all play their own instruments, and are a conventional band in this way, instead of everything being created perhaps artificially, say on the computer. Close ups are used on the lead singer and the narrative character to create the personal feeling between the song lyrics and meaning and the narrative.

Editing is used in this video when the pace of the beat picks up and becomes faster, so lots of fast cuts are used. This keeps the music video exciting so as not to lose the attention of the audience and also so it fits in with the music.



This music video is concerned with themes of love, but the lyrics contain a lot of metaphors for this through science and faith terminology, therefore this determines the images we see projected on the performers. For example, even though through the narrative we see two characters, who from the overall feeling of the song the audience can gather are lovers, projected on them are images that represent the metaphors in the lyrics, for example, what looks like equations on a black board represent the lyrics ‘pulled apart her theories’. Another example of this would be when the lyrics ‘furthest constellations of our souls’ are performed, we see images of literal constellations projected onto the lead singer, Danny.

Kanye West- All of the Lights music video analysis

The music video to Kanye West’s ‘All of the Lights’ is very effective because it combines narrative, performance and lyrics on screen to create a fast paced and gripping music video from start to finish.

The video begins with narrative of a little boy, seemingly lost. This is created through the use of close ups so that the audience identifies with the character. Mise-en-scene is used here to create the feeling of a cold winters day in the inner city. The sequence is also edited in black and white to symbalise that this happened in the past. Further in the video, excerpts of narrative are shown again, this time edited with flashing colours over the top. This effective because it keeps up with the fast pace of the song while still providing a refreshing change to the performance. This different take on editing a sequence to look like memories also helps us identify that the narrative shown is the artist.

Another way in which the video is effective is through the use of the lyrics on screen at the beginning and end of the music video.  The lyrics appear in all different colours and formats and are edited quickly to create a flashing or lighting effect, in reference to the title. This is effective because it breaks the video up and offers an alternative and interesting way to relate to the lyrics. It also enables the audience to familiarise themselves with the title of the song, as it appears repeatedly, and the artists of the song as at the end of the video all the names come on screen as the lyrics did so before them. This is a clever and effective technique as it is the last image that the audience will see and makes it highly likely that the audience will either remember the song title or the artist so that they can easily seek it to purchase. It also offers a refreshing and new type of music video.

In between the narrative inserts and on screen lyrics, the music video to ‘All of the Lights’ is performance based. The mise-en-scene plays an important and effective part in the performances because the artists appear on just a black background with a spotlight. This draws the attention soley to the performer so that the audience concentrates on them and makes an effective contrast to the rest of the bright and flashing images and lyrics in the music video, drawing even more attention to the power and importance of the performances. This also evokes the image to the audience of impressiveness of the vocals and creates a star image.

Delilah - Go music video analysis

This music video is effective  because of the mysterious and edgy feel to the images that go hand in hand with the feel of the edgy, new music.

Mise-en-scene plays a key part in creating the right atmosphere/mood for this contemporary music video. The dull lighting and dark streets create the very urban feel to the image and therefore the music. This helps to construct an effective image for the relatively new artist as an urban artist and communicates to the audience what this song, and other songs from Delilah are going to be like, thus forming the basis of her star image.

Camera work is used to create an atmosphere/mood and therefore an effective music video through the use of mainly close ups and mid shots. This is effective because it creates a feeling in the audience of closeness with the audience and therefore the lyrics of the song. Editing is used to focus on the rawrity of the surroundings but also on Delilah so that the audience becomes familiar with her through the use of frequent cutting. This is effective because it creates an effective narrative for the lyrics of the song as well as a profile and familiarity with the artist.

Delilah’s part in the music video is performance based however the artist is not removed from the narrative. This is effective  because it keeps the video simple and combines the two elements of narrative and performance without jumping around too much.

The video is concerned with themes of love and breaking away and escaping from someone who is no good for you. This is put across in the video firstly through the images of streets. This evokes the inside the audience the notion of running away and escaping. Another way this is put across is through the visuals of dogs. These dogs are large and black and conform to the convention of guard dogs or make the audience feel that they would perhaps chase you. Finally over the should camera angles are used to make the audience feel like there  is someone prowling the area in pursuit.

This music video follows a lot of conventions for music of this genre as the overall effect of the images is an urban or grimey feel. However, I think that this video differs from other videos of its kind because the lyrics to the song contain a lot deeper meaning to other music in the particular genre, therefore creating a much more effective music video because of the ways that you can read into it.