Tame Impala are a psychedelic rock band from Perth, Australia and are owned by record label Modular Recordings. The band started off in 2010 with the release of their debut album called Innerspeaker and then their second in 2012 with Lonerism. The start of the band is in Perth. With their lead singer being in a number of bands before hand. Tame Impala first emerged as a band in Kevin Parkers home as a recording project in which they uploaded tracks to MySpace. These videos brought interest from numerous record labels, with them eventually signing to Modular Records, then transferring their music to a live stage in a series of local gigs.
Tame Impala sooner released their self-titled EP in 2008. They attained a number 1 position on the Austrailan Independent record label with three songs from the album. "Desire Be, Desire Go", "Half Full Glass of Wine and "Skeleton Tiger".
Tame Impala has won the following awards:
Favourite Newcomer, Most Popular single, Most Popular Act, Most Popular Live Act, Best Rock Act, Best Guitarist at the WAMI Awards
Best Group, Album of the Year, Best Rock Album for the ARIA Awards
At the J Awards they won Australian album of the year in both 2010 and 2012.
Also at the Grammy awards in 2014 they were nominated for the Best Alternative Music Album.
Additionally at the EG Music Awards in 2012 "Elephant" won Best Song.
Mind Mischief
Dyers Theory isn't strongly used in this music video as we do not see the band themselves at all in the video. We therefore only see a narrative and concept based video as there are no performance elements throughout. But nonetheless they can still be presented through the narrative due to themselves being absent. The narrative focuses around the idea of a lonely teen finding comfort and rather bizarrely a relationship with one of his teachers, it rather reflects the themes of a drug related manor, which links to the conventions of the genre. In the context of the band it could present the fact that they are promoting the usage of drugs which is a common theme among other genres such as Rap and Hip-Hop as they can be clear seen smoking in the car and why consequently the animation effects are used to represent the change of body and mind. The band also presents itself as being slightly abnormal as we see the intercourse reference being over exaggerate and high graphical nature which may also being them over implying the link between drugs and sex.
Goodwin' Theory is less prominent in this music video than compared to that of elephant, this is mainly due to the fact that the band does not feature within the video. The video is strictly narrative/concept as due to the band not being in the video there is no performance element. There is certainly a link between music and visuals as the tempo is a line with the shots used.
There is a direct link between music and lyrics as we see camera shots change alternatively on deeper beats, this can be clearly seen by the audience. Additionally there is a direct link between lyrics and visuals this can be seen by lyrics such as "Its all gonna change" as we see the two main characters take off each others clothes. The lyrics are from the perspective of the boy as we see his opinion of the relationship with his school teacher. There is a rather strong use of the sexualisation of the female body in the video where as explained the main characters are in the car, this gets more extreme as we see the video becoming animated and explicit cartoon imagery is seen.
The artist isn't represented at all in this music video as they are not seen throughout at all. Therefore it can be said that the artist is making themselves more distant from their audience is may have negative effects as audience may feel uninterested as they may purely watch Tame Impala music videos so they can see the band. But as already mentioned there is links that can be made due to the values that they present due to the connotations of the genre that they are identified by.
In my opinion I would say the primary target audience for this video is rather older than elephant due to the graphical content of the video so it is not suitable for younger audiences. Due to this I would place the video at an age range of 18-30 years of age. This is due to the fact that 18 is a suitable age for to be viewing such images and while any older than 30's as they may not enjoy the content of the video as the narrative is rather strange and unappealing.
The music video has a rather conventional style to the genre it is placed in but may be considered rather strange by mainstream audiences. The narrative is unclear at first but then becomes more apparent when the student enters the car of the teacher. This may be considered a imaginative narrative as it is very unrealistic, and will probably never happen in real life due to law and social believes. The narrative also follows a indirect reference drugs, as we see both characters smoking drugs and then hallucinate which is represented by real life becoming a cartoon world in which, previous scenes are empathized and become even stranger to audiences. Colour is widely used throughout as we see the cartoon takes place, these colours are there to reinforce the usage of drugs and its effects on the user as they are rather abnormal and not used in everyday instances. 
Mise en Scene is used in a variety of ways throughout the video. The setting of the music video is rather relatable for the vast majority of the audience as it is set in a school location. Most of the audience will be just out of school or will have children that have been in school for a few years. Due to the music video mainly being narrative based there is a clear use of body language and facial expression mainly when the characters are looking at each other through the class room and hall way and additionally the car. When we see the male character get into the car it is clear that he is worried about what is going to happen, while the female is quite relaxed and confident in the situation. Due to the video being set within a school setting the costumes used are in relation to the setting as the male is in common school uniform while the teacher is dressed in formal wear.
When lighting comes into concern we see a wide usage of low key lighting throughout without any change maybe due to the narrative and its contractions from the perspective of the male character reflecting his confusion and emotional confidence up till the part of the narrative where this indefinitely changes.
The most common shots used in this music video are long shot, close up, extreme close up, panning shot, two shot, zooming in and zooming out.
As commonly used throughout all media entities both long shots and close ups are used to create emotional tendencies for the audiences to create links with thru character by bonding with the individual and there place in the narrative, this is strongly reinforced by the use of extreme close ups also.
Elephant
In elephant the artist appears to the audience at the same time both extraordinary and ordinary, as we see them in a conventional setting placing their instruments like a conventional band under the rock genre. It stands out to audiences as we see the use of a kaleidoscope with an array of bright contrasting images that make it conventional to the Psychedelic Rock genre. The music video leaves the audience feeling satisfied as they can see the band but also see a conventional video that would have been made by the band but also the genre itself.
I would say the target audience for this video is from around 16-30 as the material within the video is appropriate for this particular age range compared to that of Mind Mischief which has a considerably higher starting age for obvious reasoning. In addition the idea of rock and its themes of rebellion and drugs would be a common theme among young adults hence why the starting target audience is rather low.
The style follows the standard presumptions of a video from the Psychedelic Genre with no clear or non-existent narrative with unclear lyrics to accompany it, so it is therefore open to the audiences own thoughts and interpretations.When Mise-en-Scene is concerned, this video isn't set in a particular extravagant location known commonly by the audience, my nearest guess would be on stage or in a recording studio. Various Iconography is used as we see the band playing instruments all the way throughout. All the way throughout we see a consistent use of Low Key lighting which is in contrast to the bright bold colours used when the video was edited in transitions etc. There is no clear facial expressions or body language which reflect specific emotions that can be related to the audience. But it can be said that the bands members looking like they are enjoying themselves, again this can be related to the themes of the genre. Members and their instruments are always at the centre of the frame to grab the audiences attention between each camera angle alteration.
The most common camera angles used constantly throughout the video are as follows: Mid Shot, Panning, Extreme Close up, Close up, Zooming In and Out, and Long Shot.
The Mid shots are used rather to present the general band itself while Close ups and long shots are to create the link between the audience and the band. Finally the use of zooming in and out reflect the idea of narcotic usage and its side effects on the body.
This research in my chosen artist that we will be using for our final music video, will play a vital role in the planning stages of our music video. This due to the fact that I have gained an understanding of the artists main conventions, rather than just the genre itself. This will make it easier for us to think of what conventions we need to include in relation to the band but also what narrative type of narrative we need to follow again in links with the lyrics of "Feels like we only go backwards".
Also by researching the artist further and some of the music videos they have produce, I have taken away some ideas that can be replicated with the music video that we will produce, these include:
- the usage of colour tints or alike
-kaleidoscope effects
-relationship narrative
-Drug themes such as there usage by characters.
This post demonstrates some understanding of your chosen music artist. You have made a start in identifying two music videos, but further examples are needed of the mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and generic codes and conventions. This is because the points that you have made are too vague and need to be developed in more detail. You also need to consider the points that you have made on Dyer's theory and focus more on the artist representation. If the artist is absent from the video, then consider the conventions of this and the effect that is given.
ReplyDeleteYou also need to include screenshots to support the points that you have made and you also need to expand your summary, by considering the conventions and micro elements that you would like to include, that you have evidenced in your research.
The screenshots that you have included helps to support the points that you have made. It is also clear to see that you are starting to consider your own production and the various micro elements that you would like to incorporate, but you need to ensure that you have fully explored your reasons for this more.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of your analysis, you are still generalising your points and incorporating many examples and points together, instead of fully analysing one point at a time. Therefore, you need to read over your work and ensure that you follow the PEER format throughout, which will enable your analysis to be more detailed.