Task 2. Contemporary Music Video Research

Purposes of Research

The purposes of research are to ensure all information and possible outcomes and opinions are considered before the project goes into production. There are two forms of research, Primary research which is research you carry out yourself by gaining information which does not already exist as well as research a topic which has not yet been researched however specific. Primary research is important as it is the researchers opportunity to go and find out whatever is necessary for the project they are researching for on their own terms. Secondary research is the other form, and is a way in which to gather information from currently existing research carried out by someone else. A popular source for secondary research is Wikipedia, despite the freedom in which anybody can edit any page on there, clouding what is potentially true or not. In order to carry out secondary research successfully you must ensure the source is reliable and up to date which are variables that could affect the outcome of the project you are researching for due to incorrect information.

Justin Timberlake - My Love (Directed by Paul Hunter)

My Love was released on September 12th 2006 and was written and recorded by Justin Timberlake. My Love was the second single to be released from Timberlakes second studio album; FutureSex/LoveSounds. The director, Paul Hunter has also worked with Outkast, Jamie Foxx, Pharrell and many others. Hunter has also received many awards such as Best video of the year, best cinematography, best male video and many others. The video of My Love gives viewers a different and interesting outlook on infatuation and love and makes full use of turning simplicity into very entertaining visual bliss. Justin Timberlake has clearly chosen to somewhat leave his roots of a typical pop star to set out and create an intensely original album with each single being as interesting as the last.

The video of My Love is interesting in that it depicts love as somewhat of a rush with the quick shots, dance routines and floating objects that are all relevant to love, e.g. violins and rings. Timberlake is constantly singled out throughout the whole video, which is possibly to depict infatuation or love as something that will define you from the rest as well as make you feel like more of an individual. At certain points in the video, Timberlake is seen with just him and a promiscuous looking woman, who looks as though she has no real intention of falling in love, but to have Timberlake so infatuated that the illusion of love fools him and makes him ceaseless in aiming to please her. My Love defines the happy side of love made clear through the lyrics as well as the hypnotic and obsessive side of love portrayed by the woman in black featured in the video. Timberlake is seen singing and dancing in every scene except the ones with the woman in black, where Timberlake seems somewhat dazed by her and merely stares, however, towards the end (5.21) Timberlake is seen dancing with a woman in white as the chorus comes in, possibly implying that once the rocky starter point of infatuation is overcome, true love lies ahead.

The director has made very good use of the white background, and has also managed to capture incredible shots that appear as though Timberlake and the dancers are dancing on top of the camera by showing us the soles of his trainers even though he is standing flat on the floor, implying Timberlake is not on the ground but floating. The video has made one of the most simplistic ideas very artistic and interesting, featuring a large white room, dancers and floating objects with nothing but the song to accompany it all. This song is aimed most likely at any one from 14 - 25 as its sole concept is love, which is experienced by all age groups, however, due to the poppy style in which it is done, its age group has been limited to 14 - 25

The song generated very positive comments on the popular website YouTube;

My love,My love,My love...[3]

Awesome ♥ justin rules!!!!!!

Lady Gaga - Paparazzi (Directed by Jonas Åkerlund)

Paparazzi is the third single released from Lady Gagas popular album; The Fame. It's U.K release was July 6, 2009 it was released 4 days later in Australia. The song and video act as a huge metaphor for Lady Gagas battle towards stardom, it portrays paparazzi as a person, who Gaga once loved but was betrayed and crippled by. The video continues from after Paparazzi pushed her off a balcony edge which is a scene featured on the long 7.55 version of the video rarely seen on television due to the graphic nature of it. The song reached top ten in the official charts of Australia, Canada, Britain and Ireland. Whilst reaching number one in the Czech Republic and Germany. In the U.S.A it found its way into the sixth spot on the Billboard Top 100. A huge deal for any new artist. Lady Gaga herself had commented that the song has many different interpretations; "is it a love song about fame or love? can you have both or can you only have one?" the song, due to the abstract way in which it was written has many different ideas floating behind it, such as the paparazzi being merely a ceaseless demon that will never compromise the chase for Lady Gaga while she attempts to make it fall in love with her. There are many more interpretations which have neither been said to be true or false, Lady Gaga likes the fact there are many ideas. The videos success caused Lady Gaga to tie with Beyonce Knowles at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards. The videos director, Jonas Åkerlund has also worked with the likes of Madonna, Moby and The Smashing Pumpkins. The directors wife is a successful stylist for all his featured artist and was set to go to work on Lady Gagas style and fashion portrayed throughout the video, making the couple a very dominant team in the industry.

The video is typical of Lady Gaga's very abstract style and continues to promote her as somewhat of a fashion enigma, yet adventurous and beautiful, making her adored by all her fans. The video features her in a wheelchair due to the horrible afflictions her fictional boyfriend caused her by pushing her off the balcony at the start. She is helped around by servants and dancing butlers and maids throughout the video showing that she is still famous and loved due to her relentless struggle to gain the attention of all forms of media throughout the song. She is seen back with her boyfriend and oddly enough able to walk as the video progresses implying the injuries caused to her at the start were only temporary, but as fans are left wondering why she is back with the man who threw her off the balcony, also interpreted as Paparazzi in physical form, she is seen poisoning his drink which would mean she has metaphorically "killed" the Paparazzi. Once she has murdered her boyfriend she calls the police and informs them of what she has done, as she is seen escorted to the police car, flashes of newspaper prints show on screen with headlines proclaiming her innocence, implying the Paparazzi is now on her side for once, and if you have it on your side, you are quite literally above the law.
The video generated very positive remarks on YouTube; "Lady GaGa is my idol! I want to be a great singer like her. I love her! I want to have the great song writing skills like her. She is my idol and my hero!

Lady GaGa----ILUUHYYUH!!!!"

"I love You in this yellow "Mickey Mouse" costume, You`re so cute GaGa!

Lady G, You are writing history..."