Does TV Programming Enhance Our Experience Of Music?

We can see a simple answer to this question as yes because it amplifies our experience of music via documentaries, music channels, and music programmes. Or no as it is just a superficial view of the music itself.
If we look at the X-factor for example we can see it enhancing people’s experience of music by making it active for the audience. As anyone can enter and viewers get to vote for their winner, therefore choosing what they wish to view, making it almost post-modern we get to see inside the finalists private life’s and find out their story, which creates an emotional response from the audience.
However we see that although the show appears to be open to everyone, by the finals the acts usually reinforce the ideology of youth and beauty. The show isn’t all about talent; money plays a major part and is exploited by ITV, with spin-offs like the Xtrafactor. The show itself is also an example of pseudo individualism as Theodor Adorno would say; it is another generic and manufactured show, much like that of its predecessors like Pop-idol.
Other TV shows show music in a slightly different manner. If we look at Jools Holland, it shows a whole variety of music, and allows for diversity in music tastes across ages, ethnicity and overall culture. We see examples from many genres like rock, folk, rap, pop, acoustic and many more. The show is much more informal than a show like the X-factor where the focus is on para-social intimacy, we see an arranged but relaxed program that is focused on interviews and live performances. The performances show us the true artist and takes away from generic manufactured music; Jools being a musician himself respects the artists that come on his show and acts like a guru.
A TV show like Pop-world is in much a contrast to Jools Holland. The focus is on humour and is presented as a sarcastic and very British music show. It gives the viewer a very narrow experience and only looks at the pop culture and doesn’t diverse into other genres. The use of British, sarcastic, dry humour is almost nationalist. It has come under scrutiny of mocking American artists as the interviews unlike with most shows are aimed at creating humour rather than enhancing the musician themselves. Unlike Jools Holland which is shown late at night, Pop World was shown on a Sunday morning. These times show the gap between target audiences and explain the different targets of both shows.
Music Videos give us another experience of music. The idea of videos acts as a promotion for artists and helps build on their star image. It gives a different look on music. It can be creative or can focus on the meaning, with visuals we can amplify or disjuncture instead of just the listener’s illustrative thoughts. Along with Auteurs, like Spike Jones and his ideas of transformation in the Bjork videos he has worked on, we can be taken into a much more post-modern interpretation of music.
Music videos allow the audience to watch voyeuristically, like with Britney being shown as a star, we see that sometimes the visuals of her music are more powerful than even the lyrics themselves, with her sexual representation appealing to the male audience, instead of her musical representations appealing to a younger female audience. We see that music videos often objectify women and create this media influenced role model for younger girls.
Music channels themselves allow the audience to be ambient or focused. We can choose what we want to watch when we want to watch it in an active way. But on other occasions we can also just leave a channel on to act like a background to our lives in a more passive manner whilst videos stream.
The problems with music videos are that they tend to pursue a capitalist ideology, and focus on consumerism for instance, American rappers who put emphasis on their money in their music videos.
Videos can also make or break a celebrity, a bad video can put people off a good song, so in some ways can hinder a good song, spoiling our experience of music. This is also apparent in videos with much smaller budgets.
Documentaries offer a different view on how we experience music. They allow us to get closer to artists then we normally can, creating para-social intimacy. We get to see behind the scenes of sets, like in the Oasis documentary we literally see the likes of Liam Gallagher sitting backstage playing guitar as if we were literally there with the band. This creates authenticity for the band and helps them to show off their live image. We also get to see the band perform live in concert and the angles used give us a better than life view of the band with angles that you couldn’t see if you were really there.
The problems occur by the fact that documentaries are bias pieces of work, they show you what the artist wishes you to see. So we see Oasis acting in a very typical rock n roll manner, by swearing lots and appearing jokey and casual along with heavy drinking. What we see is selected, the original footage will be heavily edited but it is made in such a way we are not meant to realise.
With the Madonna documentary we are made to know her and to like her, she comes across as a very down to earth person, and it is made to seem real with the camera following her along with the use of black and white and point of view shots. But overall the purpose is to show her in a good light and of course to make money. So it creates false visions of the truth.
Overall I think that in moderation, TV programming does enhance our experience of music. It allows us to view music and in ways that we could not have before, it is a creative and original medium. So although there is much focus on making money and the market is very saturated I feel it is still productive in engaging the audience and amplifies music as a whole.

Feedback on chosen song from class

The general consensus of the class seemed to point towards the video having a narrative/conceptual based theme, this supported the idea we had come up with after listening to the track originally.
The focus route also allowed us to come up wit the idea of a performance from the band at the end and we have incorporated this into our storyboard.
The song has a dark feeling and holds quite a lot of attitude, this was depicted within the focus route and a lot of people suggested that the mise-en-scene should depict this.
The lyrics gave the group an idea of isolation and a good suggestion was an image of the lead singer surrounded with a group of people but isolated and feeling separated, this would go well with the idea we had about a party originally.
The camera technique feedback that we got from the class suggested that ‘handycam’ would be a good way to bring the audience into relation with the lead singer and to show a P.O.V.
Drunkenness is a key feature of the lyrics and it was suggested that it should be included within the narrative of the video, this would also go well with the party setting.
The feedback suggested a quickening of pace throughout and the idea of a person starting off walking and then quickening into a run whilst singing the song would fit into this. There would need to be something that he is running to get to though, perhaps a love interest?

The feedback has given us some valuable ideas and sources of reference that we can use to compile our research and ideas into a storyboard.

BFI Southbank

Tom Woodcock
1970's . . . TOTP started to use music videos as it was easier than booking all of the artists to come in and enabled more of a range at a cheaper cost etc
such artists as Bob dylan and The Beatles started to bring more alternative types of video on the scene, concept based, having fun.
David Bowie brought performance with rock.
Queen and bohemian rhapsody played with the lighting and had the band as a whole performing both with and without instruments.
Madonna brought about the narrative based videos that had a story embedded within them, very voyeuristic with Madonna objectified (much like Britney today) showing the artist (Madonna in this case) with different personalities and allowing the audience to view her in a different way.
50 cent has high budget videos including expensive cars, clothing, women and jewellery.
Women are shown in a very voyeuristic way, objectified and shown as a possession that can be paid for and there is a distinct lack of respect shown to women through this film, with women being shown in very revealing clothing all trying to gain the gratification of the male.
The male (50 cent) is also shown in a way that depicts product value as he attracts the female audience by revealing his body and muscular figure.

Six ways of Analysing: Goodwin’s points
Genre
Visuals & lyrics
Need to sell
Intertextuality
Voyeurism

Top 10 tips
Step 1 : choose track
Needs to be short – 3 mins
Source of music

Step 2: Treatment
strong but simple idea
clear concept which is workable .. . Be realistic

Step 3 : Planning
You can always shoot extra so take extra cameras and film from different angles
get everyones mobile number etc
shoot early!
rehearse!! vital

Step 4 : Blog
link ideas
influences... youtube etc
Photos
'recce' shots, post them
animational experiments need to be posted
all ideas up on blog

Step 5: Equipment
Test shots, try effects angles etc
check camera etc
tape battery and all aspects needed
experimental filming is vital
cd player!!

Step 6 : Shooting
shoot performance at least 3 times
different angles
cutaway shots are important
cu, ecu ls etc
enthuse performer - they need to perform!
shoot from different angles

Step 7 : Footage
label everything
only relevant footage
cut down to proper time

Step 8 : The Edit
synch performance first
whole picture
cut and cut again!
dynamic piece of work
effects need to be added last
upload rough onto blog to gain feedback

Step 9 : Screening
get feedback
upload to blog
get artist to give feedback as well as others

Step 10 : Analysis
analysis on the blog, see planning and how the final product differed in positive and negative ways.

We were screened the video for 'she is the new thing' by the Horrors, we felt this would be the kind of style in which we would want out video to be in.