Textual Analysis of Plan B

In class we did a full class textual analysis of Plan Bs music video for his song 'Writings on the Wall' the reason we did this was so we got used to and understood the how to analyse a music video. We need to analyse music videos so we can understand what is needed in our music video for when we come to making it.

Plan B Writing's On The Wall is a music video in a series of music videos by the artist all connected in a short narrative of the alter ego known as Strickland Banks of the artist, the company and the artist believed this would be a good marketing point for the artist as it will attract the artists fans and keep them engaged and known, especially in this video through the typography of the sign and also to attract knew fans with the narrative contacting a wider audience. 
Genre- The genre for this music video is Pop/Jazz we can tell this because of the band playing on stage with their instruments and the 80s feel makes it in a jazz kind of way because this was the time that Jazz was big, it is also Pop because the sign says "The ever popular Strickland Banks" connoting that he is famous. The artist is also a Rap and Soul artist. Due to this music video being pop and jazz we expect there to be some issues in the relationship shown on screen as pop music will nearly always follow a certain narrative and a dilemma will occur. What is unexpected in the pop video is that the relationship does not have any final conclusion there is no repair in the relationship.There is intertextual references in the lyrics but not in the video, the lyrics references a Stevie Wonder song called Superstitious.

Narrative- The narrative to this piece is that The artist Plan B is with a girl and the lyrics tell us they must have been together awhile because it says "We used to have fun" so this tells us there have been stages in this relationship. So the girlfriend is at home waiting for Strickland Banks to get home (which is Plan B's alter ego) and she's cooking dinner while he is performing on stage. After his performance finishes he goes out with his band to celebrate and instead of going home he goes back with a girl to her place and cheats on his girlfriend with her and the girlfriend doesn't know. the key themes to this music video are love and trust. The trust is in the girlfriend in allowing him to go out and do what he wants and the love is lost between them and the relationship. According to Todorov's theory of the 5 stages in music videos, this music video ends at the third one. So in the music video we have the equilibrium of the nice girlfriend cooking dinner and he's on stage singing, the disruption is the phone call where he says he is staying out and the recognition of the problem is the not picking up of the phone and kissing the other girl. the characters used in this video is a false hero being Strickland Banks who seems to be a good guy with a good girlfriend, the hero will be the female girlfriend who is desperately waiting for him and the villian is the girl Strickland cheats with.

Representation- Age is quite a key representation in this video as the setting changes for different characters in the music video such as when the camera is on the girlfriend it seems very 80s and happy as many people say the 80s were a good decade and people were having fun like the woman in this piece and it's the same for when Strickland Banks is on stage, this could then connote that their relationship has been going on for a long time, we then see a change in time to modern day for when the other woman becomes introduced and when Strickland Banks is at the parties again to connote their relationship is still there to present day but they are not the fun couple they used to be. Also gender is connoted by the woman being in the kitchen which is a main stereotype that woman have received while the man is at work on stage showing that the male is dominant over the female in this piece. The artist in this video has been represented like a villain and the woman is represented as the hero, Plan B may have done this to open up his audience to woman and show that men can be mean in relationships and hurt women, also maybe to give him some iconography as a known bad man to women. He also tries to make his alter ego a big star to make himself as Plan B seem like it is very popular and has many fans.

Visual Codes- This video is set in three main places; the stage, the club and the house. The stage and the house seem to be set in 70/80s time period and this is where the equilibrium takes place so this setting connotes happy times and the relationship is good. Also the white room with the girlfriend connotes innocence and how she has stuck by Strickland. However the club is a lot different atmosphere and this is where the disruption happens, the club has very low key lighting whereas the house is high key to connote happiness at home and evilness in the club with the other woman. The writing of "STRICKLAND BANKS SOLD OUT" is typography that connotes he is very popular.

Technical Codes-There are a few shots that are used to connote certain thing; such as the extreme close up of the girlfriend at home smoking connoting that they're relationship is burning. Also there are many close ups of meals that are being cooked this can connote how important the meal is to their relationship now and what it means and also how the pot is boiling to connote that she is at boiling point of anger towards Strickland and their relationship is on the edge. There is a personaly view shot of Strickland banks connoting to look at his side of the story and look deeper in the relationship.. Many fast paced cuts could connote how fast their relationship has gone by. Finally the low angle of Strickland and high angle of the girlfriend connotes who is more dominant in their relationship which is Strickland as he is higher than her.

Audience- The target audience for this piece are young people between the ages of, 18-25 as this is a stereotypical age for people to go clubbing we know it is aimed at this audience through the use of short dresses and drinking. It is also aimed at Plan B fans as he is painted as being very popular at the start connoting a connection towards the fans.

Institution- The record company pays for the artist to look like a star with the typography on the sign saying "SOLD OUT" to connote he is big. Also when he performs to the audience they are all going nuts when listening to him once again connoting that he is a pop star and has many fans. Plan B also uses his iconography of a suit and performs to the camera so we know it is Plan B and his alter ego of Strickland Banks.

The Purpose of a Music Video

Music videos have many different purposes but the main one would definetly be to promote. A music video is created to promote things, it is a marketing strategy to get new artists/bands noticed or a song to gain more publicity making it popular to audiences and gaining more downloads and money. It can also promote other products using intertextuality throughout the video, so it could promote a film by referencing a scene or a quote from that movie thus that movie gains more views and more money is made.

Music videos can create a image of a artist by using effects and things that can't be made live on stage thus giving an artist or a band an image that audiences can distinguish them by. Music videos can also be something that can show the true meaning of lyrics in songs and contain codes that were not heard in the lyrics.

Musicians use music videos as again they choose to advertise themselves and gain a bigger profile. It allows the audience to delve into the lifestyle and persona of the musician. Musicians enjoy releasing music videos as it improves their image and they gain more fans, they like to engage their fans into their songs and music videos are a good way of doing this. As here we can see Michael Jackson portraying his cool persona through this video and how he makes everything he touches better because he was one of the most popular artists of his time.

Textual Analysis and Goodwin's Theory

A good music video for Goodwins theory would be Playing With Fire by Plan B because it includes all 7 of Goodwins thory. Firstly it has intertextual references to the film ill Manors which was directed by the artist Plan B so he is trying to promote his film as well as his music. Also in the lyrics he says "David Camerons broken Britain" here he is making references to the news and how the news believe David Cameron has done bad for Britain. Secondly at 1:03 the music matches the visuals as it goes down beat and emotional which matches the sadness of him beating up his mate and also the slow motion which is used to add tension. Also the fast beat throughout matches the visuals and how hectic it is especially at the parts with fire.

Lyrics also match the visuals in many places as if Plan B is telling the story and the visuals are backing that up to us especially when it describes what Jake is doing. At 4:00 the lyrics match to when the visuals show fire, he says the word "fire" to mirror it. The artist in this piece definitely gains some form of iconography, he wants to show to us the audience that he is from these rural areas of London and how bad they treat people in these places and what really goes on to show Britain that something needs to be done, he does this through the lyrics with the visuals to back up how bad it is especially when we see the man tied up.

The genre characteristics of rap that are shown in this piece would be rural areas as we see these areas of London that look beaten up and the council estate to give bad images of these places, making the artist seem rough. With the record label, it definitely requires many close ups of the artist, this is frequent throughout the video improving his star image. Finally the notion of looking is again quite frequent but it is most noticeable at the start when the gang member points to Jake's friend, this makes the notion of looking immediately clear. As we can see this music video used all of Goodwin's 7 techniques, proving that they are vital to the success of a music video.

Real Media Texts - Music Video

The Narrative- The visual narrative of this video is; man rides bike with his friends, gets injured while riding and friends help him conquer his injuries and carry on doing what he loves. Hidden narratives of this video is how important and loving friends can be and also how if you persevere you can do anything.

Setting-This piece is set in America we can tell this by the palm trees representing Miami and the constant heat and sun backs this up. Also the BMX bikes may also represent America because BMXing and skateboarding are two of the most loved hobbies in America and Miami. The places it is also set is a hospital for his injury and a skate park for when the are riding bikes.

Number of Shots- 131.

Transitions used- Cut, Fade to black.

Representation- The main representations used here are age and gender. Gender is shown as predominantly male and how they are the stronger people who can ride BMX's and help recover and overcome obstacles through the main protagonist. Whereas females aren't really shown throughout the piece. Age is also shown as the males look quite old yet riding bikes is something the kids and teens usually do so it represents that hobbies are universal and not bound by age.

Lyrics matching visual-The lyrics in this video do not match the visuals directly but it says "tell me that you need me" and it shows the the male needs his friends to help him beat this issue he is facing.


The Narrative- The narrative to this piece is that it follows the life of a camera and the camera drops in and out of other people's lives to view what is going on. It shows how different things make different people happy and how they are having fun like for example the couple are in love and they make each other happy. They do this so the song makes people think of happy times and promotes it in a feel good way.

Setting- This piece is set in a sunny place, like somewhere where you would go on holiday again to signify happy times. Although it may feature in different laces because the camera goes on a journey with people but the camera is mostly in sunny beachy areas.

Number of Shots- 110

Transitions Used- Various different cuts

Representation- sexuality is shown in this piece in being predominantly heterosexual due to the heterosexual couple shown positively. Age is shown as being very universal as we have a range of ages but again it is predominately middle age and young due to them ages picking up the camera and we see no elderly people or children maybe this is because they are trying to represent their audience. Gender is represented with males being the more dominant due to them having more air time and females are shown as weak and sexual due to the too women on the boat and when they go to a party in short dresses.

Lyrics matching visuals- At the start of the video when she says "you" the male jumps into the shot showing that he is who she is singing about. When she says the word "stranger" another male picks up the camera connoting that he is not part of their life. The Narrative- The narrative of this piece is about a boy in a venue chasing after a girl but she is held back by these two men and the protagonists friends stop the two males while the protagonist and the female run away together and then are hit by a car in the end.

The Setting- This music video is set in some kind of club or a bar, while we have the artist on stage performing to the audience. The high key lighting makes the place look happy and in a good mood whereas when they go down stars away from the artist it is low key and dark. This setting makes the artist seem more enjoyable.

Number of shots- 141

Transitions Used- Cut, fade to black

Representation- males are represented as the dominant characters in this piece as there were many more males than females connote that they are more important and the predominant character in this piece, this could be because the artist is male. Males are also steretypically shown as aggresive by the fight with the males near the pool tables.

Lyrics matching visuals- The lyrics do not match the visuals in many places but if we take the lyrics over the images it would imply that the male has already been with the female in this piece then it makes more sense to say that the lyrics are the males thoughts, wondering if the female will love him again. Also when it says "Angels like you" the camera is on the female while he looks at her and also when it says "there is nothing I can do" the two males that are with the female appear connoting that he can't do anything with them there.

Goodwins Theory

Goodwins theory was that every music video will contain at least 1 of these 7 elements. These 7 elements are key to a good music video and also meeting the demands of the record label. These elements are:

Genre Characteristics- This means that certain genres will display certain characteristics to make it easily distinguishable from other genres. Such as rural areas for rap or bling dependent on the kind of image the rapper wants to portray for him or herself. Such as Kanye West in the start of his New Slaves' video.

Relationship between Lyrics and Visual- This means there is some form of match between what the lyrics are saying and the visuals that are being shown, this is used in most music videos as it helps describe the story the band or the artist are trying to get across. In the music video for Katy Perry's Roar when she says roar in the first chorus it matches to the visuals as a tiger roars and in the water and in the bugs.



Music matching Visuals- Some music videos will match the visuals with the beat of the song, this is to make the audience enjoy the song more and to make the visuals flow to make the audience pay more attention to what is happening. A good example of this would be Kanye West's POWER music video as the staffs that the demons are tapping on the floor are in time with the music.


Close Ups- Most record companies will demand that in music video there must be many close ups of the artist/band to promote their star image. This is vital for music videos as it makes the audience focus upon the artist and the image they are portraying. A example of this would be Lady Gaga, close ups is something she quite regularly uses in her videos as it boosts her pop star image.

The Artist Uses Motifs/Iconography- This means that again to boost the image of the artist they will use certain characteristics to give them a persona and appeal to a target audience. Ke$ha is an artist who does this, she tries to boost her image by making it look like shes always at a party or having fun. By this we can tell she is trying to appeal to mid to late teens and early 20s who attend parties and get drunk on the weekends.

 

Frequent References to The Notion of Looking- This is when artist will look at the camera or look at something, it is a technique that draws audiences in to watching because we see them looking at us and it makes the audience feel part of something. Many artists do this, as shown in the images above.

 

Intertextual References- This means that there are references to other media in the music video, this could mean referencing things that are on TV or the news or other music videos, it can range on all media platforms. Music videos do this to promote other media acts or against other texts to mock them or promote them. Plan B makes references to real life issues on the news in his song ill Manor, he does this in a way to mock the news and touch on pressing issues.