Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons is an Organic band consisting of four members: Marcus Mumford, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall and Ted Dwane. They are a very talented folk band playing on variety of instruments like banjo, guitar, drums and piano. They do not depend on their looks or their sex-appeal but purely on their talent and skill. They write their own material too. In December 2012 "Forbes" magazine called Mumford & Sons "creative and intellectual best of their generation!"

"The Cave" music video was a major success for Mumford & Sons winning major awards and gaining recognition from critics.

This music video starts with band members giving their music instruments to men dressed in marching band outfits, then driving away on motorcycles while wearing white tuxedos to give the video a more hipster/indie look. They continue driving around in a beautiful forest while the marching band plays their instruments by the beach. This prolongs throughout the song until Mumford & Co return for their instruments.

Mise-en-Scene

* celebratory white tuxedos

* marching band dressed in bright suits and hats which plays off well the white tuxedos

* the location of the music video is very peaceful and original thus goes well with the lyrical song

* the light in the video is quite bright as it shows the presence of sun and daytime 

Editing

The pace in the video is quite fast in order to keep up with the band riding motorcycles and the rhythm of the song. 

Sound

The music starts slowly and then speeds up with every verse.

Cinematography 

The director uses a lot of wide shots to show the actions of the band and their travels. He also uses ,id-shot on Marcus Mumford in order to point out he is the lead singer of the band. There are also close ups on instruments which indicates to the audience that they are "organic".

The xx

What is their star image?

The xx is an Organic English band. The group consists of three members: Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith. Their music genre is indie pop mixed with dream pop. Their style is very original and when paired with impressive talent, this makes them one of the best bands of our generation. Unlike synthetic bands, The xx not only target teenage girls but a much larger segment of sophisticated audience not depending on age.

"Crystalized" was the band's first single therefore this music video played a very significant part in showcasing the band's star image and  connecting with their audience.

The music video starts with a wide shot of the band leaning against the wall that projects blue skies. Throughout the whole music video, miss-en-scene stays the same with projections of the wall and lighting changing.


Editing

The pace of the video is sharp with the angle changing from one band member to another. This editing technique is done to match the pointy, grating music of The xx. The lighting in the video stays dim throughout the video. This makes the band seem mysterious and more indie.


Sound

The music used in the video consists of Sim's and Croft's voices, guitars and electric keyboard making it sound gripping.

Cinematography

Throughout the video, a viewer can observe wide shots representing the whole band leaning against the "changing" wall. There are also close ups of their instruments like Sim's guitar and Smith's keyboards. This to prove to the audience that they are organic performers. The director also pays attention to the background of the wall. 

The Brief

Produce a promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following three options:

a website homepage for the band;

a cover for its release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package);

a magazine advertisement for the digipak (CD/DVD package).

History of Popular Music from 1950

The era of modern popular music begins with rock 'n 'roll in the early 1950s. Rock 'n' roll was a revolutionary hybrid of music genres like jazz, blues, country, swing and gospel. This music was primarily played and marketed to African Americans living in urban cities in a still-segregated USA. Like Jazz, rock 'n' roll was associated with sexuality and immortality and was disapproved by the establishment. The lyrics were explicit and the dancing got very dirty. Such acts were frowned upon in wasp societies and white teenagers tended to listen crooners their parents approved of: Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Pat Boone until came Elvis Presley.

With down and dirty rhythm and blues, clean-cut, extremely good-looking white boy Presley quickly gained popularity and was topping every music chart introducing white teenagers to the new era of rock 'n' roll. Presley also impacted television programs like the famous Ed Sullivan Show making it more provocative.

Although Elvis was loved by crowds of teenagers, an older generation did have their fears about the possibility of integration and social changes. Many feared Presley because he was a white boy who sang black music. But once Elvis performed on TV, it was clear that segregationists were fighting a lost cause against rock 'n' roll. Unlike Jazz, rock 'n' roll was loud and proud about black people's soul and rhythm influence.

In conclusion to this, Presley's acknowledgement and his open attitude towards non-white culture represented a revolution of some sort. It helped to open the minds of teenagers who enjoyed his hybrid music and who would later grow up into adulthood increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of segregation.

Idea For A2 Music Video

One of my favorite bands is The Black Keys. Their unique interpretation of Garage Rock mixed with indie rock always intrigued me and inspired me creatively. I think it would be really fun to create a music video using their sound.

The Formula for Future Music Business Models

After watching a fifteen minute presentation, I learned that there is a simple formula that would help create successful businesses:        
                       

                                                         

A fifteen minute presentation by Mike Masnick on Trent Reznor and the Formula for Future Music Business Models