How Music and Image Work Together in Mainstream Film and Television Extracts - Essay Example

How Music and Image Work Together in Mainstream Film/Television Extracts How Music and Image Work Together in Mainstream Film/Television Extracts Introduction Music video is a fairly recent cultural phenomenon. The first known music videos particularly emerged in the early 1980s and were largely used as promotional tools. According to many experts, music video can be defined as a hybrid cultural form due to the combination of image, music and a wide range of styles in order to produce a distinctive audio-visual textual flow. Music and Image have increasingly played a dominant role in the contemporary mainstream film and television extracts. Although traditionally, images have been given the most attention, modern technologies have enabled interactive media designers to effectively integrate audio elements with the images. Film music was to a large extent made to look more professional after World War 1 where multi-reel features replaced single reel films whereas the expected venues for films did change from the small sized nickelodeon to the spacious movie palaces which needed accompaniments. Consequently, the literature moved from practical articles to human interest and critical commentaries combined together and revolving around music directors for big urban cinemas. According to many experts, soundtrack has significant influence on the image and how the audience perceives the imagery of the TV or film extract. For example, Sound and music used in visual films and television extracts not only defining and interpreting the visual image but also by expressing the mood as well as direction the attention of the audience. This is particularly attributed to the power music as a means of storytelling and communication. For example, from animated or live action films to documentaries, the special character of every film often depend on the interaction between the sound tracks and image used. When used as a soundtrack in the films or television extracts, music is often built using the three main levels mainly rhythm, melody and layering. For example, the combination of music and images normally produces a certain rhythm that not only leads through the work but also provides a constant and consistent structure to the particular piece. Additionally, rhythm derived from the use if music and images can effectively be used to direct the attention of the viewers and audience. When people watch the moving images and hear the music floating, they develop a pattern in their brains for recognition, orientation and remembering. In this regard, the music in the films or television extracts must not only be made in a technical pattern but should also able to express a certain feeling through instrumentation, length, sequence as well as the dynamics of the tones and beats. The use of music and images in Televisions currently involve artists licensing their music to a wide range of television shows, commercial television adverts and films. According to Allen and Hill (2004), television is increasingly being redefined by new alternative ways of production, applications and practices. In this paper, we introduce Michael Jackson’s 14 minute Thriller music video as an example of an area of advancement of film music followed by a detailed analysis that is centered on the different effects that revolutionary merging of music and filmmaking have on videos. Analysis of Michael Jackson’s Thriller Michael Jackson’s music video titled “Thriller was a highly successful album that enabled Jackson to effectively break down the racial barriers in pop music as was evidenced by his appearances on MTV shows. Thriller forms part of the 1984 hit singles that Michael Jackson recorded for the Epic label. It took position 10 during the UK singles chart and position 4 during the U.S singles chart. Released on December 2, 1983, the Thriller remains one of the first albums to successfully use music videos as a form of promotional tool. The release broke many recorded and boundaries thereby earning Michael Jackson the title of the King of Pop while at the same time spawning MTV and setting a standard for the pop music industry for many years to come. The created video for the initially existing title track is an influential music video. The concept of creation of a music video for the song came into picture during the summer season of 1983 when there was an observed decline in the sale of the album. Frank Dileo, Jackson’s then manager, put forward a suggestion for creation of a related video track for the album track so as to have the sales rejuvenated. The resulting video did stare actress Ola Ray, Jackson himself as well as a series of the dancing zombies. Many people still believe the video as the most magnificent music video of every-time and the song is perceived to be part of the signature songs belonging to Jackson. As earlier been noted, images and music in visual films and television extracts not only used in defining and interpreting the visual image but also in expressing the mood as well as direction the attention of the audience. For example, in 2003, Thriller was ranked top 20 of the Rolling stones top 500 All time greatest albums and number 3 of the Definitive 200 albums of all time. Additionally, the Thriller music video has been included in the American National Film registry as one of the culturally, aesthetically and historically significant films. Post Modernism Post modernism as a genre in music video is explained in terms of how the images and music have been used in the music video to address a fragmented culture. In the music video “Thriller”, Michael Jackson displays an incomparable postmodernist dancing style that uniquely matches the music. The success of the music video is particularly attributed to the spectacular and phenomenal impact of Michael Jackson’s performance on the cultural coordinates and cultural forces of postmodernism that connects with the popular dominant culture. Generally, post modern dance particularly emerged in the early 1970s as a revolt against modernist dances that were championed by famous artists such as Merce Cunningham and Martha Graham. As a result, Michael Jackson’s post modernist music video is largely an expression of the American way of life on the global scale. One of the major characteristics of postmodernism in dance that is clearly evident in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is the fusion of fusion of structures, forms and ideologies. In most modernism, music and dance are normally used to form a close inseparable unity that the music develops in relations to the dance. It is this dialectic unity that explains the superior dancing moves of Michael Jackson in his album “Thriller” (Michael Jackson, 1983). For example, the fusion of dancing and walking in the music video enabled Michael Jackson to effectively express his style against the previous formalistic technical perfection that characterized modernism dances of Cunningham and Graham. Additionally, the dancing moves in the Thriller largely embodied a populist culture. For example, the continuous airing of the Michael Jackson’s Thriller in various television shows enhanced the fusion of the elite culture and the mainstream American mass culture as well as its subsequent transmission to other parts of the world through new electronic technologies.. This further separates the album from the previous modernist dances which largely marked the epitomy of the elite culture. Horror Genre The lyrics and the visuals accompanying the music video bear a clear relationship. Even from the look at the track’s name, it is possible that this genre belongs to gothic horror pop and the expectation of the audience would be that elements associated with the same be depicted in the video. The video commences with some drama scene on Michael Jackson as well as the on screen girlfriend trailing via a graveyard following a night session at the movies. The lead up to the track brings about a certain level of tension plus atmosphere giving additional depth to the track. The extract of the lyrics used is intended to provide a clear overview of the association that the visuals bear with the lyrics. The video features certain allusions to the horror films. The starting scene is an imitation of the B Movie Horror Films of 1950s with the dressing of the characters resembling whatever was seen in 1950’s teenagers. That polite boy next door getting into a werewolf represents transformation regarding male sexuality and the sexuality is portrayed as being naturally violent, aggressive and predatory and thus monstrous (Smith 1997, p. 341). Another transformation is Michael turning to a Zombie. It sends a message about an upcoming dance sequence featuring dancing ghouls that corresponds some song lyric that mentions masquerade ball of among the dead. Finally, The Night of the Living Dead is the source of inspiration for invasion by the Zombie in the film (Anderson 2012, p. 76). The film is capable of treating the sequence with sufficient seriousness to have feelings of helplessness and claustrophobia captured and these are fundamental to sub genre of the zombie based films. Tempo The video embraces the tempo of the track as a way to drive editing and emphasizes specific beats and sounds. In this music video, the tempo of the song has its tempo highlighted based on the pace of movement of man artist along with the other dancers (Smit 2012, p.81). Also, certain lyrics have been emphasized like the door slam which has also been highlighted by the video. Instruments used for foregrounding have been emphasized through the action of the dancers to hit specific beats. In the video, lyrics and visuals have a role to play to bring some difference and to make the song somehow individualized. All through the video, the lead singer is observed to be using close up shots frequently. In spite of this pattern appearing in a vast number of music videos, close-up shots are of greater value in this specific video (Clark, Baker & Lewis 2002, p.213). The video has certain aspects of gothic horror and the portrayed characters and costumes are of greater importance too. To the audience, the inclusion of the close-up shots makes it easy to recognize that a visual change implies the appearance of the lead character and this is relevant to the lyrics (Lacey 2000, p.432). Moreover, it shows how important the lead singer is in the music video. Also experienced from the music video are a number of long shots which permit the audience to cite the mise-en-scene within the scene and to help in creation of the gothic error set alongside the role to add depth to the track. Narrative Narratives form part of the popular culture and many forms of the contemporary entertainment are often structured around narratives. The content of the Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video are well ordered and structured in a systematic way to tell a story. Generally, throughout the music video thriller, Michael Jackson has effectively incorporated a sequential logic in a way that makes the video scenes sensible. For example, the music video is structured in such a way that the images and audio appear in an order that makes sense to the target audiences (Allen and Hill, 2004, p. 100). This not only allows the main themes, ideas and characters to develop but also to move forward in a coherent organized fashion. A narrative is one of the integral aspects of storytelling in a music video. According to Lacey (2000, p.5), complementing image and representation is one of the most important challenges of using music and image in the contemporary mainstream film and television production. For example, just from the beginning, the audience is introduced to the audience with one of the characters being the lead singer together with a scene exhibiting the characteristics associated with any other gothic horror element (George 2010, p. 61). Additionally, Michael Jackson’s video offers the audience with a variety of means to access the performer. It is possible seeing the close-up shots which enable close observation and eye contact. On the other hand, the visual narrative alongside the performance gives additional depth towards the track (George 2010, p. 62). The expressive dance performance is a traditional trend of Michael Jackson that is to live forever and is a partial reason for the success of the song plus the video all through the world. Generally, the unfolding of narrative is considered to be one of the main sources of pleasure in media including music videos, films, televisions and popular fiction. In this regard, it is the narrative that draws the audience, keep them engaged and encourage them to keep viewing and listening to the music video (Albercrombie, 1992). Feminism Feminism approach is evident in Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video particularly in the way the work effectively uses images and audios to objectify women. For example, male discourse that runs through the music video is largely constructed around male sexual fantasies and the representation of females as gullible and weak. Conclusion In conclusion, since the emergence of music videos in the early 1980s, music and images have increasingly played a dominant role in the contemporary mainstream film and television extracts. Generally, images and music in visual films and television extracts not only used in defining and interpreting the visual image but also in expressing the mood as well as direction the attention of the audience. References Albercrombie, N. 1992. Television and Society. Cambridge. United Kingdom: Polity publishers limited. Allen R.C. & Hill, A. 2004. The Television Studies Reader. New York, NY: Routledge Publishers. Anderson, J. J. 2012. How to analyze the music of Michael Jackson. Edina, Minn: ABDO Publications. Clark, V., Baker, J., & Lewis, E. 2002. Key concepts & skills for media studies. London, Hodder & Stoughton. George, N. (2010). Thriller the musical life of Michael Jackson. New York, Da Capo Press. http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=544618. Lacey , N. (2000) Narrative and Genre: Key Concepts in Media Studies . Basingstoke: Macmillan Publishers. Thriller-Michael Jackson (1983) [Online Video] Available from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA&feature=kp [Accessed April 11, 2014] Read More