Like a Prayer - Analysis

"Like a Prayer" is a song created by American singer Madonna, which was released in 1989. The music video displays powerful statements about race and the Catholic Church through the use of symbolic and technical conventions.

At the time of it's release the music video had been perceived as greatly controversial due to its narrative. The piece constructed an overall negative portrayal of the, at the time, existing Catholic Church as well as brought to light the unjustified differences between races. The exposition of a wrongly accused black male together with a white criminal, later followed by a black saint and entirely black choir point towards the indifference between races. Mainly white catholic conservatives and other such groups poorly received this due to the race differences present in the U.S. at the time. The video confronts the issue of racism and inequality in the church further by displaying Madonna walking around in lingerie in the church and dancing/singing in front of burning crosses. The notion that racism and the Catholic Church are in some ways corrupt and/or immoral is evident throughout the narrative of the music video, which is additionally supported by the pieces lyrics.
The records narrative, although not entirely linear, elaborates upon Madonna witnessing a number of white people attacking a woman for which an innocent black male is blamed for. The white males than threaten Madonna into not discussing with the police what has actually happened, after which Madonna runs to the church. In the church a black saint and a choir greet Madonna, which aids her in making the rightful decision later on. Eventually Madonna feels empowered and leaves the church to help free the innocent man by telling the truth to the police. The overall tone of the music video could be interpreted as that racism and religion do not matter and that doing what is morally right is truly significant.

There are a number of symbolic conventions within the music video that aid this notion. First of all the narrative of the music video is constantly cut by Madonna dancing in front of burning crosses, which could easily be connoted with hate and or carelessness towards the Catholic Church.  Than again though, due to Madonna finding help within Church filled with black people, It could be interpreted that Madonna has a clear issue with the racial tensions caused by the Catholic Church instead of the religion in itself.  This statement is supported by the appearance of a black saint and choir that aid Madonna in making the morally right decision. As for the mise-en-scene of the video, Madonna is covered in sexually appealing clothing that is a clearly a symbolic convention, as it is not the usual outfit worn to church by individuals.  It appears well defined that Madonna has tried to make a powerful and moving statement through the release of her  “Like a Prayer “which she has represented through the use of symbolic conventions.

Technical conventions are also present within the music video, this furthermore adds onto the ideas displayed through the narrative. For instance editing techniques were used to escalate the pace of the video as well as bring attention towards the saint burning crosses through increased shot duration. Moreover long sliding shots are used to dramatise the video, which works well with the carefully planned out composition of most shots. Additionally nearly all shot of the black saint are low angles shots, as to show his power and importance, similarly high angles are used to show the fragile and weakened state of the wrongly accused black man. In general “Like a Prayer” is a influential music video that through its use of symbolic and technical conventions has caused a huge controversy during the time of its release.

Lip Syncing Exercise - Reflection

This week we ventured to the studio in order to learn how to accurately lip sync and record the footage in the best possible way. Personally through this exercise I was able to learn how to accurately portray lip-syncing in a way that will look the most satisfactory after post-production. What I have noticed worked really well was playing the music with the lyrics while shooting so that your actors can easily lip sync to the music. Otherwise if music is not played while footage is being filmed then the lip-syncing is out of tempo and almost at all times incorrect. Also I have learnt that shooting lip synchronization from different angles is more pleasing to the eye when edited in post-production. Furthermore by doing the following if an actor does not succeed in an element of his/her lip sync, the camera can simply cut before that happens to a different angle of the same area within the music. Finally I found using different areas for a single lip synch more attention grabbing, although only necessary if one element is not intriguing enough. When completing our lip sync exercise we captured it through three different elements, which in turn did make it more appealing. Generally this exercise has prepared my well for the future creation of a music video in the sense that I know understand how a lip sync works and in what ways I can possibly use it within my educational facility.

Photoshop - Introduction

Photoshop is a software application that provides one with the ability to edit and create images through the use of various tools. The program requires an enormous amount of skill to be fully utilized by its user. In other words someone that has a basic-advance level of technical expertise of the program can only use the program effectively. A basic user of Photoshop should at the very least possess the ability to manipulate a project through the use of Lasso, move, select, edit, copy, menu, and layer management. The Lasso tool allows the user to select an area of an image or layer by drawing a selection that he/she can than operate. The move tool on the other hand allows the user to move around different images from different layers as well as selections, such as ones created by the lasso tool. The select menu allows for the inversion of different selections as well as amassed a selection over a number of layers that provides a greater working field. The editing tools, such as clear, copy and paste, allow one to multiply, clear away, and move around different images and layers. All of the following, when used appropriately can be used in synergy with layer management to provide the user with a field in which he can create and develop various projects. I plan on using photoshop throughout my A2 year to edit a variety of images to create projects and visual aids.

What is a music campaign?

A music campaign is an operation that's purpose is to successfully spread information about an artist's/bands music. A music campaign consists of three diverse elements. The first element is the music video. This division is responsible for attracting a wider audience through the display of an interesting narrative, performance or possibly a combination of the two. The second section is the music website, this element is responsible for being an appealing source of information about the artist and his work. A successful artist website will provide easy access to information about tours, music, contact information and more while also displaying the image of the artist/band. The third and final element is the digipak. The digipak is an album cover that’s purpose is to attract potential customers and get them interested in the music and the artist that it represents. In other words a digipak design is in a way an art piece or a simple scheme. All of the following three elements somehow intertwine with each other to produce a functioning music campaign that sells and brings reputation towards the artist’s new music.

Introduction to A2

Throughout my A1 year in media I was able to learn a huge amount of information about the way that media functions and also how the media industry functions in particular. Furthermore I was able to learn in many ways how media pieces are created and what amount of work is required to create a media piece. I am satisfied with how far I have gone since the beginning of last year and am now prepared to transcend into the A2 year. I think that I will be able to absorb even more information in this following year if I devote an extended amount of time and thought towards my creative coursework and focus as well as once again time towards my academic work within the subject. Additionally I hope to create an even better media piece, being the music video, this year than it the last by gathering all of the information that I have acquired from last year in addition to what I will learn this year. In general I feel excited and prepared to begin the second year of media studies at my educational facility.