What are Music Videos?
A music video or song video is a short
film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic
purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a
marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings.
Music videos are designed to capture the essence of an audio performance and
interpret it visually. Some videos, particular those created during the 1980s,
do follow a relatively linear path, combining staged shots of the band in performance
with a subplot based on the song's lyrics. Others use the band members as
actors in a short film, or leave the band out of the video entirely.
Types and styles of
music videos
Not all music videos are made equal. There are different
types of music videos that work best for different artists and different types
of music.
Performance music
video:
This is the staple, it is the oldest type of music video and
most videos consist of this. Performance music videos are exactly that, the
artist(s) performing the song. Where are they performing? It could be in front
of an audience which would make it a live stage performance, it could be at a
location that matches the feel of a song like the grounds of a country house or
how about in a recording studio with acoustic instruments making it a live lounge video. How its shot, where it’s shot and how it’s lit are important
decisions to make because it will influence the outcome of the video.
The good thing about a performance video or even performance
elements in a video is that it can fit anywhere and with any artist. How?
Simple; you shoot in the style that suits the artist or song. It can be simple
and dressed down focusing on really good lighting or it could be something huge
and spectacular, it can focus on a massive dance routine or the artist’s sole
performance. Take a look at these examples Beyoncé’s Single Ladies is a
very stylish dance based performance video, The Pretender by Foo
Fighters is a straight up band performance in a huge space and Sinead
O’Connor’s Nothing Compares To You is mostly her face to the camera. So a
performance music video is just that, a performance, or more specifically the
performance of the artist.
Narrative music
video:
A narrative music videos are music videos with a story; they
have a beginning, middle and end. This allows directors to tell the stories
they want, how they want and even in the genres they want. You can tell a story
from start to finish like Drake's Hold On, We're Going Home, show
parts of what seems like a bigger story like The 1975’s Robbers or even an
alternative narrative like our very own Remedy by
The New Citizen Kane where the audience makes up their own mind on the story.
This is where the film maker can really shine because they can tell a story in
the genre and cinematography of their choosing, sometimes without adhering to
the rules of storytelling.
Songs for the most part are already stories, even if the
song doesn’t have lyrics, they all tell stories. The interesting thing here is
that the story can be the song rolled out for you to see, sometimes the story
is an alternative interpretation and other times the story seems to have
nothing to do with the song at all but what works works like Alt-J’s Breezeblocks.
Lyric music video:
A lyric video is a music video where the lyrics appear on
screen. The first level of innovation came by making the font and visuals match
the song – sweet font and vibrant colours for a bubble gum pop song, edgy font
and more hard-core imagery for heavy metal. The next level of innovation was
the style of animation for the visuals and text – slow and sexy or fast and
impactful. Those are the basics and can be seen in Jodie Abacus’ video I'll Be That Friend. Notice the vibrant images matching the tone of the song
and the font design It feels right. But lyric videos don’t stop there, it can
even be fused with other video types to create something cool and new. Take
Ariana Grande’s Everyday which fuses lyric and performance videos or one
of my personal favourites Suit & Tie from
Justin Timberlake ft. Jay Z which combines lyric, narrative, concept and animation.
In the music
video industry lyric videos serve more of a practical purpose; usually as a
place holder until the actual music video is made, a video for when the artist
isn’t available for a shoot or a less expensive option. These aren’t bad things
and I wouldn’t go as far as calling lyric videos a Plan C option or even Plan
B, it just serves more as a function and simpler option. Lyric videos are relatively new and have been evolving
fast.
Concept music video:
Concept video
is an artistic expression. There’s an idea behind it or theme that drives the
visuals like Childish Gambino’s Sweatpants. Now
these can be quite fun because where narrative videos can have less rules;
concept videos have none. It’s a limitless playground where anything is
possible. Such as CGI, top motion fun and a series of shots depicting different
people’s expressions. Interpreting a song and then bringing it to life in a way
that only you (or the director) could like the hauntingly spectacular Feathers Falling by
Amani.
Not saying
every type of video has a place, but most do. You wouldn’t imagine One
Direction having an artistic concept video, this is an approach more akin to
non-mainstream or non-pop music. Due to concept music videos not necessarily
telling a story (at least via conventional methods), it’s important that the
video captures the feel and tone of the song and this approach doesn’t marry
well with pop music and their audiences unless it’s a cross-genre like Darwin
Deez and his very cool and very quirky Radar Detector–
he’s an indie pop artist and a character so it works.
A Concept
music video is an alternative approach for alternative artists. It is the most
open and freeing approaches that make way for amazing outcomes.
Animation music video:
First things
first; the term “animation” is an umbrella term. We sometimes get artists
saying they’d like an animated music video, here’s the thing; that could mean
anything between cell animation like old fashioned cartoons, CG like Monsters
Inc, stop motion like Wallace and Gromit, filming against Green Screen then
placing them into another environment and many other variations. They all
require different skill sets and disciplines, each very respectable. Animation
is basically giving movement to something. In the context of music videos
animation can be applied to all types; it can be a narrative stop motion video,
a performance video against green screen or a 3D CG concept video full of fun
and weird shapes.
Animation is
by definition – versatile. Animation should only be used when its right, it
should feel right and not used as a gimmick. I’m a huge fan of stop motion and
the amount of skill, talent and discipline that goes into it and history has
some fantastic examples Nina
Simone’s My Baby Just Cares For Me used Claymation stop motion,
Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer used both stop motion (animating objects)
and pixilation (animating people) and a personal favourite of mine Her Morning Elegance from Oren Lavie is particularly inventive. Animation
opens new windows of opportunity. When you are limited by what you have,
animation makes the options limitless.
“A music video is a short film integrating a song and
imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes.” Music videos are
primarily used as a marketing device – to promote the sales of music
recordings.
The evolution of music video through the decades has been remarkable; from the
illustrated songs to soundies to Mtv videos to youtube etc.
This timeline below is an insight into music video industry...
- Music video demonstrate genre characteristics
- Recording and Production are more important. Focus is on the narrative rather than live performances.
- Attempts to follow pop culture trends which is very clear in this music video (Costumes, make up, lighting, etc)
- Relationship between visuals & lyrics
 |
| 'And every second is like torture.' |
 |
| 'I was in Pain.' |
 |
| This is a modern fairytale, no happy ending, no win... |
- Relationship between music and visual
- Demands of Record Labels
Comprises of voyeuristic treatment of female body, implies more than seen and sells the artist using sexuality. Usually involves stages and mirrors, all focusing on the artist.
In this video there is a bit of voyeurism. It also includes the star image looking directly at the camera, this helps the audience connect to the character more.
- Inter-textual references
There are no as such inter textual references in this music video. However, Inter-textuality is the way in which one media text is referenced in another.
Sven E Carlson theories
He believed in Binary Opposition which is to breakup the music videos into black and white boxes, almost everything is then perceived as opposites.
There are 3 main types;
1.Commercial Exhibitionist
2.Televised Bard
3.Electronic Shayman
Commercial Exhibitionist - Is when the artist in the video sells his/her voice, face or lifestyle to the viewers in order to attract them and promote the music video. Here, In The heart wants what it wants, Selena becomes very vulnerable and uses her voice and close ups. Since her songs are mostly about loving life and empowerment, this took a different turn and show cased another side of Selena.
Televised Bard- when an artist tells us a story and we see it happening through the singing with different locations and images.
The music video clearly has a narrative that is defined by lyrics and music and is reflected by the location set, costumes, images etc. For example, The whole music video is in Black and White to show a dull surrounding. Selena's emotions, body language. The costumes are black which represents sadness.
- recycled styles
- cliche'd imagery
- info overload
- soft core pornography
- speed, power, girls and wealth
- adolescent male fantasies
Steve Archar theories
Strong relationship between Narrative and Performance.
Since this is an entirely narrative based music video and there isn't any performance so this theory cannot be applied to this particular music video.
John Steward theories
He claimed that music video has the aesthetics of TV commercials, lots of closeups & lighting being used to focus on the star's face. There are visual references in the music video as coming from a range of sources, although three most probably are;
1.Cinema
2.Fashion
3.Art photography
This is somewhat true as Selena has a lot of close ups, the costumes are also quite in style and the audience can relate to the song and music video.
Laura Mulvi theories
Malvi is a feminist theorist who believed it's still a man's world. She believed that women are passively looked at and seen as objects of giving pleasure to men. In this case, Selena's video is somewhat true as the guy in the music video breaks her heart and cheats on her repeatedly and shamelessly.
Inter-textuality
Inter-textuality refers to the interconnection that occurs naturally or purposefully in works of art. Because no art is created in a vacuum, it is natural for writers, filmmakers, musicians, and other artists to include references to other people's art in their own art. It helps them create connections with their audience or to illustrate a larger point they are trying to make by creating a parallel to other art their audience is already familiar with. Sometimes, inter-textuality slips in without the creator directly noticing.
An example of inter-texuality is Lady Gagas ‘paparazzi’video features newspaper headlines and articles throughout making this a form of inter-textuality in her video.
Robbie Williams- ‘You know me’• This video features the artist being taken to an ‘Alice in wonderland’ style setting with Robbie Williams dressed up as the rabbit from the film. This creates inter-textuality between the film and his music video. • Also at the end of the video there is a shot of the artist in the Metro-Goldwyn –Mayer trademark lion replaced with the rabbit character.
Katy Perry- ‘Last Friday night’ • Katy Perry’s ‘last Friday night’ video includes inter-textual references with there being credits in the start and end of the video and out takes. Creating a film like effect.• The characters are all wearing clothes that were typically worn in the 80’s.• The artist looks on a social networking site called ‘friendplace’ this is acting as a ‘facebook’ in the video.
Taylor Swift- ‘Love story’• The lyrics of this song talk about Romeo and Juliette. This video is made to look like a modernised version of the story, relating more to the lyrics of the song.
Voyeurism
Voyeurism, is gaining sexual pleasure by watching someone or something that you find sexually appealing. The term voyeurism was exclusive to extreme sexual depiction at some point but as voyeurism has spread everywhere including video games, films and music videos, some music videos are more voyeuristic than the other ones.
How to be a Heart Breaker is a good example of mild voyeurism. There are no explicit sexual activities going on but the half (or almost) naked models have undoubtedly been put into the music video for voyeuristic purposes. However, Marina barely interacts with the models in the music video which makes it less voyeuristic. And it’s quite obvious that the targeted audience for this music video are teenage and young adult girls, or even boys who won’t mind.
Have you seen Hanna Montana’s music video in which she’s naked on a wrecking ball’ was what everyone was talking about in 2013 early September. But what distinguishes it from other voyeuristic music videos is not because of the fact that she is completely naked; because many other artists such as Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Madonna have stripped naked in a music video at some point in their lives. The reason for its distinction is object sexuality! Miley Cyrus licks a hammer in the sexually as well as socially provocative video which connotes oral sex. Not only is the hammer involved in the objectophilia present in the video but also a huge wrecking ball which connotes God knows what!
Genre
Music genre is a category or type belonging to a shared tradition or a set of conventions. Music is divided in different genre like pop, rock , hip hop etc. Though there are a variety of genres but this classification is often subjective and sometimes genres overlap each other.
Music genre is very important and it could be very well noticed that the genre is the first label placed on the band. Most importantly it is used to target a specific audience and most of all it would be easy for both the maker and the viewer to easily categorize their work. Though not every band is able to stick neatly into the little space of its genre there are some music videos that follow up the pattern of disjuncture as stated by Andrew Godwin which means that the song intentionally ignores the content of the song and the genre of the music. Like for example: Can't stop by Red Hot Chilli Pepper. However with passage of time new genres have arise by the development of new forms and styles of music and also simply by creating a new category. Although it is possible to create a musical style with no relation to existing genres yet the new styles appear under the influence of preexisting genres. The blend of more then two genres in music is often known as Fusion. Though it is influenced by other music genres fusion somehow has become a genre in itself. Instrumental fusion based on the experimental mix of rock and roll , country pop.
It is difficult to categorize fusion artists within a non-fusion styles. There might be many reasons but one of the biggest one could be the overlapping of one genre with the other. Fusion artists generally consider themselves part of both genres. A musician who plays music that is blues but is influenced by rock, for example, is often labeled a blues-rock musician.
Genre Theories
The genre theory bases it self on codes and conventions of the type of genre you choose, this means everything that should be included in that certain genre i.e. an R&B music video would be shot in an urban area or club, themes and setting etc.
The codes and conventions are the same every time for the same genre, the only thing that’s different is the style in which the director directs the music video, such as techniques, camera work styles etc. The genre theorist Professor Steve Neale is an analytic philosopher and specialist in the philosophy of language who have written extensively about meaning, information, interpretation and communication he declares that ‘’Genres are instances of repetition and difference’’ he states that difference is good as more repetition would be boring and would attract an audience.
Genre refers to the type of music and music video, each genre has it’s own characteristics, techniques, setting, themes etc. Which can be identified and recognised by an audience as that specific genre.
Theorists
• Knight argues that ‘’making sense of texts in genres is an active process of creating meaning.’’
• Duff is like many other theorists, he believes ‘’that genre is evolving over time and that conventions are a result of agreements between the author and reader.’’
• Sonia Livingston says that ‘’Different genres specify different contracts to be negotiated between the text and reader’’ again like Duff.
• Nicholas's Abercrombie says that ‘’Media producers should stick to using the typical conventions in a music video or film, as audiences are guaranteed to like them and identify with them easily.’’
• Andrew Goodwin says that – ‘’Music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song plus the artist. Relationships are built between these in the video, and the close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require. Voyeurism is used to increase the video’s attractiveness, particularly to males, whilst inter sexuality is often employed in humorous videos.’’
Music video Analysis
ROBBERS- THE1975
1. CAMERA SHOTS AND MOVEMENT
Most of the camera shots in this video appear to have been filmed using a handheld camera. The shots have an unstable, wavering quality which makes the video appear more realistic, and increases elements of tension and chaos at certain points during the video. The realistic quality that using a handheld camera added to the video allows the audience to feel more involved in the narrative, as if they are watching the events unfold from the perspective of somebody who is actually in the video. Establishing shots haven't really been used in this music video, as it focuses mainly on the story involving the two main characters- setting is not a key element of this video. Close-up shots are used throughout this music video in order to emphasize the intensity of the narrative and to show the emotions of the characters through their facial expressions.
EDITING/TRANSITIONS
The editor has used simple jump cuts to change between clips/camera shots in this music video. This emphasizes the realism of the video and doesn't distract attention from its plot. At the start of the video, the editing is fairly slow paced, reflecting the relaxed atmosphere of this part of the narrative. As the story line dramatizes, however, the editing becomes fast paced, the clips shorter and cuts more jumpy. This highlights the intense and chaotic mood that has developed within the video. The tones in this music video are quite subdued and muted, so a denaturation filter may have been added to the clips during the editing process to create this effect.
MIS EN SCENE
The colors shown in this music video are quite dull and de-saturated (mentioned above)- an effect that was most likely added during the editing process. This type of color scheme seems to be popular within music videos of the indie pop genre, so in this way the band have conformed to a stereotype of their genre. The lighting in this music video appears to be purely natural, which again emphasizes the realism of the narrative. There are some scenes in the video where the lighting creates artistic effects, for example when the two lead characters can be seen together as silhouettes. Professional lighting may have been used here in addition to natural lighting in order to create this effect. These types of artistic shots are common among music videos within the indie pop genre, and add interesting conceptual elements to narrative videos.
I think that the clothing worn by the characters in this music video could be viewed as typical of the genre. The female protagonist of the video can be seen mostly wearing outfits including plain high waisted jeans or shorts with patterned cropped tops. The clothing she wears in the music video is unusual and unique, and therefore fits the indie aspect of this genre. The male protagonist dresses predominantly in black, ripped skinny jeans with various shirts worn throughout the video. His clothing is edgy and fairly distinctive, which also fits the indie aspect of this genre.
I don't think that setting plays a key part in this music video- the storyline is so captivating and focused on that the settings of each scene appear to be a minor background detail. The establishing shot shown below appears to be the only point in the video where the setting is the main focus of a shot. It creates an air of mystery, as commotion and gunshots can be heard from inside the building, yet the audience are unable to see what is actually happening. They are left to assume what happened from the events that occur before and after this particular shot.
REPRESENTATION
In this music video, only the lead singer of the band features enough to show any real representation of character. The lead singer plays a seemingly dangerous character who appears to be quite romanticized. Throughout the video, he drinks, smokes, does drugs and plays with a gun whilst clearly intoxicated, all before robbing a supermarket and getting shot. These actions should in theory make him seem like an unappealing person, however, I think that the presence of a lover throughout the events of the video secure the artist with a desirable 'bad boy' type persona.
GENRE OF THE MUSIC AND HOW THIS IS SIGNIFIED IN THE VIDEO
As mentioned previously, the genre of the music is indie pop. I think that the low saturation and muted quality of the colors in the video are indicative of the genre of music, as this is a common feature in alternative pop videos. The main characters in the video are young adults, and as Indie Pop is quite a modern and newly popular genre of music, the age of the characters in the video reflects this. The clothing of the characters in this music video is also relevant to the genre of music as it is quite unique and unusual- words that relate to the word 'indie'.
Intertextuality
There are no clear intertextual references within this music video. This is probably due to the genre being Indie Pop- the association of mainstream media is not a common feature for an Indie Pop music video to have. However, this music video could be interpreted as a homage to Bonnie and Clyde as it depicts a boy and a girl who are madly in love committing crime together.
Audience Reception
Stuart Hall's Audience Reception Theory demonstrates three ways in which an audience might read a media text. The theory of preferred reading is when the audience reads the text the way the author intended them to. The theory of negotiated reading is when the audience reads the text the way the author intended, but also uses their personal experiences and interests to modify their interpretation. The third theory is the Opposition reading theory, where the readers' social position means that they have an opposing relation to the text. Therefore, they reject the reading.
For The 1975's 'Robbers' music video, I think that the theory of preferred reading is the most relevant as there is a clear storyline for the audience to follow, therefore, they view the video the way that the artist intended. The theory of negotiated reading could also be applied to this video as a viewer could use their own positions and experiences to interpret certain elements of the storyline.
ROYALS- LORDE
Camera Shots/Movements/Angles:
This music video contains a variety of shots including close ups, mid shots, long shots and tracking shots. Using this range of shots makes the video feel more realistic as it enables the audience to see more of various scenes, almost causing them to feel as if they were in the room. It contains footage filmed on both handheld cameras and using a Steadicam, however, the majority of the video has been filmed using a Steadicam/tripod. I think that this gives the video a clean cut feel and allows the audience to focus on the content of the shots, without being distracted by excessive camera movement. Clips of the singer lipsynching to the song have been included in this music video. They consist mostly of close up shots where the singer is looking directly into the camera. This allows the audience to connect more with the artist, and showing close up shots of the artist provides the opportunity for recognition from the audience. A tracking shot of a street has been used at the beginning and end of this music video. This makes the audience feel as though they are travelling to and from the setting of the video, providing closure and a narrative perspective for the viewer.
Editing Transitions:
In this music video, simple jump cuts are used to switch between clips. This emphasizes the clean cut feel that the video has, and ensures that the focus is entirely on the clips on screen rather than having elaborate transitions. Jump cuts also provide an immediate switch between clips, which in turn takes up less screen time. A slow motion effect has been added on to a few of the shots in this video. This makes them more dramatic, which I think fits the overall theme of the music video well.
Mise-en-Scene:
The color scheme in this music video is quite subdued and dull- this effect may have been created during the editing process by decreasing the saturation of the video clips. This gives the music video a bleak and desolate quality, enhancing the dramatic yet realistic feel of the narrative. The lighting in this video is muted, giving each shot an effect that works to enhance the overall theme of the music video.
This music video shows the actors and the artist dressed in simple, plain and modern clothing. This gives the impression that costume is not a large focal point in the video, as the outfits almost seem to blend into their surroundings- they are not out of the ordinary. This highlights the elements of realism shown in this music video and makes it feel more relatable to the audience. The clothing worn in this video also shows that it is set in the present day, which reflects the modern and contemporary style of music.
This music video opens with a tracking shot showing a suburban housing estate. This immediately shows the audience that the video is set in a mundane, everyday environment, which also sets the tone for the whole music video. The other settings used in the video are the various rooms in a house, a gym, a swimming pool, a bus stop and a bus. These settings make the music video and the artist feel more accessible to the audience as they are universally recognized as day-to-day places that have a presence in most people's lives.
Representation
I don't think that this music video shows any specific or particularly prominent representation of the artist. The only featuring that the artist has in this video is short clips of her lip synching to the track interspersed among the narrative clips that make up the majority of the video. This could give the impression that the artist is modest and not self-centred, as she is not the sole focus of the video. The artist is not filmed from a high or low angle, which could be interpreted as her way of showing the audience that she is on the same level as them- they are equals.
Genre of the music and how this is signified in the video
The genre of this music video is Indie Pop. I think that the low saturation and muted color scheme is indicative of this as these are fairly common features for a music video within this genre to have. The actors in the video are young adults, and as Indie Pop is quite a modern and newly popular genre of music, the age of the actors in the video reflects this. The artist is also clearly in her late teens, which backs up my aforementioned point about this genre of music. The video doesn't appear extravagant or over produced, which reflects the 'indie' (independent) aspect of the genre.
Intertextuality
There are no clear intertextual references within this music video. This is probably due to the genre being Indie Pop- the association of mainstream media is not a common feature for an Indie Pop music video to have.
Audience Reception
For Lorde's 'Royals' music video, I think that the theory of negotiated reading is the most relevant as there is a narrative for the viewer to follow, and as there is emphasis on the realism and mundane elements of this video, the audience can read the text as the author intended, while also drawing on personal experience in order to relate to the video.
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