Club music is a set of percussive electronic music genres produced primarily for environments centred in dance-based entertainment, such as nightclub settings. In club music videos the lighting is always bright and the overall picture is colourful. This specific genre of videos is usually filmed in a hot country where the heat is intense and the sun is blazing.
J Lo drives up to the club in her BMW and as she comes out of the car, the camera focuses on her putting on her Swarovski Crystal earrings.
The main setting is in the club where J Lo is shown to dance with many costume changes – all glitzy gold’s and provocative in design. The dancing and pace is fast until the chorus, where the pace changes to slow motion.
Rap music or hip-hop music is a music genre consisting of a stylised rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping which is a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.
Rap developed as a part of hip-hop culture and rapping also referred as emceeing, it is a vocal style in which the artist speaks lyrically in rhyme and verse to an instrumental or synthesised beat.
Pop music is a genre of popular music which originated from its original form in the 1950s, derived from rock and roll. Pop songs are very electric and often borrow elements from other styles such as; urban, dance, rock, latin and country. Moreover there are core elements which define pop music. The generally include short-to-medium length songs which are written in a basic format that are usually verse-chorus structure, as well as the common use of repeated choruses, melodic tunes and catchy hooks. Power pop features all these key elements, using electric guitars, drums and bass for instrumentation. This is so it is pleasurable to listen to rather than having too much artistic depth. Pop music is generally thought of as a genre which is commercially recorded and desires to have a mass audience appeal. Katy Perry- "Part of Me" (2012)
Part of Me by Katy Perry is a dance-pop song that draws influences from pop rock culture, house, synth-pop and disco. It uses the wide-range of influences present in pop music, presenting catchy lyrics, manufactured beats and lavish production. This song has a wide appeal.
1 - Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. - Themes, mise-en-scene and events of the video match with lyrics of the song, to help to portray the message of the song.
2 - Relationship between the music and the visuals.
- The cuts and edits of the video are in sync with the rhythm and beat of the song matching cuts or effects to specific drum beats or notes.
3 - Music videos have genre characteristics
- Certain features are expected out of a video depending on the genre of the music, for example a girl bands/artists are expected to have dancers and close ups of the singers, whilst a Indi band are expected to have performance shots ofthe band and cut to a fast beat.
4 - Often due to the demands of the record label, artists videos will include many close ups of the artist and will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos
- This allows the record label to promote a set image for the band, which will help target audiences empathise with the band.
5 - Emphasis on 'looking'
- The 'male gaze' is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze is a focus on presenting things that appeal to men. This often means a voyeuristic view of, and an objectification, of women. The emphasis on looking also includes the artist looking directly into the camera helping the audience connect with the artist.
6 - Intertexual references.
- Music videos reference other forms of media, most commonly film, but can alos be television and other music videos.
How to analyse music videos; Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that we, the audience, should look out for; - Thought beats – Where you ‘see’ in the sound - Narrative and Performance - The Star Image - Relation of visuals to song - Technical aspects of a music video
‘Thought Beats – ‘Seeing’ the soundStep 1. To look at the music itself. We must take into account the structure of the song.
Step 2. The voice of the song. The artists voice is extremely unique and can form indentificatio or trademakrs that work well with the star image. Roland Barthes theory of the Grain of voice can be related to this. He sees the singing voice as an expressive instrument and therefore able to make associations of its own.
Step 3. Goodwin points out the artists mode of address. Songs can be seen as stories and the artist the storyteller, making the music video a two communication device – them telling us a story and we listening.
Narrative & PerformanceSongs fail to give us the complete narrative. We only tend to get a gist of the meaning of the song and then tend to make up our own idea of what is being told – An negociated view of a text. Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative. It is important in their role of advertiseing. Music videos should coherent repeatability. Narrative and performance work hand in hand its make it easier for the audience to watch over and over without loosing interest. The artist acting as both narrator & participant helps to increase the authenticity however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.
‘Star Image’The star image is another vital aspect of music videos. Meta narrative which is a big story that describes the development of the star over time, it has an important part to play in the music video production process.
Relation of Visuals to the songthere are three ways in which music videos work to promote a song;
Technical AspectsTechnical aspects hold the music video together through use of camera work, movement, angle, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and special effects. Speed, camera movement, editing, cutting and post production are all forms of use of camera. Lighting and colour help set moods and emphasise key movements of the song for dramatic effect. Mise-en-scene, the setting of music videos is vital, it needs to look authentic to attain professionalism. Beats, music videos use cuts to go with the beat or rhythm making the video more entertaining.
Spike Lee is an American film director, producer, writer and actor from Atlanta, Georgia. He has his own production company, his films mainly addresses really serious topics which include:
Race relations
Colourism in the black community
The role of media in the contemporary life
Urban crime
Poverty
Political issues
Lee's work is very controversial and close to the bone. In 1985, Lee began to work on his first feature film, She's Gotta Have It. He had a budget of $175,000, he shot the film in just two weeks. When the film was released in 1986, it grossed over $7,000,000 at the US box office. In the mid-1990's, Levi's began producing a series of television adverts which were directed by Lee for their 501 button fly jeans. Lee has also worked for Nike as he was invited by Nike to become the director for the Air Jordan adverts, the brand was named after Michael Jordan, the basketball player.
Lee has also directed some great music videos, he has worked with artists such as Prince and Michael Jackson. He has filmed 15 music videos and they all have been very successful, one of his most successful videos was the 'This Is It' video which was released just after the death of Michael Jackson. It was used to promote the film that came out shortly after his death, which commemorated the great artist himself.
David Fincher, although a very well known Thriller director, is also well associated with the direction of some of the best music videos ever made. Originally from Colorado, Fincher has had an illustrious career, and has directed some of the most famous music videos, including Madonna's 'Vogue'. In total, Fincher has directed 56 music videos, and has worked with some of the greatest artists that ever worked in the music industry, including Michael Jackson, Billy Idol, Steve Winwood (of Fleetwood Mac fame) and The Rolling Stones.
Fincher is well known for his unique style in direction and his unique ideas. Fincher's most famous video is probably Madonna's 'Vogue', which is an incredible video (as already discussed!).
John Landis is a director, actor, screenwriter and producer. Born in Chicago, Landis is notable for his numerous films, including the 1980s film The Blues Brothers, which he co-wrote. This film included starts such as Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Cab Calloway. Landis is also noted for his other projects, which include many short films.
Landis is most famous for being the director of Michael Jackson's iconic 'Thriller' short film. Landis is well recognised as a horror or thriller director, hence making his involvement with the 'Thriller' video so important. It could be construed that his work on 'An American Werewolf In London' was an influence on the Michael Jackson video, which Landis filmed 2 years previously.
He has very specific techniques, including breaking the fourth wall, a Brechtian idea often used in drama, references to King Kong throughout his films and having other directors cameo in his films.
Landis is also well known for his work on 'Into The Night', out of which came 3 B. B King songs, all of which the videos were taken form the film.
Even though this is the same song and similar in the layout, both of these music videos give off a very different impact and message.
The first music video I had seen many times before are really like the effects used, especially the use of the pop of colours and how it is light hearted and upbeat.
A couple of days ago I was watching MTV and the second video appeared on the screen. I was so shocked because the contrast of these two videos is massive.
The second music video is set in a dark room with spot lighting to emphasis the instruments and artists featured. In a way I think I like this music video more because of the impact and atmosphere it creates.
Internationally renowned pop starlet Rihanna has always had a bit of a reputation as a bad girl. However, when this particular video came out, I was forced to turn it off, simply because I was appalled that something like that had been allowed to be shown on television. Yes, the song's title almost requires the video to be based on sex, but to the extent that it was, I thought was unacceptable, and was quite glad when countries began to ban it from their screens. Unsurprisingly, the video does have a warning that comes with it on YouTube (as it should because of it's inappropriate content) and I won't be posting it on my blog because it annoys and disgusts me so much. I think this video is simply unnecessary and ridiculously over-sexualised.
I think the way in which this music video was shot is very clever and imaginative. Believe it or not, but this music video is all one shot! It may not seem like it but if you look closer you will realise that the shot hasn't changed it is just a clever manipulation of camera angles!
One of the reasons why it is my favourite is because the song is so fast paced so you would thing that fast shots would be needed but the camera angles are so uniquely used it is in direct correlation with the song.
I admire the everyone in the production and involvement of this music video as they could not make any mistakes as it is only one shot.
Snow Patrol are a British band who have many major hits in the UK. Their 2003 album 'Final Straw' was certified as 5x Platinum, and the band have sold over 3 million copies of it worldwide. The Northern Irish band had huge success with this hit 'Chasing Cars'.
What do I love about this video? This is one of the most simple ideas for a music video. The director has essentially taken one line of the song "if I lay here would you lie with me?" and placed the lead singer in difference places every time he sings this lyric. This such a simple idea, and yet it makes for a good video, where we just see people walking over the singer as he obstructs their way in various settings, such as on a train, at the top of an escalator and in the middle of the road. One of the really interesting things about this video is that the shots are actually quite long, but this fits with the mood and style of the song. Normally, longer shots create a sluggish, boring video, and, let's face it, this video wouldn't win an award for being the most exciting video ever made. But it still works well, and more importantly doesn't detract from the lyrics. If anything, it adds to them, giving a visual representation of him lying down, asking if she would lie with him and "just forget the world". As with most music videos, we have CUs of the face of the lead singer, again creating a sort of relationship between the viewer and the band. To stop this video from becoming boring, the director has chosen to use a lot of shots that zoom in or out, thus keeping the action still rolling, despite the shots being relatively long. What I really love about this video is that it allows the song to sell itself. The video doesn't make the song into something that it isn't; if anything, it strips it back to the bar bones, and allows the song's lyrics and meaning to shine through, which is a factor, I think, that made this song so popular.
Chris Brown is an American recording artist, dancer, and actor. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, he taught himself to sing and dance at a young age and was involved in his church choir and several local talent shows. Having signed with Jive Records in 2004, Brown released his self-titled debut studio album the following year. It peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200 and was later certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
What do I love about this video?
This is one of the greatest narrative's for a music video i have seen yet. The director has essentially made a short film and has made Brown look very flashy. According to Brown, the chorus ("It's alright/I'm not dangerous/If you're mine, I'll be generous/You're irreplaceable/A collectible, just like fine china") is about "how delicate, priceless and beautiful a girl can be. As with most music videos, we have CUs of the face of the lead singer, again creating a sort of relationship between the viewer and the band. To stop this video from becoming boring, the director has chosen to use a lot of shots that zoom in or out, thus keeping the action still rolling, despite the shots being relatively long.
Cyndi Lauper is an American singer/songwriter. She has had 5 No. 1 singles, including 'Time After Time' and 'She Bop'. She has sold over 30 million albums worldwide and has received numerous award.
This 1983 video starts with a woman sat at the table, cracking eggs into a bowl. We can see immediately by her dress - she wears a floral top with an apron, that she is supposed to portray a housewife. She keeps looking at her watch. As the song starts, we have a really interesting shot of a woman moving right to left down a brick alley. This shot is heavily edited and a complete contrast to the previous shot of the woman in the kitchen. As the riff of the song begins, the camera cuts to an establishing shot of a street and we see a woman dancing down the street, interspersed with shots of the woman in the kitchen still cracking eggs.
The song is obviously of a narrative style; the lyrics start "I come home in the morning light" and we see Cyndi - who had previously been dancing manically down the street, dressed in party clothes - enter the kitchen where the woman cracking the eggs is. It becomes obvious as their interactions are shown that these two are meant to represent mother and daughter, and that the mother has been waiting for Cyndi to return from a night out. Interestingly, both Cyndi and her mother character say the lines that her mother says according to the song, a lovely touch, I think, that makes is an interesting way of representing the lyrics.
In the musical interlude, Cyndi once again dances in a rather odd style down the corridor, and we can see that the house is meant to represent something in the 80s, thus fitting completely with the time that it was recorded and released. As the second verse starts - with the lines "the phone rings" - we see a hand reaching for the phone, being stopped by a male's hand catching the wrist. We have something very similar to the first verse, where the father character says the words that the lyrics tell him to be saying to her. We have a sense of conflict throughout this video, with Cyndi's parents being obviously annoyed and frustrated that all their daughter wants to do is "have fun" rather than take anything in her life seriously.
The next sequence of shots sees Cyndi picking up the phone to her friend, and we have a sort of mock American sitcom style representation of the phonecall. Cyndi is shown in a small circle at the bottom right hand corner of the screen, whereas he friend is seen in large in the shot. This idea is interesting, and actually depicts teenagers very well, just by having the shot in this way. Each of the shots in this sequence is similar, each one of a different girl with Cyndi still singing down the phone at them whilst they chat, and in some cases, drink down the phone. After we have had individual shots of each of these girls, we have group shot of the 9 of them - including Cyndi - singing the lines "girls we want, we wanna have fun", moving in time with each other, swaying side to side.
We next have a really interseting shot, where the shot morphs into a sphere in the centre of the screen, revealing a green background and multicoloured circles around the edges of the shot. Again, this shot implies a sort of youthful idea, and is fun to look at in itself. The circle in the middle is then split up and brought back together again, with more shots of the same thing becoming small spheres around the outside of the shot. This is then cleverly edited into a polka dot style, which then becomes a bag of some sort that Cyndi holds in front of the camera and then moves as she begins to sing again - all very very clever editing.
Next, we see Cyndi watching television, and the video goes into the black and white film, showing a man picking up a girl and "hiding her from the rest of the world", another fun idea. We then have a CU of Cyndi's face, creating an intimacy with the viewer. We then have shots of the girls already previously shown in the video putting on their sunglasses, interspersed with shots of the 9 of them swaying from side to side, creating the idea of friendship and similarity - "girls just want to have fun". Some of these shots are flipped - again using the idea of fun editing to make a fun video.
We then see the girls - led by Cyndi - dancing down the street singing, as crowds line the street to watch. We seet he girls in various different settings, dancing around, creating a youthful feeling for the viewer. The crowds then join in the gentle dance through the streets, interspersed with shots of Cyndi's mother and father at home. The crowd then dances through the kitchen, much to the shock of the parents and into her bedroom.
We are then introduced to a man in a suit holding flowers. We can't hear him, but he seems to be shouting the word 'Cyndi', obviously looking for the singer. He finds her and kisses her, just as Cyndi's parents look through the keyhole to her bedroom and see. The crowd then fall out of the door and on top of her father, again, something very comical that adds to the fun of this video.
So, what makes this a great video?
- everything - editing, storyline etc - adds to makes this a fun video - it's very funny - captures the idea of youth and "girls just wanting to have fun" - feel good
Queen are one of the most iconic British bands ever. They've had numerous No. 1 hits, including 'Bohemian Rhapsody' (twice), 'We Will Rock You', and their collaboration with David Bowie 'Under Pressure'. The lead singer and front man of the band Freddie Mercury has become one of the most iconic music figure throughout time, and the band have a musical written using their songs in London's Dominican Theatre.
This music video is probably the most iconic music video ever made. This is the music video that was the first major success, and people often hail it was the first music video (even though this is incorrect) because before this video, it was not a regular thing for music videos to be produced by record companies to accompany the latest single releases from their artists. This video is THE video that put music videos on the map, and has become so iconic that many other videos do make reference to this particular video in their own. This is video is a showcase video.
The song starts in silhouette, with the members of the band only being shown in shadow. There is smoke all around them, and the sing in the dark. On the lyrics "open your eyes" the lights come on and light the faces of the 4 band members. The clever thing about this video is that we have shots of the top of shots, so we see the 4 band members, and then lead singer Freddie Mercury's face - a CU shot - over the top. This happens several times throughout the song.
As we going into the first real verse, and the piano part, the shot fades into Mercury playing the piano, and we focus to begin with on his hands. Throughout the video, most of the shots of are the band members' faces, thus making this video very intimate with the viewer, making them feel closer to the band. Throughout this sequence of shots, we have 2-shots, MS shots and CUs of the band members; this tends to unify the band, making sure the viewer sees them as a unit and as individuals as well.
As the song changes into the next section, the style of the video changes again. It goes back into the silhouette form at the beginning of the video, working a lot with shadows and the faces of the band, rather than having them performing the song. We then have some really interesting editing, with faces being replicated via computer and then spread across the screen. We also have the same shot replicated several times on the screen, which fits with the more bizarre section of the song.
As we go into the guitar solo and the "so you think you can stop me" section, we go back to the band performing the song. This again signifies visually to the viewer that the song has changed into a new section. We stay in this section until the very end of the song, where we have on last shot of the silhouettes, which ends with the beating of a gong.
So, what makes this music video so great?
- at the time, it was the most revolutionary video, and its iconicity has remained throughout the years - it clearly fits with the song, with each section being visually separated - in its day, it used the height of technology in editing - it's very angular in the silhouette sequences, which is interesting for the viewer - it's a showcase and therefore promotes both band and song
Madonna is one of the most well-known female solo artists in the music industry. She has reinvented herself and her music time and time again, hence making her so successful. She has had numerous number one hits, and with her own recording label, and in 2007 signed to Live Nation for $120 million. Having done 4 world tours in her career, Madonna's legacy is huge and she is worth a huge amount of money. She states one of her influences to be Marilyn Monroe, and gathered acclaim in the film 'Evita'. 'Vogue' went to No. 1 in 13 different charts when it was released, and has recently been rerecorded for the hit show 'Glee'.
The most noticeable thing about this video is that it is completely in black and white, a throw back to the Art Deco period and the Golden Years of Hollywood, as signified by the costumes worn throughout the video by the various dancers.
The video starts with a shot of some feather fans - which appear to be ostrich feather, again a throw bad to the eloquence of the Hollywood Golden Age; these fans are then quickly removed, revealing a line of stylised dancers posing. The camera tracks down the line whilst the strings introduction to the song plays. In the shots we see in the opening, there are numbers paintings and sculptures in the background, once again signifying to the viewer a time of great opulence. This continues until the introduction of the beat, and then we have a short shot of the back of a dress, covered in bejewelled strands of fabric. The music is all cut to the beat of the song, and throughout the next sequence of shots, the viewer is shown the dancers moving, interspersed with yet more shots of the back of Madonna.
One of the most interesting shots, I think, at the beginning of this video, is the one where the servant or butler is seen dusting the bannister of a staircase. This, again, is a stereotypical throw-back to the Hollywood Golden Age, and shows a very different era to the one we live in now. We also have a shot of a maid picking up clothes strewn on the floor; both of these shots are interspersed between the before mentioned shots of Madonna's back and the posing dancers.
As the next layer of music comes in, we are shown as CU of Madonna's face, finally being introduced to the artist herself. She has her hands framing her face, once again as a reference back to the setting of the video. It is very obvious in this video that Madonna's main influence on her look is Marilyn Monroe, as she looks very similar to her throughout the video. The words to the song also help to reinforce the time period - "strike the pose" - reinforced by the black and white stylised shots used throughout. This is a huge reference to the Art Deco period that the video is set in, and makes it very clear to the viewer which time period the video is meant to be set in.
Throughout, there is a sense of high fashion in this video, with various actors modelling clothing, using stylised poses, reinforcing the words, contrasted by the idea of the butler and the maid sort of on hand to make sure everything is spotlessly clean and perfect. This is very clever direction by well-renowned filmmaker David Fincher, as if reinforces on so many levels the Hollywood Golden Age and makes it so clear and obvious to the viewer which time period the music video is set in.
Everything about this video is very clear cut. The dancing moves are all in time with the music, and the shots are cut to the beat, again a throw back to the 1930s, when this video is supposedly set. The grandure of the mock Roman pillars throughout are there to emphasise the wealth of the time.
The representation of women in this video is actually very interesting. The women other than Madonna in this video are made to look quite masculine, wearing trouser suits with their hair tied back, where as Madonna looks quite feminine in various dresses with her hair flowing at points. This is very interesting, I feel, as Madonna seems to represent the women how they were at this time and the other women seem to represent a later time when women were shown to be more masculine.
So, what makes this a great video?
- it's snappy cutting to the beat - it's obvious depiction of another era - it's interesting portrayal of high fashion and arts - it's fascinating portrayal of men and women
Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' video is the most well-known music video ever made, with it being voted number 1 on numerous charts of the top rated videos. The original video - a full 14 minutes in length - is one of the most iconic dance videos, and the Thriller Dance has been used repeatedly ever since the video was made, with artists such as Beat Freakz spoofing it.
The video follows a narrative / showcase form, being mostly storyline and then dance routine.
The video starts with a statement from Michael Jackson, which states that the video is not representative of a cult. This was important at the time, as MJ was a practising Jehovas Witness. The video then begins, and is directed in the style of a Thriller movie, with jagged red writing appearing onscreen. The car - driven by Jackson - slows and stops, and he states to the female passenger "We're out of gas". The couple then begin to walk through the forest that they have ended up in. A conversation ensues, where Jackson asks the female to "be his girl". He gives her a ring, a symbolism of love.
The interesting idea then comes next. A CU of the moon and some interesting music signify to the viewer that there is something afoot, and Jackson suddenly turns into a werewolf. We have a CU of the girl's face to show her fear at the scene unfolding before her, interspersed between shots of Jackson's transformation. To reinforced the mock Thriller genre that the video is filmed in, we have close ups of various parts of Jackson's body - ears, hands etc - to show how the transformation is taking over his body. The girl then runs, with the Jackson-wolf in pursuit. The wolf attacks the girl, cowering over her, and we then cut to a group shot of an audience watching the film in the cinema. This is a very interesting idea, as if completely undercuts everything that has previously happened in the music video. Jackson's girlfriend then leaves the cinema, and he goes out after her. Only at this point does the actual introduction to the song start, a whole 4 minutes into the 14 minute video.
We then move outside of the movie theatre, and see a short conversation between Jackson and the girl, before cutting to them walking along a dark alley way, and him beginning to sing the imfamous lyrics "it's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark". They continue down the alley, the girl walking, enjoying MJ's performance as he dances and sings around her, as if telling her the story of Thriller. He does various interesting actions - such as mimicking a zombie, and grabbing her by the shoulders with a crazed look on his face - to emphasise the mockery of the Thriller genre that this music video has as a running theme throughout. We see that the shots change halfway through the second verse, going from LSs to MSs, perhaps implying the closening of the relationship between Jackson and the female.
After the second verse and the introduction of the male speaking voice in the song, the location changes fromt he dingy back alley to misty graveyard, another conventional setting for a Thriller film. As the voice speaks in the song, the camera zooms in on a grave, and a creature begins to break forth from the ground, as the lyrics suggest. We have various shots of creatures coming out of the graves, and walking into the night. The creatures then start to come out of the manhole covers, walking in a disturbing, broken way, zomibefied and horrific. They zombie creatures begin to walk through the streets, and surround Jackson and the girl. We have lots of shots of a circular motion, implying that the group of zombiefied individuals are closing in on the couple, until the shocking shot of Jackson revealed as a Frankinstein's Monster replica. We then have a typical Thriller shot of focusing in the girl's reaction - shocked, obviously - and then the video takes us into a bizarre sort of dance routine, where all the zombies begin to dance along to the song, with Jackson at their forefront.
This dancing continues until Jackson belts out the epic lines "coz this is thriller", where he has now magically returned to being human. However, the zombies and Jackson continue to dance, whilst he sings. After several minutes of this, we then cut to a shot of the girl running into yet another typical location for a Thriller film - an abandon, derelict-looking house. Once again, Jackson has become the Frankenstein Monster figure, and begins to chase her. Unsuprisingly, the zombies go to the house and begin to try to break in. The girl then barracades herself in a room, and the zombiefiend individuals begin to break in through the walls, windows and floors. We have a CU of her face, and then her eyes, to show the fear that she feels at the unfolding situation, as the zombies begin to, once again, close in on her.
Suddenly, we cut to daylight, and MJ is standing over the girl, touching her. He is no longer a zombie, and has returned to his normal self. They begin to walk off together, and Jackson turns to the camera, breaking the fourth wall, and is shown to have yellow eyes, as at the beginning of the video, when he is a werewolf. An evil laugh follows, yet again fulfilling the genre of Thriller films. The credits then go up, as if in a movie, and the creatures - eventually, after Jackson has danced again - return to their misty graves.
So, what makes this a great video:
- it's intertextual reference to the Thriller genre - it's addictive dance in the middle that is both genius and good fun - it's clever narrative that jumps again and again to different realities and scenarios - it's cutting to the beat
These music videos contain footage that mainly tells a story through the moving image. The story is mostly linked to the lyrical content of the song, but sometimes is not.
Taylor Swift takes us on a story as she acts out the lyrics, this is the narrative is very clear the audience that her song is about a breakup. This music video is taken in a house from room to room, going through different times and the images from this video are in direct correlation with the music.
Katy Perry also acts out the lyrics of her song, making her every move very dramatic.
Both these songs are very effective because their actions fit the song perfectly.
These music videos are based around one single concept or idea. These particular videos are sometimes very unusual and mostly original ideas. They usually apply a particular editing or filming technique, which they carry on using throughout the music video.
Christina Perri's song Human follows one concept: Her in a white room and as the lighting changes to flicker the audience get a glimpse of her as a machine. She starts off with perfect skin but towards the end, reality reflects and all her tattoo's appear to show. This video reflects her life and how being famous can put a lot of pressure on a person as you are constantly judged and he message to the viewers from this video is that she is just human and everyone makes mistakes. The sparks that rain down on her at 3:41 gave the video more of an edge.
This music video also follows one concept: Owl City singing in a bedroom.
All the objects that come alive in this video, make the video very dramatic and this gives it a full effect.
Even though both of these videos follow one concept, they are both dramatic and effective because of the effects that have been used.
These music videos mainly feature the artist, band or group performing their song throughout. This is said to be the easiest to do on a budget, seeing that you can film in a practical location.
Beyoncé's song- Love on Top is an example of a performance based music video:
There are close ups of her face, body and her lip movement. Beyonce is dancing with two other dancers and she is put in the middle to show that she is the main person.
She has various costume changes which are all very glamorous, but although the costume changes the setting does not, only the lighting changes in each scene, this is so it can catch the viewers eye. Justin Timberlake's- Take Back The Night is another example of a performance based music video:
The video mostly features Justin Timberlake on a set dancing and on stage at his concert, this is to make the audience feel as if they were at the concert. The lighting changes from natural to bright light, the bright light reflects the lighting in a concert.
The camera mainly focuses on him throughout, focusing in on him dancing . This music video highlights all the key features.
As you can see in both of these videos props are not a major part because the camera mainly focuses on the artists.
A music video is a short film integrating a song and imagery produced for promotional or artistic purposes.
Music videos have played a main part in establishing the artist and promoting the song, they been around since the 1980s.
A music video contains moving images whilst a piece of music is being played. Music videos contain a lot of thought, time and dedication. Many music videos involve a lot of props and special effects to make it my unique and original.
The general change of shot in a music video is every three seconds, sometimes even less. This means that there has to be lots of footage which has to be cut down and edited to fit the music in the right places.
The 'illustrated song' was the initial step to music videos we see everyday on music television channels such as; MTV, VH1, 4 music and VIVA. This idea came from music producers Edward B Marks and Joe Stern, they hired an electrician to project images on a screens longships live performances. This was used to help promote there song "The Little Lost Child".
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