MUSIC VIDEO RESEARCH

By Sam Hodgson

WHAT IS A MUSIC VIDEO?

• Music Videos are visual products released to accompany a band or artists’ single from an album. They are generally used to create a visual interpretation for the product while also selling the artist through the form of a visual. Artists tend to generate mass-exposure through videos and many songs gather a reputation for having controversial and original music video products such as Nicki Minaj’s “Anaconda”, Katy Perry’s “Roar” and “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. Music videos are also largely used as a separate selling point for an artist/institution while also boosting their “star” image.

• Music videos are also usually divided into three different categories; performance, narrative and conceptual.

NARRAT IVE MUS IC V IDEOS

• The definition of a narrative music video is “a video that features a visual story and is easy to follow”. They are music video productions which consist of a plot featuring characters, they are usually very similar to alternate media products such as film productions as they generally apply the Todorov theory of equilibrium. Some good examples of narrative videos are Eminem’s Not Afraid, Aerosmith’s Crazy and Foo Fighters’ Walk.

• Many narrative productions are split between narrative and performance. In such videos, the artist is usually placed within the narrative and is directly lip-syncing their own lyrics to create a personal effect while also using their star image to promote the product. The visuals of a narrative also tend to relate to the lyrics.

• A great example of this is the Aerosmith video for Crazy as the narrative of the two girls causing mayhem directly links to the theme of disaster, sex and feeling of being “crazy” which are all present within the songs lyrics such as “You know you drive me up a wall”

• Some narrative videos also use an enigma code to allow the audience to perceive a deeper meaning behind the visuals, an example of this would be Eminems Not Afraid as the visuals represent much more than appears from a instantaneous perspective.

CONCEPT MUSIC VIDEOS

Concept music videos are becoming far more prevalent in the competitive industry. They tend to revolve around a central idea/theme and usually create surreal tone for the audience.

The obscurity of these productions are usually what attracts the mass audience and the video aims to keep this audience entertained by exploiting this enigmatic concept as best as possible. Concept videos can be divided into two different categories. Thematic Concept Videos: Thematic music videos are conceptual products which rely on a particular theme associated heavily with the genre of the music. For example pop music is commonly associated with dance. Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” video is thematic as it plays on common themes of pop music and relays the same image throughout. Thematic videos also tend have a subtraction of significant mise-en-scene as the video usually aims to convey a message rather than a story such as an anti-war message or moral.Symbolic Concept Videos: Symbolic music videos rely on various symbols convey a tone or message within the product. They often use montage editing to consistently present these symbols and they usually contain the preferred reading of everything having a subsequent hidden meaning. These videos thrive themselves on an enigmatic foreground. A good example of a thematic video is “Nature Nurture” by Dinosaur Pile-Up which features various symbols to present an enigmatic tone and effect.

PERFORMANCE MUSIC VIDEOS

• Performance music videos are generally the standard/benchmark option for institutional production within the industry and is predominantly associated with the rock genre. These productions mainly portray the artist of the single simply performing the track. This can be done in different styles however live performances and studio performances are usually the more popular options. Performance videos are arguably the most important styling of music videos in the industry.

• The presence of the artist in performance videos tends to be the main reason behind opting for a product in this styling. This is mainly because the record label can sell the artist directly by incorporating their faces into the product and use the unique selling point to attract audiences. It also creates the idea that the music is “real” and henceforth these videos are commonly created for rock and metal bands who want to showcase the authenticity of their music. Performance videos have more recently been included into hybrid-genres of performance-narrative as audiences tend to be more attracted to a music video offering both aspects of these dominant genres.

• Some excellent examples of performance videos are: Moth Into Flame by Metallica, Slow by Arcane Roots and Buddy Holly by Weezer.

NARRAT IVE V IDEO CONVENT IONS

Various shots to best support the lyrics through a distinctive set of visuals – Usually narrative videos structure their camerawork like a short film would by using master shots, establishing shots, close-ups and long shots. The camerawork tends to vary upon the style of the story being told. If the artist or a well-known external actor/actress is involved in the product then close-ups tend to become more prolific as the producers aims to capitalise upon the persons face in order to create another marketing aspect within the product, this tends to depend on the type of song that is featured however.Intertextuality – Intertextuality is often used in narrative videos to open up associations with both the record label and the artist themselves. Intertextuality is the way in which a product references other forms of media such as film, TV and other videos in an attempt to market the product to other audiences. A good example of intertextuality in a narrative video is the use of the talk show and the adult-actress Janine Lindemulder in “What’s My Age Again?” by Blink-182.Narrative videos also tend to copy aspects of film and TV genres such as romance, comedy and horror. This is to assist the creation of the story-aspect of the product and make the video appear more pleasing and viewable to the audience. Good examples of this are “Walk” by Foo Fighters which plays on typical Hollywood humour and “One” by Metallica which includes conventions from the horror genre.Editing – Editing is significant within narrative videos as it matches the pace of the product. The editing also coincides with the narrative and usually continuity editing is used to be relay the story being told to the audience. A wide variety of props and costumes are also commonly featured within narrative videos. A good example of this is the Walk video by Foo Fighters which features an array of costumes and props from fake dog facaes to switch-blades.

CONCEPTUAL V IDEO CONVENT IONS

• Conceptual videos are usually fairly enigmatic and open which means that there is often ambiguity associated with their content. The major convention within conceptual videos is the presence of a theme or recurring symbol to present a message or tone to the audience. An example of this is Lenny Kravitz’s Are You Gonna Go My Way music video which features the theme of religion.

• Camerawork – The camerawork tends to be different depending on the mood of the conceptual video. Generally a concept video uses a variety of unusual shots such as extreme close-ups, crane shots and canted-angled shots. This is present the message of the product in many different lights and formats. This also allows the product to further delve into the mysterious and enigmatic tone often associated with this category of production.

• Editing – Depending on the song the editing can be often be fast paced to present many different images and symbols in a short period of time. The point of a concept video is to truly relay the message to the audience and the best way to do this is to enforce it through different forms of medium and imagery that is available. The use of fast-paced montage editing gives the producers the format to do this.

• Artists and people can also be present in a concept video however generally the main aspect is on the theme and symbols at play.

PERFORMANCE VIDEO CONVENTIONS

• Camerawork – The camera tends to focus on the artists’ performing through a series of wide shots, medium shots and close ups to truly sell the artists’ face.

• Usually the artist is performing on stage to a live audience but abstract performance videos feature the band in a small room or studio, see Ignorance by Paramore which features the band performing in a enclosed, dark room which creates an enigmatic tone surrounding the video.

• The artists’ are usually seen wearing certain significant clothing, a band would usually all be wearing similar black clothing while a pop artist is commonly depicted wearing outrageous and controversial outfits to attempt to strike their audience’s attention. Artists such as Lady Gaga have become renown for exploiting this technique.

• The artist can also be seen performing in an unusual setting such as a desert, rooftop, jungle and many others. This presents a degree of abstractness and urban authority. Guns and Roses’ November Rain is shot in the desert and has become one of the most successful music videos of all time.

• Editing – The editing can be fast paced to cut to different members of a band and is usually montage-focussed but this ultimately depends on the style of the song.

• The majority of the product truly centres around the lead artist within the product as they are the unique selling point. A good example of this is the Eleven Eleven video by Dinosaur Pile-Up.

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• In the 21st century music videos are majorly showcased on internet based media such as YouTube and Facebook. This is largely due to the proliferation of technology which has caused music video television networks such as “MTV” and “KissTV” to plummet.

• YouTube is the major platform for viewing and releasing music videos. There are millions of music visual products available on YouTube and it has become the ultimate industry standard for releasing an artists’ product. The dominance of this medium upon the industry has resulted in a mass decline in sales for the product as before the YouTube overhaul institutions were able to generate in come by either making the audience purchase a music video or generating television funds through hosting the video on a television network such as MTV.

• The major music video feature institution at this current time is Vevo. Vevo are a multi-international video hosting organisation renown for releasing music videos by popular and signed artists to social media and YouTube. It is the brainchild of two of the major conglomerates within the industry, Universal and Sony.

• In 2016 the third major conglomerate in music production “Warner” joined up with “Universal” and “Sony” to complete the triad of the “big three” music institutions, this granted “Vevo” near complete dominance of all music video hosting on the internet. “Vevo” can be found on the platforms of YouTube, Android, Apple and their own website, they are a solely digitally-influenced organisation. “Vevo” also run a mass music video showcase internet television show called “VevoTV” which markets new and classic music video productions to an audience 24-hours a day.

• “Vevo” have received many honours and currently dominate the industry leaving many smaller institutions scraping to survive. There are no current organisations which compete with the dominance of “Vevo” and their main competitors are audiences who illegally pirate music and artists who opt to not upload their products through “Vevo” despite being signed to one of the major three labels.

THE PURPOSE OF VIDEO-HOSTING COMPANIES

• The purpose of institutions such as “Vevo” is to release a music video to an audience upon a platform which makes it directly possible and accurate to reach out to a mass-media target audience and demographic. This is why so many insititutions and labels have chosen to upload their videos to YouTube as it is the most effective tool for releasing products to an audience quickly, efficiently and effectively. There is no competition for the proliferation of the internet. It is the number one tool for releasing and uploading certified productions while retaining a guaranteed market response. The reason that “Vevo” exists is not simply to dominate the industry but to provide advertisement to the audience and generate income from their videos. YouTube have a partnership with “Vevo” which means that only “Vevo” have the rights to their own products meaning “Vevo” have a unique selling point to advertise their products through the available music videos online.

• The majority of “Vevo” music videos contain an advertisement before the product begins to play, this advertisement usually features a product by either “Sony”, “EMI”, “Warner”, “Universal” or “Google” all of which are associated with “Vevo”. They can also generate income for the amount of views of the advert and product itself. The advertising revenue from these videos is largely split into the three major organisations and can be upwards of thousands to millions of US dollars. Another purpose of internet video hosting is to retain a single trusted music video product upon the digital platform and destroy all others which are breaching copyright. “Vevo” are able to generate a seal of trust and approval within their audience from this as the audience have learnt to respect the quality of a “Vevo” product. The same goes for smaller, similar institutions such as “Rhino” and “Xtra-Mile” who both upload music videos from their independent labels to prevent other independent members of society from breaching their copyright regulations.