Unit 29: Music Video Production - Task 2

Styles, Conventions and Techniques of Music Videos

Styles

Popular Music Genres

Pop

Pop is short for popular and pop music is the most popular genre of music. Today's pop music is constantly changing and radio stations are constantly playing top pop songs from top artist causing it to become mainstream. Radio has a big part on what pop is because radios play songs that they think the audience will like and only and songs that got positive feedback from critics. It could be considered that if a song is played on the radio it is finally classified as mainstream.

This examples are all pop because of the Artist and well known and popular they are amongst the audience. Most of the music videos have a narrative in the songs are dance numbers where they show the singer dancing. In pop music videos the singer is given the most screen time because of how loved he or she is. Generally music videos have a relation to the song.

The Ed Sheeran example below has a narrative about a man falling in love with a woman on a ski trip. This is pop because of the popularity Ed Sheeran and considering the music video is about love which is common theme amongst pop music videos. Others feature the artist performing and they are generally about love or the artists life because that is what the audience want to to hear about either because they can relate or they want to know about gossip, which means that in terms of uses and gratification pop music videos fit in as personal relationships.

Rock

Rock music was the most popular genre before pop became what it is today. In the 90s rock was enjoyed by many people, bands like ACDC and Queen are popular today and back then they were too. Rock combines instruments like electric guitar, drums and bass. The lyrics of rock songs are generally about rebelling against society and people which caused the sub genre punk rock.

There are many different types of rock music, all of them vary in style but they all have a style that makes it rock.

Rock music videos in comparison to pop music videos have a darker tone and theme, generally involving all members of the band performing and playing instruments. Most of the time they don't have narratives.

The example below has ACDC's song Thunderstruck where they play in front of a large crowd. ACDC are a well know rock band from Australia and they generally make songs that have a sense of danger in the title or in the song hence the name Thunderstruck. The band has a lot of angst and shouting which is what most rock songs have and is projected in this music video. The music video is a perfect example of a rock music video because most of them are the band performing and promoting each member of the band by giving them screen time.

Indie

A genre that relates to the fact that the artist or band are part of an independent record label. Indie music is related to rock music that is based around the use of instruments like the drum, electric guitars and bass that create loud music. Rock gives off the sound of angst but not quite as heavy as hard rock or heavy rock. To sum up Indie is a non mainstream rock to put it simply.

Indie as mentioned before is when an artist or band is part of an independent record label. If someone is part of an independent record label it means they have a small fan base and it would give them a chance to experiment with new types of genres. Foster the people have been doing so in their most recent album where they have songs that fit under different genres but are still part of indie. Mist indie songs aren’t personal and come off as a song about nothing realistically.

The classic indie songs from the 1990s generally were rock indie songs shown through examples like Oasis but as indie got older and as music evolved indie became more pop because of the preferences and how popular pop has become. Indie artist are as well as becoming more pop they are also trying to become more commercial which can be argued that it defeats the purpose of being an indie band an example of a commercial indie band would be The 1975.

Generally Indie music videos now are meant to represent the band and relate to the artist or band somehow, this can be done through having a theme relate to their album or the logo of the band. They do this to promote themselves so the audience listens to their other songs. The music videos are more likely to have Interpretive videos and have a live performance from the band or artist making it seem like the band members have a major role not just the lead singer. Majority of music videos are dark and not as joyful as pop songs as pop songs look at the good parts of life like love while indie is more depressing looking at things like drugs while making the video black and white showing a murky style.

In the Oasis music video it is similar to a rock music video which is due to the similarity both genres have. The band preform in an abandoned, dull street with a black and white filter. The use of black and white appears often in indie music videos because it projects the dark and dull themes indie songs have. Each band member is shown when they perform a solo or do something important in the song. This technique shows that in indie bands each band member has a big important role. The reason why this music video is indie is because of the band themselves and how the themes and conventions mentioned before are expressed in the music video.

Music Video Styles

In-concert: In music videos they could show the band or singer performing in a concert to show they have a large fan base or to show that they care about their fans. In these examples it is clear and obvious to see that the artists are playing in front of people for it to count as in-concert as Linkin Park are and so is Jon Bellion. For it to count as an in-concert video the audience must be present and it must be clearly shown that the band or artist is playing directly in front of an audience which makes these examples suitable:

Live footage - Would just be the band performing together or the artist singing but there is no narrative shown or anything it is just the artist(s) performing like for example the 1975 in this example where they performed live and in one take which makes it a live music video where the band performs. The main difference between a in-concert video and a live footage video is that in live footage videos they don't show or play in front of an audience:

Animation

Stop Motion - Stop motion animations are when many pictures are taken and put together at a fps making it look smooth. This example has a man and things happening in the background that is done in a stop motion style where a train and other props fly past. This music video style appeal towards a creative group of people. The sense of childish toys suggest the man is still a child which fits with the song:

Digital - Digital animations are when a story is shown through a cartoon or animation. My example is by Catfish And The Bottlemen, their music video is called Rango. It is an animation about a sperm called Rango who trains to be the best with references from Karate Kid and Rocky. The reason why this is considered a digital animation is because it isn't real life and computers are used to make this by creating each frame at a time:

Interpretive- Interpretive music videos are music videos that don’t have a clear meaning in the video but it allows the audience to interpret what it means and how it links to the song. These examples are very weird but due to the ambiguous meanings but they generally have a lot of symbolism that could link to something in the song. In the Oasis music video it is visible that there is no clear narrative and it is hard to explain what is happening where a the band members go to a house where a lot of woman wear white and there is a chair in the garden that seems to be a main part of the music video, it's the same case with the second example where two people dance with a constant changing background. The fact that there is no clear narrative means that the audience could interpret the music video in which ever way they want to because it was made so the audience can decide if there is a hidden meaning in the music video. In the Oasis music video he holds up a magnifying glass and later it becomes blurry which could relate to the title "Don't Look Back In Anger" which could make it seem that being angry makes it blurry and unclear.

Narrative - A narrative music video is a music video that has a story happening, it can be related to the song lyrics or it can’t either is found. All these examples have stories happening with characters that play a role that changes. Most pop songs have narratives in their music videos that are about love because it is likely to relate to the audience and cause a reaction. Narrative music videos are mostly about love because it is relatable with the audience. The example below is a song called "Take On Me" which a music video about a man trapped in a comic book and tries to escape before it's too late. This classic example of a narrative music video involves stages of narrative; equilibrium, interruption to equilibrium, attempt to restore equilibrium and in this case the equilibrium is restored. Todorov's theory is the best way to distinguish if a music video is a narrative or not. The other example below has a narrative which is about a boy lost in what seems to be an apocalypse and tries to find people he knows and at the end he succeeds.

Impressionist - Impressionist music videos are art like videos that have different shots that would relate normally but they do link to the song and the lyrics often as shown in these music videos. Much like the art form, they have bright colours that flow and are very aesthetically pleasing. Most impressionist music videos are hallucinogenic and psychedelic much like the Major Lazer video which features a lot of changing colours and patterns that make it an art like way. The music video consists on people with different abilities and abnormal colours dancing. The other example is the music video for the song "Riptide" this could be considered as an impressionist because much like the art form it has meaning within it and as said before all the different shots relate to the song with every shot relating to the lyrics being said which means it could be argued impressionist due to the artsy way the music video is presented.

Surrealist - When the music video is incredibly unrealistic and there are a lot of absurd things happening in the music video. These examples have people flying and other incredibly daft things. The Coldplay music video is a perfect example because it has many strange things that were purposely done to make it seem surrealist and not in place for example the part with the child swinging in space at the start and with the band members lying down on the earth. For a music video to be a surrealistic music video it must consist of people or objects doing things that people wouldn't normally wouldn't see happening like flying fish. What makes this example such a good example is there is something unrealistic or surreal in every shot from flying seals to people diving into the sky.

Pastiche - Pastiche is a music video that pays references another form of media like a book or film, it can also reference anything else but can’t be used in a mocking way. My example by Foster The People references to the Mad Max movies. Foster The People achieve this by having people dressed up like people from mad max and make them act as insane and barbaric as in the movies. Weird Al who is famous for making parody music videos referenced and initiated a band Devo in his music video, he would usually make fun of artists in his songs but in this particular example all he does is mimic their style and wearing similar clothes to them. MGMT made a music video that was dedicated to a book and is related to it in the music video “Me and Michael” which is shown at the end, they achieve this by making the narrative similar to the book but putting their own twist on it full of typical MGMT symbols and signs like flesh phones.

Parody - Parody music videos are when an artist mocks are imitates something by making the music video in that style. Parody music videos are generally only made to create humor or to attack the people being imitated in an over the top way. In the music video Without Me by Eminem he makes a parody to the Batman and Robin comics by having such a style and dressing up as Robin. He has the same style of a comic with transitions being sliding from comic page to comic page. The purpose of the music video is to promote himself and show that he is known as rap boy. This shows he considers himself as a hero while referring to himself in the 3rd person meaning he has a large ego and making the music video fuel his ego. Weird Al mimics the music video of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in his video "Smells Like Nirvana" where he mocks them and the song and video by Nirvana. He copies the music video and makes his very similar but mocks aspects of the song and music video in his lyrics that are altered but go to the same beat of "Smells Like Teen Spirit". These examples are parody because they clearly mock and replicate.

Referencing - These music videos can reference real life events or other forms of media such as films or other songs. Generally things that the artist is involved in. The songs below both have references to certain things like the Transformers movies from Linkin Park and Eminem’s 8 mile. Linkin Park feature in many Transformers films, in this music video a lot of the characters are shown and the whole design relates to the films because of the idea of extra terrestrial. Eminem's movie 8 Mile is a story about a white boy growing up in Detroit and it is related to his life. He made the song "Lose Yourself" for the movie and it makes sense that he referenced it with clips from the movie featuring in the music videos and with him standing behind a sign that says the words 8 mile.

Homage - A homage is when a reference is made in a music video but unlike a parody it is out of respect and is meant to show no ill intentions towards the thing or person being referenced. Generally in music videos homages are aimed at people and are done as a gratitude sort of thing. The examples below involves Michael Jackson wearing a suit that is identical to a character in a movie called The Band Wagon, he wears the suit and acts like the character by dancing and being smooth. Ingrid Michaelson made a music video dedicated to Robert Palmer's "Simply Irresistible". She made this tribute by making the back up dancers dress up as the back up dancers in the music video for "Simply Irresistible". Eminem made a music video completely dedicated to his daughters called "Mockingbird". He has childhood films playing in the background showing how young they are and how big they have become. With the music the music video has a very depressing vibe which is what he wanted to do.

Influence of Commercial - A lot of the time companies get artists to feature their products in music videos so the product is advertised through celebrity endorsement which attracts more customers. It is very obvious when there is product placement and it makes the music video seem more like an extended ad. For example in the music video for Adventure Of A Lifetime by Coldplay Beats speakers are shown very often and are a main part of the music video which is a similar case for Ariana Grande’s Focus as it features Samsung products a lot, Swedish House Mafia’s music video Greyhound doesn’t have a lot of the product until the end where a Absolut Vodka bottle is displayed at the end making it seem like an ad.

Conventions

Lyric Interpretation - In a lot of music videos lyrics are shown in the music video and what the lyrics describe is generally in the music video. This is called lyric interpretation, when the lyrics are displayed. A good example of an artist who does this in music videos is Ed Sheeran as he has done it in the music video for Shape of You and The A Team which a song that sounds relaxing but is about a prostitute getting through the day. Another example is Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" which seems to be at some points without the music video the song wouldn't make sense for example when he asks the real Slim Shady to stand up in a megaphone voice and then says "We have a problem here" because everyone in the room stood up which solidifies the message that he is trying to create that he is in everyone which means everyone is like him whether it's obvious or not.

Extending the meaning - In interpretive music videos the meaning of it can be extended by the music being about something that you wouldn’t expect a song like that to be about. An example of this is Radiohead’s Street Spirit as it has many different meanings and symbolism. An example would be the boy in the music video not being threatened by the dog barking at him this could mean a numerous amount of things and lets the audience wonder what relevance it has to the song and whether the songs meaning has changed. To simplify extension of meaning is when the song's meaning is changed or added to through the use of symbolism and inferred meaning.

Consolidating the meaning - This is the opposite of extending the meaning, where the music video presents exactly what the lyrics say and what they mean. An example of this is River by Eminem. The song is about Eminem and his previous affairs with a woman that he grows feelings towards and wants to end things with her before things get complicated but it becomes too late as he finds out she is pregnant with his child. He and her have a large argument and the relationship ends as well the child getting aborted. The music video features all these references as-well as the man the woman cheated on with Eminem, the woman and Eminem as they are interviewed.

Allusions - Allusion are when a references to an event or a real life person are made discretely or no discreetly. In this specific music video by Nirvana there are many references to Jesus and religion, the use of religious imagery creates an edgy atmosphere in the music video which is very similar to the type of music Nirvana make so one could say the music video does reflect how their music is meant to make the viewer feel.

Links to other Artists - This is when other artists appear in music videos or are referenced. This convention often appears in homages and pastiche music videos. An example of this is David Brent’s If You Don’t Know Me By Now where he pays homage to simply red. A similar thing is done with a previous example, Ingrid Michaelson’s Boys Chase Girls.

Techniques

Cutting to the beat - This technique is often used in music videos to make the audience feel that the music playing is relevant to the video and it is mostly used to attract the audience's attention. This technique is used when a beat in a song is played the cut is changed these are seen in many music videos that have cross cuts, montages and are commonly seen in Dance music videos when the beat intensifies like in Marshmello Alone, Imagine Dragons’ Believer and Eminem’s Walk On Water.

Effects - Effects are often used to add to the music videos narrative (if there is one) and is only done to add to it and attract the users attention. Effects don’t mean adding in things like dinosaurs or dragons they could be small things that weren’t there originally but once the clips were edited the effect was put in. To simply put it effects are edits done to the clip that wasn’t in it originally. In the music video Hey Ya! by OutKast had the same person on the screen several times without cuts which is clearly edited, other examples is Thriller by Michael Jackson and the color changing in Money for Nothing by Dire Straits.

Miming and Lip Sync - Lip syncing is when someone pretends to sing a song when they aren’t actually by moving their lips as if they were saying the lyrics in sync to the song. Examples I found were when Tom Hanks Lip Synced the lyrics for the I Really Like You music video, David Guetta released a music video that was purely dedicated to Models lip syncing to his song and Dua Lipa had back up dancers in her music video to lip sync the chorus.

Playback and Lip Sync - Sometimes the audio is at a different speed to the recorded clips so during the editing process the clips would be sped up or slowed down to match the clips. This technique is done often when shooting music videos because of the in convenience when it comes to shooting.

Multi-Mage - Multi-mage is when more than one image is shown on the screen simultaneously. This technique is generally done to show two narratives at the same time and show how they link. Charlie Puth’s music video for We Don’t Talk Anymore shows a boy and a girl after a breakup and how they are dealing with it, an acapella group called Pentatonix made a music video that features all the band members at the same time a similar thing was done by Usher with Will.i.am.

Camera Movements - Camera movements are done to show meaning behind certain shots for example tracking shots are done to make the audience feel as if they are following the object or person. Camera movement adds to tone and creates a certain feel in the music video for the audience. In the music video for Twice by Catfish and the Bottlemen camera follows them in one take as they perform in front of an empty crowd, a similar thing is done in The Sound’s music video by The 1975, in the music video for A Sky Full of Stars the camera follows the lead singer of Coldplay around the streets as he performs as a one man band.

Camera Angles - Similarly to camera movement, camera angles also show meaning in every shot for example a low angle shot could be described to make a character seem vulnerable and weak. In Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Greenday shows many different angles of the band and the surroundings which mean many different things and fits with the overall vibe and tone of the music video, Tears in Heaven by Eric Clapton does the same and has a similar tone.

Chroma Key - Chroma Key is a special effect used for music videos when green screens are used in the background and during editing a photo or video is placed there rather than the green screen that projects a place, it is often a worse quality than actually going there. In these examples it is clear to see that it is not very good and it is obvious for the audience to see if it’s being used.