Conventions of Music Videos

I used 'Dancing in the Distraction factory' by Andrew Goodwin as a source for my research of forms and conventions of music videos. Music videos primary uses are to accompany the music and also encourage the sales of the single. He provides an in depth account of televised music and popular culture in the late 20th century.

It also suggests that often in music videos there is a relationship between the lyrics or music and what you can see on screen. This is known as visual illustration when the video amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.  A good example of this is from the Eminem video for 'Stan' which I analysed in my research, where it is evident throughout.

bellow you can see a part of the Eminem music video for Stan which i have cut out from the original. you can hear the character saying 'I'm driving 90 down the freeway'. And we can see him in the car speeding down the road. which is a good example of the visuals linking in with the lyrics. 

Bon Jovi 'Living on a Prayer'

Also Particular genres and artists often have their own style of music Videos. For example in a heavy rock track there would be a lot of cuts and often be a performance video, a good example of this is Bon Jovi, they are a rock band and to the side you can see a shot from the video for the song Living on a prayer, it shows the band preforming to a audience and there is not much organisation instead just goes with the music, quite chaotic, which is very common in rock videos. Compare this to a ballad such as Adeles Rolling in the deep in which the video would be slow and calm you can see in the shot bellow she is sitting in a chair singing which shows it is not chaotic. and often narrative, demanding lots of close up's of main artist or vocalist. this is evident in alot of Adel  


Adele 'Rolling in the Deep'

The Killers 'Human"

The Killers 'Bones'

Particular artists usually have there own style of video for example the killers music videos are all similar in as far as you can always see the whole band singing in a open space such as desert, city, field and are also usually quite random with the lyrics baring little similarity to the visuals. you can see above shots from two Killers songs Human and Bones. each is set in the desert with the band preforming as if in a gig. This helps create an image for a product, in this case the product is the band.  When you watch a music video being able to relate it to the artist straight away makes it easier for the viewer to get into it.


 Lady Gaga has also developed her own, iconic image. she is often seen in outrageous and controversial outfits like you can see bellow wearing a dress made entirely of meat. With her videos often being very strange and wild she has created a very reconisable image and has captured peoples imagination. her videos along with he fashion statement are the most important aspects to her image as this is what people can visualise.

Intertextual references of music videos, films or TV help to create general feeling/mood rather than offer a coherent meaning. Key lines may play a part in the visuals but very rarely will a music video simply illustrate the lyrics.
A music video tends to make use of the tempo, the tempo of the take drives the editing and may emphasise particular sounds from the track by for-grounding instruments such as a guitar, keyboard or drum solo, when there is a solo you expect to see the instrument.

I looked at Geri Halliwells 'Its Raining Men' and she used he Video to rejuvenated her Carrier after the spice girls split up and as she had be questioned on her wait decided to fill it with sexual references, and this was brilliant at showing off her body.

In many music videos the lyrics establish a general feeling or mood rather than offer a meaning, and quite often only key lines play a part in the visuals. Usually the main relation between the music and visuals is the beat and tempo and the cut transitions relate to the beat.

Not all but most music channels concentrate on playing one type of music video. This could be down to the mise en scene, theme, performance, camera and editing styles. as with any moving text the way in which the camera is used to sequence the images has a significant impact on the meaning. close ups create intensity for the viewer. and therefor focuses on the commodity on sale, the artist.   

The most common form of editing is fast cuts montage rendering most of the images impossible to grasp on first viewing therefor insuring multiple views. However some videos use slow pace and gentle shot transitions to create a calm mood for songs such as ballads.


Madonna was probably the main artist behind the music sex symbols, and her videos were the main type of media she used to portray her sexuality. this idea has now become increasingly popular with most female artists using it, people such as 'Cheryl Cole', 'Christina Aguilera' and 'Rihanna' using this to great effect.


   


 

Eminem - Stan

The music video above by the rap artist Eminem is about an obsessed fan who becomes insane due to the fact his hero Eminem does not reply to his fan mil and ends up killing himself and pregnant wife. it was directed by Philip G. Atwell.


It starts with a man in a bathroom bleaching his hair. This is cleaver as Eminem is well known for is blond hair and this means that when watching the video you can tell that the man is trying to look like Eminem this shows that the film makers are relating aspects to Eminem's appearance. We then see the man have a argument with his girlfriend about her calling him Stan again showing he want to be like Eminem. After this we see Stan go into a cellar which is covered is posters of Eminem which helps to make him the main focus of the video. He starts to write a letter and after an ellipses of time we see Eminem receive it and read it, this suggests that he cares about his fans. In his letter Stan was writing about his letters before and how Eminem had not replied but we then see it fall of a trolley in the post office explaining the problem to the audience and proving Eminem did not ignore him. Stan also talks about his girlfriend being pregnant and the video cuts to her alone on the bed which tells her that he has isolated himself and left his girlfriend alone in when she is in need of help.  The video takes a turn and you see Stan becoming frustrated and angry to by Eminem not replying. and he writes about self harm and you see blood on a magazine. we see Stan and his girlfriend in bed and she then gets up and goes down to the cellar and finds a picture of them but she is covered by a cut out of Eminem this shows he has become obsessed with him. we then see Stan speeding down a highway it the rain screaming into a tape reorder. the stormy weather emphasises the idea that he is not in control and it also portrays his feelings. We see Stan gone mad, he is furious that his idol does not seem to care about him. The quote 'I hope you cant sleep and you dream about it.' suggests that he knows what he is going to do and it makes the viewer sympathise with him. we see cuts to him destroying the cellar, ripping pictures of the wall showing us he has lost his love for Eminem. and also we find out that his pregnant girlfriend is in the boot of the car and we then see him drive into the river. the last few shots of Stan are extremely important as you can see the madness and anger expressed in his face. The video then cuts to Eminem replying to Stan's letter and we find out that he never meant to ignore him and he offers advice and tells Stan to find help,this shows Eminem in a good light as he seems to care about his fan and is concerned for his and his girlfriends well being.  but it is too late and, as he continues to write he realises that it is the same person who had driven of the bridge in the news.

There are many controversial parts to this video with suicide, self harm, murder and violence all included but the fact that wee see Eminem trying to stop it means that he is not seen as advertising it but instead as a advocate against it. the video and the lyrics are related and it is almost like a conversation between the two and throughout the lyrics are spoken by the person on screen. You can identify relationships with the lyrics and visuals throughout the video, for example wen he talks about meeting Eminem at a signing you can see it happening and also when he is driving the lyrics say 'I'm in a car right now, I'm doing 90 on the freeway'.There are examples where the video cuts to the beat of the music. However the video does not show any pacific instruments being played.

The company intend to sell the track as a message to his fans and shows Eminem against the things you see in the video such as self harm.

The video does not have many sexual connotations and does not try and sell the artist as a sex symbol instead it has a more serious tone and try's to put a message across. The camera work and costume again does not portray any sexuality. instead the lighting and mise en scene work to show Stan in a grotty house proving that his obsession has had a negative impact on his life, the dark lighting help to portray this.    

Compared to other Eminem's videos this one differs as he is not the main character instead it is about someone else where as in most of his songs it is a narrative of his own life. however some think that his life experiences influenced this song as his Uncle Ronnie also committed suicide which is mentioned in the song.

There are lots of cuts and changes of time for example when he is writing about meeting Eminem the video cuts to the when it happened also when he asks why he never replied to him it cuts to the letter falling of the trolley at the post office. These are all examples of an ellipses of time.       

Iconic Videos

I believe that anything weather its is a music video, a song or a film can only be considered Iconic if is has sanded the test of time. Below are a few videos that in my opinion are Iconic and a short paragraph explaining why they got this status.
This is a link to the NME website where they show their list of the top 100 iconic Videos. http://www.nme.com/list/100-greatest-music-videos/217342/page/9

Johnny Cash - Hurt 

This emotional song sung just before he died shows brilliantly Johnny looking back over his life. The montage of shots of Cash served a poignant purpose at the time; after Johnny’s death seven months later it became even more powerful. A fitting audiovisual epitaph.

Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock

This Video although old truly has stranded the test of time, and with Elvis changing the face of music this vidio brought a whole new side to it showing a fun video with dancers. Elvis stared music as we know it all acts since have been influenced by him even Videos as now all you see is the lead singer singing and dancing. i was a revolutionary Video. 

Michael Jackson - Thriller

An important factor in making a great music video is a great Artist and the fact that Michael Jackson is rated along with acts such as Elvis and The Beatles proves they don't come much bigger. This video is probably the most iconic of all time due to Jackson's preforming skills and the perfectly timed background dancers. All this makes this video a timeless classic.

Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody

The most important part of a music Video is of course the music, without a good song you cant have a good video . With this in mind the fact that Bohemian Rhapsody is, by many, considered the greatest son of all time certainly helps make this an iconic video. However it is not only a great song but the Video portrays the Freddie Mercury's unbelievable live presence. it was also the first and best Video that approached it with the idea to keep it simple.
  

Amy Winehouse - Back to Black

When an singer dies young they seem to always become a sort of legend as you will never know how far they would have gone. but in Amy Winehouses case her legendary status is also backed up with an amazing voice. This music Video arguably her most famous song is my opinion considered i conic due to the way in which the video is produced the editing and filming is top class.

plan for research

To have a full understanding of the music video industry I will have to have a sufficient amount of research.  I intend to look at different music videos that have been made especially some iconic ones. It will be important for me to understand the difference in video for different genres of music. Also I will need to study the idea of 'Performance vs Naratie'. This is the difference between videos where you watch someone sing, compared to, watching a story with the music played over. I will look at the different TV channels and websites that the music will be shown on. I will also study the plot of the videos in order to see if it links in with the lyrics of the song, there are many factors that contribute to this such as the setting, cast, props and lighting. after this I will watch a variety of previous A Level work in order to get an idea of the level expected and how they managed to create a professional finish and look to their videos. After this I will show people different types of music videos and take not of their reactions. This along with the use of UK tribes I can decide on my target audience. Once I have decided on all this I will look at the various ways these products are distributed.