Bailey Robinson
2nd Part
1# Homage (an acknowledgment to something from the past)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do5MMmEygsY
This video is a homage video as it is seen as a tribute to Tupac Shakur, this song was released ten years after his death. It features an actor playing the part of Tupac. It is basically a tribute towards the artist as his legend and his music is from the past. The video and song is acknowledging his death.
2# Animation (use of drawings to illustrate lyrics and meanings)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGBhQbmPwH8
This is an Animation video as the video is animated. In their videos, Daft Punk use an animated style which tells a story and illustrates the song. This video contains scenes from the 2003 released Japanese anime film Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. When not using animation in their videos, the band usually hide their appearance by wearing masks.
3# Narrative (Sometimes there is an extended version of the music video in order to help develop characters or the plot. It tells a story throughout the video)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyv4Bjja8yc
This video is a Narrative video as it tells a story of a man and a woman, the video contains an intro between two gentlemen talking, the music then begins to start. Half way through the video, there is a break in the song where the man is yet again speaking and after the music begins again, It is narrartive as it follows and features a story.
4# As live (Shows the song sung ‘as live’’ usually in a concert venue)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLlF2FMv968
This video is an as live music video as the video is the artist's performing the song which is filmed in front of a live audience. The video features clips of all performers, including the band and the front men singing, the video also shows clips of the audience. We know the song is performed and recorded live as the sound of the song is different than the album version as it doesn't contain editing.
5# Referencing (Uses a media subject for inspiration)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUPrnu3BEU8
The video grants us an insight of a relationship where the man, gets involved into some criminal acts and cheating which ends up in a break-up after some quarrel between the two. The video is set in the fashion of the movie Goodfellas. This video is a reference to the gangster film, Goodfellas, the video follows the plot of the film but puts it's own take on the video.
6# Parody (It is created to Mock. It’s soul aim is to make fun of an original piece of work through either the subject matter, the author or the style)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZkouut-9RQ
This video is a parody, not just for the video, but for the song. The song is keeping the same tune an style as the original song but changing the lyrics and making it more funky and comical. The song is basically taking the mick out of the original song, ''Another One Bites The Dust'' by Queen.
7# Influence of commercials (Uses advertisements strategies to carry the narrative)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vwNcNOTVzY
The video to ''Gold Digger'' is using an influence of commercials as the video features girls, posing as if on the front of a magazine from the 50's era. Shot in a widescreen letterbox format, using stylized art direction with few props, the video features performances shots of West interspersed with footage of Williams' trademark female video models depicted as "pin-up" cover models from fictional vintage magazines. The titles of the magazines on whose covers the women appear reflect the correlating verses in the song. Foxx is also present, lip-synching both his own parts and the Ray Charles vocal sample. John Legend makes a brief cameo.
8# Pastiche (An imitation. The message promoted will usually be tongue in cheek)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PkcfQtibmU
The video to, ''Walk'' by the Foo Fighters is a pastiche, it is quite similar to Parody and referencing, but Pastiche mixes the two together. This video is heavily influenced by the 1993 film, ''Falling Down''. The video follows Dave Grohl picking up troubles along his journey. At the end of the video the band are seen performing in the warehouse.
9# Surreal (something that the audience would fine hard to believe is happening in the real world. Effects can be added to create a ‘dream like’ meaning)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6P0SitRwy8
This video is surreal because it is using a dream like style to create the video. Most things that happen or most things that we see in this video are not real or will happen, such as the color of the sky and the plot of the video. The video begins and ends with the band in a hospital setting watching an old man being administered medication through an IV drip. The majority of the video takes place in a surreal outdoor setting that incorporates imagery from the film, ''The Wizard of Oz''. During the song's first verse, the old man from the hospital climbs onto a crow-ridden Christian cross. The second verse introduces a young girl in a Ku Klux Klan costume reaching for human fetuses in a tree, and an overweight woman in a suit with human organs painted onto it and with angel wings affixed to her back. In the video's final cut, the band is only shown performing in the outdoor setting during the choruses, where Cobain's face moves in and out of focus in the camera.
10# Interpretive (It is a visual interpretation of the lyrics)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw
This video is an interpretive video as the video uses the lyrics to create plot and style of the video.
Perry opens the video gazing down upon the city from a balcony. As she sings into the night, fireworks burst from her chest and soon inspire young people throughout the city to overcome their fears and insecurities, in the process igniting their own fireworks. A shy overweight girl, playing the role of wallflower at a pool party, finds the courage to shed her clothes and jump in the pool with her friends. A leukemia patient at a children's hospital proves to herself that she can show herself out on the street and in public despite her loss of hair. A teenage boy approaches his friend at a party and kisses him on the mouth. A struggling young performer walking home in a dark alley uses tricks from his magic act to win over a group of street toughs who were trying to rob him. A boy confronts his fighting parents and pushes them apart because their shouting is upsetting his little sister. Soon the youth of the city are converging upon the courtyard of Buda Castle, dancing and lighting up the night with their fireworks.
11# Impressionist (An artists take or ‘’impression’’ of a style/genre or theme)
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb5aq5HcS1A
The video to. ''Dani California'' by Red Hot Chili Peppers is impressionist as throughout the music video, all members of the band are dressing up as different artists from over the years such as, The Beatles, Prince and Kiss. At the end of the video the video ends with the band starring as themselves on the stage. the video is a quasi-chronology of the evolution of rock music; the band performs the song on a stage, but in a variety of outfits representing important figures and movements in the history of rock.
3rd Part
Lyrical Interpretation - Using visual meanings to interpret the lyrics. In the Eminem ft. Rihanna video, we can see the visual being interpretive with the narrative. The lyrics say, ‘’Just gonna stand there and watch me burn’’ and in the video, she and the house are on fire.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U)
Extension or consolidation of song’s meaning - The video extends the meaning of the song. For example, in ‘’Sabotage’’ by the Beastie Boys we can see the use of text to extend the meaning of the song. The video features text of the song name.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5rRZdiu1UE)
Allusion (Reference) - An allusion is simply a reference to something. For example, ‘’Walk’’ by the Foo Fighters alludes to the film ‘’Falling Down’’ and also, ‘’The Kill’’ by 30 Seconds to Mars alludes to, ‘’The Shining’’.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PkcfQtibmU)
Links to other artists - The Tinie Tempah song, ‘’Pass Out’’ links to another artist, Labrinth and also the Eminem video, ‘’Love the Way You Lie’’ links to Rihanna.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmXiLTfQFOM)
4th Part
CUTTING TO ZE BEAT
Cutting to the beat is a way of editing a video so that each clip changes at the same time as the beat of the track. Most clips use a 'cut' transition, so you generally 'cut to the beat' of the music.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOQDsmEqVt8
"Wings" is a single by Little Mix, which was released in 2012. The band has 4 members and the beat is in common time (time signature = 4/4) which works out really easy for the music video. Most of the time, the cuts are to the beat of the song and the cuts include all 4 girls every time. This is a good effect for dance related music videos; as shown there is a dance sequence in the video.
EFFECTS
Visual effects are a way of adding more of a narrative and can normally create more excitement into a music video. Sometimes an audience will be so interested in the technology behind the effects but sometimes they just like the idea of adding more of a story and colour to the video. It keeps them entertained.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSdKmX2BH7o
"We Made You" is a single by Eminem and was released in 2009. Throughout the video, there are many visual effects that are used with a green-screen e.g. Eminem singing through fire. There are also effects such as the car turning into a transformer, or the effects represented by the Star Trek reference Eminem was conveying. This is a good technique because it keeps the audience entertained and they want to watch the whole thing because they want to know if there are any more effects to look out for.
MIMING AND LIP-SYNC
Miming and lip-syncing is a way of linking the video with the song so it gives the allusion that the artist is singing. This technique is used on the majority of music videos.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmeUuoxyt_E
"Rockstar" is a single by Nickelback and was released in 2006. The video features random people around the country, miming and lip-syncing along to the recorded version by Nickelback. This effect makes it look more fun and entertaining because we know that a lot of people will relate to the scenario of the song.
PLAYBACK AND LIP-SYNC
Playback and lip-sync is a technique that is used to create the allusion of a video being in slow motion, but the lip-syncing is still timed with the correct speed of the music. So when recording the footage, the music will be doubled in speed and recorded. And then when the video comes to being edited, it is slowed down by 50% so that the lip-syncing is timed right but it still looks slow.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGyEd0aKWZE
"Burn" is a single by Ellie Goulding that was released in 2013. The song features a lot of lights and people running around having a good time, but almost all of the footage has been slowed down, however the lip-syncing to Ellie's music is timed to perfection. The technique creates a dreamy looking effect that makes Ellie come off as quite angelic and pretty. A fan of Ellie Goulding will know that most of her music videos use the playback and lip-sync technique regularly.
MULTI-MAGE
Multi-mage is a technique where multiple videos are on one screen. This generally shows more than one thing going on and the editing is critical with this technique.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MteSlpxCpo
Pentatonix is an acapella group, and they produced a medley of songs by Daft Punk. The creative part of this video was the use of multi-mage because there are 5 members of the band. The editing was done very well and also used the technique of cutting to the beat because each cut refers to a video changing position. The size, timing and position of each video was excellent and it was entertaining to watch.
CAMERA MOVEMENTS
Just like in any other form of video media, there will always be certain camera movements that are used for different reasons; an establishing shot will generally set the scene at the beginning; a long shot will normally set out the location of a closer scene, so the audience have a better understanding of the atmosphere; mid shots and close ups will be used to see the artists face and see their emotions depending on the music style; extreme close ups would normally be used if the music video wanted to capture emotion, and so an extreme close up on a tear rolling down a cheek might be used. Whereas, different movements can also be chosen depending on a scenario; tracking is used to follow a band, which could be used if it is a continuous shot; a panning shot will normally be used to set another scene and show the audience the surroundings.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kgjkth6BRRY
"Hollaback Girl" is a single by Gwen Stefani and was released in 2005. Throughout the music video, there are multiple shots of different tracking and panning shots which are slow and fast. It gives the music video a good sense of energy because they're always on the move and presents the artist in a lively way. There are also a lot of camera shots as well which makes the music video look a lot more productive and visual; we know exactly whats going on and where about they all are as well as knowing everyones expression.
CAMERA ANGLES
Just like movements, camera angles make a huge impact on the meaning and style of the music video. Wherever a camera is placed can show the power of the artist/characters. Or sometimes it can show an exact location from where we should be seeing it. By choosing different angles, the viewers have a different view of the action, which makes it more interesting and everybody will have their own way of watching it.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjpa0SMOug0
"Salute" is a single by Little Mix that was released in 2014. The song is about how women need to tackle equality in the world and stand up for themselves. The music video features a lot of different angles and movement, but particularly from a low angle view. This is because the music video needs to demonstrate the power that the girls need to have to overcome this problem. With the girls up high or, the camera down low, we are looking up at them as leaders, which is what they want viewers to feel like when watching this music video.
CHROMA KEY
Chroma Key effects are when music videos are shot in front of a green screen. This means that a block colour is put behind the artist and is replaced by another picture/video. Sometimes the quality doesn't always look as good if the background is of a specific location but they are sometimes used for upbeat dance songs. A lot of music videos use chroma key to add a comical sense to their music. It's a technique used to try and interest and entertain the viewers more. Chroma key is also a good technique when the budget for a music video isn't very big.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4cdfRohhcg
"Kiss You" is a single by One Direction that was released in 2013. The video is surrounded by chroma key effects. They have used this to create that comical side of their personalities. We even sometimes see the works behind the chroma key when they are being filmed. It makes them look fun and entertaining. It also makes them look friendly because they know they don't need a big budget to make their fans happy.
Conventions
Conventions of music videos are the style of rules that most people follow sub-consciously. Every music video tends to follow some sort of convention that every other music video does. Sometimes they can be really different but it is not obvious at times.
LYRIC INTERPRETATIONS
Lyric Interpretation is the way that someone watches a music video in relation to the lyrics of the song. This convention is popular because a lot of people like to have their own view of what they think it means.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_qMagfZtv8
"Just" is a single by Radiohead that was released in 1995. The music video features a man who lies down in the middle of the street, while people around him try to work out why he's there. Throughout the entire video, everybody's speech is muted and is replaced by subtitles. During the music video, the man refuses to tell them the reason for his behaviour in the whole video, however at the end of the music video he tells them but the subtitles cut out, before everyone who was interrogating him start lying on the ground with him. We (the audience) are automatically guessing what he had said that could have changed everybody's minds.
The good thing about it, is that people remember the video more than the music, which gets them recognized and people will just remember them for this video.
EXTENDING OR CONSOLIDATING SONG'S MEANINGS
To capture the viewer's attention and emotion, a director will produce a music video that generally expands the songs meaning and "tug at your heart strings". Sometimes they will normally have a different meaning to the lyrics. So it's almost like lyric interpretation but there is a clear meaning, even if it doesn't represent the lyrics.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAfyFTzZDMM
"Beautiful" is a single by Christina Aguilera that was released in 2002. The music video features many people sitting/standing/lying around half naked, which depicts that they aren't very happy with their bodies and the way they look. This music video uses this convention a lot because it definitely gets people emotional when watching, especially because most people can relate to it. Even when she says "I am beautiful...", it doesn't just mean her appearance, but her personality as well which is how the song extends the meaning.
ALLUSION
Allusion in music videos is a convention that is related to the styles of referencing or pastiche. It makes a reference to something else; very similar to intertextual referencing
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhcpubAVdmc
"Right There" is a single by Ariana Grande featuring Big Sean, and was released in 2013. The music video uses the allusion convention to represent the movie Romeo and Juliet. This is effective because it gives a hint to the audience about the style of music or song meaning before it has even started. After the first 20 seconds, we already know that the song is about love and being happy in love.
LINKS TO OTHER ARTISTS
This is a convention that is very similar to allusion in the way that it references other artists, but it generally features an artist in the music video.
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlyXNRrsk4A
"Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)" is a single by Katy Perry that was released in 2011. This music video features another artist named Rebecca Black. I like this convention because it references another artist and promotes them as well as the main artist. It also shows a bond between the two artists and sometimes can lead to future productions together.
