Blogpost 1: What is a music video?
- cldong8
- Apr 6, 2021
- 3 min read
A music video is a short film that integrates a song with imagery.
It usually includes a short story which highlights the main theme of the song.
The purpose of a music video
The main purpose of a music video (MV) is to promote and showcase the artist. By releasing a music video, it promotes the single of the newest album by the artist. The single is usually chosen by the record label and are usually the songs that they believe will be the most successful.
The record label may also use product placement in the MV to increase profits for the artists and the record label.
There can be a lot of pressure to create a good music video; it must be interesting and contain memorable imagery so people share and rewatch it.
If the music video is boring or poorly produced it won’t achieve high numbers. For many people it takes putting a visual to it for it to become a song of interest otherwise it might have been a song they didn’t pay much attention to.
A main function on a MV is an extension of income; Music videos can help promote the artists years after it’s released: if the MV is valued and memorable enough.
MVs can also help sell merchandise or raise the artists profile to increase tour sales. Royalties are paid to the artist for Music TV Channels airing their music videos or if the song is used in an advertisement. Sales from downloads or physical releases are also counted.
The success of an MV is measured in the form of views, charts and radio plays.
What is the structure of the music video?
A song if often structured into: intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus and bridge and a MV is created to match this.
Music videos are structured differently depending on the genre.
The different types of music video are:
Narrative
Performance
Concept / Thematic
What are the key features of the music video form?
Key Features of music videos can be understood based on Andrew Goodwin’s: ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ (1992, Routledge). Goodwin has identified the following features of music videos. These features can be recognised by looking more closely at the STYLE, TECHNIQUE & CONVENTIONS of the video:
performance-based, narrative-based or concept-based and how elements of each are used in it. USE (and reference) Goodwin’s categories to analyse music videos for yourself.
The angles of shot, and background all look the same, which proved that same genres music would use the same techniques of filming.
Music Video Theories
Goodwin's theory states that there are 5 key aspects to a music video
- Thought through beat (seeing what the lyrics mean in your head)
- Relationship between the song and visuals.
- Narrative and performance of the song.
- Technical aspect of a music video.
- Star Image (Protagonist), lots of camera shots making him/her the centre of attention.
Thought through beat
- The first step of this process is to analyse the music structure understanding the chorus and verses.
- Then the second step （main voice of the song), the voice of the artist would be very unique compared to others and will given the person a form of identification that can be related to the star image of singer.
- The third step would be the story of an artist which he is trying to tell within his song. It can establish him as a story teller. And the music video can aid this by showing us the video through the vocals of the song.
Relation between the music and visuals
There are three ways visuals are used to promote a song:
-Illustrate: Music videos use certain images or shots to illustrate/explain the meaning of lyrics to their song and the genre.
-Disjuncture: The meaning of the song is completely ignored in the music video.
-Amplify: Repeatability- This is when the images and camera shots are manipulated and shown repeatedly through out the music video and is drummed into our vision.
Relation between the music and visuals
Andrew Goodwin believed that a music video can promote a song by through the way it analysis the lysics. This is shown in many music videos when a character does exactly what the song says.
Example is when the song lyrics are Jump! Jump! Jump! And on the music video there are character actors actually jumping.
Vernallis:
To analyse a self made music video by applying theory where appropriate. To evaluate a theory. Vernallis states that a clear convention of music editing is that the video may disrupt or break the conventions of continuity editing. The editing may also be bought to the foreground, become visible and not hidden.
Steve Archer:
· ‘THOUGHT BEATS’ The ‘Thought Beat’ process focuses on understanding of the Synesthetic process of music to one’s consummation of it, and the audience’s internal visualisation. Studies into this, as Archer claims, have declared that music is seen as the most important aspect in this regard; construction of an internal atmosphere and general “feeling”.
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