2. 5 KEY ASPECTS OF MUSIC
VIDEOS
RELATION OF VISUALS TO SONG
NARRATIVE AND PERFORMANCE
TECHNICAL ASPECTS
STAR IMAGE
„‟SEEING THE SOUND‟‟
3. VISUALS: WAYS IN WHICH
MUSIC VIDEOS WORK TO
PROMOTE A SONG
ILLUSTRATE: the most common is to use a set of images to
illustrate the genre and meaning of lyrics as clear as possible, although
some artists like to be a little held back; they want to give a little to enable
their audience to have their own interpretation of what the meaning is.
AMPLIFY: Just like repeatability, images/effects are manipulated and
constantly show in the video for our minds to take in
DISJUNCTURE: The meaning of the song is completely ignored and
is conveyed as something completely different
4. VISUALS/NARRATIVE AND
PERFORMANCE
Goodwin believes that the visuals usually either illustrate, amplify or contradict the
lyrics; the reason being to cause emphasis of the meaning behind the lyrics. The visuals
would be genre related and intertextual references may be made for the satisfaction and
further gratification for the fans. Goodwin explained that music videos should ignore
common narrative as it is an important part of advertising. Visuals usually give us the gist
of what the artist wants our interpretations to be percepted as yet we usually create our
own from a little of what is given although the record labels will demand a lot of close
ups of the artists. The narrative and performance need to work well together to enable
the audience to not lose interest; there needs to be repeatability. Voyeurism is usually
present, for example mirrors and camera‟s etc.
5. TECHNICAL ASPECTS
Camera work, special effects, mise-en-scene, movement, angle and editing are the
technical aspects which hold the music video.
Lighting and colour effect is usually used to highlight as well as emphasise a specific
thing, for example a certain shot of mise-en-scene, a prop or a facial expression. The
specific focus is used for dramatic effect.
Mise-en-scene is particularly important as it sets the scene. Opposites and contrasts
are usually used for effect when using mise-en-scene although a lot of music videos try to
attain the professionalism and keep it plain and simple.
A lot of cuts are usually made to the beat or rhythm of the song to keep the lyrics
and visuals together; it helps keep everything tied together.
6. STAR IMAGE
A star image is usually created in the video as well as a meta narrative which
describes the development of a star over time. This adds character to the artist and
also gives the persona a personality. Creating a personality for the persona allows the
audience to create a closer connection themselves and feel more part of the star‟s
personal life; they feel like they can relate. It plays an important part in the
production process as well as helping keep the individual artist‟s “reputation” up
that they‟ve been trying to create. Star image is an important factor as it also has to
relate to the genre otherwise the video itself would not work properly. Goodwin
feels as though each video contains a single star being created.
