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Unit 29 - Music Video Production
We will look at Music Videos from a number of perspectives, this
template is for you to write up your notes and to complete your
case study.
The document is split into 3 different tasks, each with separate
questions to answer.
Task 1 is concerned with the purposes of music videos and the
strategies employed by labels and artists
Task 2 is concerned with the styles, techniques and conventions of
music video production
Task 3 is your own case study into a minimum of three music
videos where you can unpack and discuss the videos considering
everything you have looked at in Task 1 and 2
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Unit 29 – Music Video Production
Learning outcomes, this case study is concerned with the first
two learning outcomes of the unit:
1. Understand the purpose of music videos
2. Understand the styles, conventions, and techniques of music
videos
3. Be able to originate and plan a music video production for a
specific music track
4. Be able to work to complete production of a music video.
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Unit 29 – Music Video Production
Assessment Criteria
The assessment criteria addressed by this case study, further
details are in your project brief:
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Notes on completing the case study
It is often easier to show something you are discussing than to
take time describing it. With this in mind, feel free to add lots of
illustrative images from your chosen video examples. Links to
YouTube/Vevo/etc are also encouraged.
Remember, when you make a point or define something, you
should follow this with an example, an explanation of this and
then link to further texts/videos where possible.
If you don’t think there is enough room to add your full
response to a question, don’t just reset the font size to really
small, add an extra slide wherever necessary.
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Task 1 - Purposes
Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short explanation
for each:
Entertainment – The reason music videos are made is so an audience can
visually see the meaning of the music there listening too, It also allows the
artists breathing room on performing live, if a music video is released, the
demand for live performances is reduced.
Branding/Identity – Artists like to make a statement about their views on
topics of issue, politics mostly. By creating music videos, they are able to
visualize the issues they see, and convince those around them. In some
cases, the artist will also use the opportunity of collaboration to increase
their own popularity by including another artist in a music video.
Sales - By using music videos as a method of endorsement for products,
sales and popularity increases. This is because of the artists high profile
and if an audience see certain products being used by the artist, they will
want to be associated with them, by using the same products and brands.
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Task 1 - Purposes
Q2 – What are some of the broader purposes of music videos? Think about
some of the strategies employed by artists in their videos and how they
represent themselves, you could consider where the artist is on a major label,
independent label of unsigned, is there a difference between them?
With mainstream, large label bands. It has be found that the concept, style and
long term purpose of music videos, is to brand, and sell. For instance, One
Direction. Their videos have a distinctive repetitive feel to them, 5 boys,
smiling, singing, pointing happily, the typical teenaged lads. The brand which
they create is tailored to lure in women to spend money on them, buying tickets
to go and see them live, Spending money on merchandise etc. Music videos
which come from large labels promote this.
On the other hand, smaller bands and labels are keen to create unique
perceptions of themselves, because they aren’t as mainstream both in the style
of music that is produced, and there brand, they are able to create music
videos which identify what they want to make, not what they are scripted to do
to lure in an audience.
In comparison to each other, there is a deep contrast between the two. Larger
labels what to make artists profitable, and so they use generic techniques in
order to lure in an audience which will spend money on that very brand, where
as smaller bands and labels use the opportunity of making a music video to
express themselves and there beliefs.
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Task 1 - Purposes
Q3 – Describe what is ‘synergy’ is and how it has been used in music
videos
Synergy was first used and pioneered in the 1930’s by Disney, it allows for
other companies to use mickey mouse within there products or adverts,
since this would also expose Disney’s brand to potential customers or
audiences. Essentially, the idea of synergy is to permit other companies to
show your brand on their own products so that new audiences are able to
see it, and spend money on the brand. Another example of synergy is
MTV in the 1980’s. MTV would boost certain songs to the top of the charts
in order to boost sales of that artist.
On the other hand there is Convergance. This is where artists work along
side films in order to boost publicity, elements of a movie are then
combined into a music video to create an official soundtrack. Some
examples of Convergance include: Aerosmith/Armageddon, Guns n
Roses/Terminator 2 and finally Men In Black 2/Will Smith, who both acted
in the film, and made the soundtrack to the film.
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Task 1 - Purposes
Q4 – Branding; select an artist you like and look at how they
present themselves in their music videos. Explain what their
‘brand’ is, who it appeals to and why they might have done this.
The artist which I will be looking into is Martin Garrix, a 20 year
old Dutch DJ. His genre of music is based mostly around EDM,
Trap and Pop. This would probably mean that his music videos
consist of the typical symptoms of a big top 40 artist. However
each of his videos are unique and make a statement, which is
rather unusual for an artist which has signed with a medium/large
sized label company (Spinnin’ Records)
His brand isn’t targeted towards marketing or profitability, but his
style of music video does contain elements of some mainstream
videos, for example filming videos of a party that he is hosting
(fictionally) which can be seen in other mainstream music videos
from artists such as Jessie J, or DJ Fresh.
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Task 1 - Purposes
Q5 – Compare One Direction and Animal Collective music
videos, what can you discern about each act from their videos?
What is the main aim? Explain why.
One Direction’s music video are laid back, and rather typical of a
boy-band. The video for “You Don’t Know Your Beautiful” shows
the 5 member walks down the beach in a VW camper just enjoying
themselves whilst singing, clearly attempting to repeat previous
steps from disbanded boy-bands, this is because of the aim of the
band. One Direction is Simon Cowell’s creation signed with his
label and so he wants to profit from them through merchandise,
tickets, and song downloads. By appealing to the audience of
younger girls, they are more likely to achieve success in the
profitability of the group. Animal Collective however, are a very
different story. Their style of music determines the video that is
created.
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Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
Q1 – Describe and explain the use of camerawork in music videos, i.e.
the types of shot used with examples to illustrate this
Camerawork is the use of movement, angles and positions of the camera
in order to create a more dynamic feel to the video. This can be done by
synchronizing the cameras movement to the artists or people on screen,
or by rotating the camera around in a circular fashion to create a more
stage like performance. Camerawork can also be beneficial to people
with mobile phones or tablets wishing to watch a music video. The smaller
screens on these devices allows for more difficult viewing, By getting more
close up shots, this can be prevented, and viewing can be of a higher
quality for those using smaller screens.
However smaller screens are only part of the reasoning behind the close
up shots: Many artist prefer this type of shot because it creates a sense of
intimacy between the viewer and the song, As if the artist is addressing
you directly.
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Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
Q2 - Describe and explain the use of editing in music videos, i.e. the way
in which shots are sequenced, considering the rhythm of the edit and
combinations of shots and post-production techniques
Editing of a music video consists of cutting and compiling footage together
in order to create a montage of clips which pull together a storyline or
mood. Often enhancements are made to the video in the editing period,
these enhancements include many CGI elements, from the basics of
colour correction/grading to much more advanced block-buster style film
CGI.
Editing is can be noticed more often in videos of solo females , this is
because the audience ages and gender can vary and so they have to
keep both “sides” happy.
Editing Is present in most modern music videos from popular artists or
composers. Edits usually aren’t made if the music video is of a live
performance
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Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
Q3 - Describe and explain some of the technical developments in music
videos, i.e. in terms of how the music videos are filmed, edited/produced
and viewed
Through years of technical advancements, improvements have been
made to the ways of which we make music videos has changed
drastically. It started with the development of new cameras, which reduced
the cost of production by not having to use film, and recording directly onto
memory. This made production cheaper, and quicker. Many other
techniques were introduced in the 1990’s such as Long takes, and the use
of steadicams.
Coming more towards the future many of the methods that are now used
in music videos, are inspired by films. A prime example of the is the use of
chroma-key, a plugin which allows the use of green screens. Allowing for
creation of more scenes in music videos.
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Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
Q4 – Genre conventions; often music videos adhere to genre
conventions within their visual style and production techniques.
Select a recognizable genre and use illustrations to explain
what their genre conventions are.
The genre I have picked is in-concert. This type of genre is
making a music video look as if it is being performed live to a
real audience, This type of video is commonly found in videos
from people like rock bands or sometimes boy bands. Some
videos of this genre are actually from a concert that was real, to
prevent the need for a brand new production.
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Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
Q5 - John Stuart’s description of the music video “incorporating,
raiding and reconstructing” is essentially the essence of Intertexuality.
Can you explain what Intertexuality is and find some examples of it in
music videos?
A way of describing what intertextuality is, is by calling it a visual
reference. There are mainly 3 types of intertextuality, those being:
Cinema, Fashion & Art Photography. The aim of intertextuality, is to
transform there creation, to represent a familiar scene, usually from a
triple A rated movie. This concept becomes clearer when you see an
example, Chris Brown intertextualised Michael Jackson music video
“thriller” by using the same clothing and environment.
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Task 3 – Case Study
For your individual case study you are required to prepare
material on a minimum of three music videos.
This should provide discussion on the usage of the following:
Purpose of the video [consider the strategy of the artist and the
intention behind the video, remember the core purposes and break
this down into the other purposes we discussed]
Style[s] used
Techniques employed
Intertextuality
Camerawork/editing
Genre conventions
20. +
Task 3 – Case Study
For your individual case study you are required to prepare
material on a minimum of three music videos.
This should provid e discussion on the usage of the following:
Purpose of the video [consider the strategy of the artist and the
intention behind the video, remember the core purposes and break
this down into the other purposes we discussed]
Style[s] used
Techniques employed
Intertextuality
Camerawork/editing
Genre conventions
21. +
Task 3 – Case Study
You should include a video link for the video
You can include as many illustrative stills as you like
Be creative in your approach, it is suggested you use the
heading on the previous slide a guide on how to structure your
response to get you started
Remember, make a point, use a specific part of the chosen
video as an example, explain yourself and then link to another
video where possible
22. +
Let Me Love You – DJ Snake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euCqAq6BRa4
Eminem – When Im Gone: The purpose of the music video is to visualise a dream that the artist had. The music playing
behind the video uses a minor key, which makes the song sound more tense, which fits perfectly with the context of the
dream, gone nightmare.
The editing techniques of the music video really add to the
feel of the video, its fast moving, colourful and cinematic,
The cuts happen quickly to keep up with the pace of the
actors and the colour corrections fit the environment
perfectly for the situation. However towards the end the
video is changed from this high octane world, to the real
life, none video game, where things are far from colourful.
Instead the colours change to make the second person
look much more creepy, keeping the cool tone but adding
green hints.
The camera angles within this video mix between fast
paced and slow dependent on what lyrics are being sang,
for instance, in the chorus, the characters get chased by the
police, but in the main verse, they ‘cuddle’ up to each other,
looking after one another.
In terms of genre conventions, the very first verse sums it up “a dream”
the reality is it is simply a video game, and both the players would be
dreaming of something like this video, instead of there own lives. Other
lyrics like “never let you go” summarises there love for each other in
the game.
23. +
Eminem – When I’m Gone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wYNFfgrXTI
Eminem – When Im Gone: The purpose of the music video is to visualise a dream that the artist had. The music playing
behind the video uses a minor key, which makes the song sound more tense, which fits perfectly with the context of the
dream, gone nightmare.
The cuts and edits in the chorus of the song are much more subtle,
and they aren’t as aggressive as the rest of the video, much like the
tone of the song. It uses simple transitions like fade to paint the
picture, but when in a normal verse, the transitions are quick from
scene to scene, making it difficult to keep up, however this does
relate to the song fairly well, since this is a dream of his, he finds it
hard to keep track of everything happening, later in the song. Other
edits in the video are minimal, subtle colour corrections, vignette and
slow motion
The camerawork in the song is widely varied, there are shots from pretty
much every angle with the exception of Birdseye. The angle of the
camera is dependent on the way that the artist wants to address
viewers, or the characters. For instance, when the artist is talking to his
daughter, the camera is behind the child, showing that he is addressing
the child, but he wants the audience to be a part of it. But other angles,
show Eminem’s perspective as if you are addressing
Unlike many pop songs, the genre conventions in this song, links
closely into the video also. The video paints a picture of the song, for
example the picture on the left shows just after the lyrics “fine, me
and mummy are going” the photo shows a mirror of the two, who then
disappear from the mirror and shortly after, this ‘dream’ ends, with the
visuals show him waking up from the nightmare.
24. +
Justin Timberlake – Mirrors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuZE_IRwLNI
Justin Timberlake – Mirrors: The purpose behind mirrors is to show another perspective, or ‘reflection’ upon the thoughts
of other people, like one a the lines in the song “Two reflections into One”
The edits and the cuts for mirrors are quite slow, but not subtle. The
scenes, and characters change every 2 or 3 cuts. This does link in
with the songs name: “Mirrors” because of the scene being the same
for each character, it looks as if it is mirroring another time. The
actual contents of the video are mostly unrelated to the purpose of
the song, with only a small amount of content relating to mirrors,
though there is one in pretty much every scene.
The camerawork in the song once again is varied. However
because of the name of the song, each scene has a mirror in it,
and the cameras have interlinked this in mostly every shot they
take. It also appears to keep the close shots and a minimum to
characters, I also noticed in some scenes, mirrors on the walls
would show different things to what was actually going on, in
order to show different reflections of concepts, linking into the
lyrics “were making two reflections into one”.
The only true link I can find for Genre conventions would be the
mirrors, and differing reflection, the scenes and characters don’t
represent any lyrics or title in the song, they appear to be inside a
clubhouse/hotel which houses amusements such as mirrors or photo
booths etc.
