2. +
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
3. +
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.
4. +
Unit 29 – Music Video Production
Assessment Criteria
The assessment criteria addressed by this case study, further
details are in your project brief:
5. +
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.
7. +
Task 1 - Purposes
One of the main purposes of music videos are to Entertain the
audience who are fond of the song. The music video, as long as it’s
well crafted, gives the audience something to engage with and
watch. This is good because the audience will see the messages
behind the music and the lyrics. This is good because it means that
the audience is understanding the song and not just listening to it. It
can be quite frustrating for a songwriter / artist to write a song with a
deep and meaningful message for it to be misinterpreted or
overlooked. The music video help convey a certain tone, image and
vision that matches to the music and creates a perfect atmosphere.
This means that the audience receive a full experience from a song
rather than just random lyrics that don’t mean anything or help to
generate a story. A music video is a artist’s way to get across a
message or a story. This is well done in a music video because of it’s
catchy nature and it’s repeatability.
8. +
Task 1 – Purposes (continued)
Another key purpose of music video is to make money. Money is
a key factor in the music industry as it is one of the benefits that
pushes new artists to start their careers. A good music video can
gain a lot of money through social media sites, each artist has
their own “VEVO” channel. A lot of money can be made just from
using these channels to promote songs. This also means that the
audience can share the songs around. Below is an image that
shows LukasGrahamVEVO’s statistics.
As you can see,
the estimated
yearly earnings for
the channel are
£46,700 -
£747,000. This is
just for his channel,
this is an excellent
way of sharing
music videos as it
allows people to
watch them with
ease.
9. +
Task 1 – Purposes (continued)
A good purpose for creating music videos is to promote your
music. No matter if that is through social media platforms such
as: Facebook and Twitter, or through music streaming services
such as Spotify and Apple Music. Music streaming services have
different playlists called “discover playlists” these promote lesser
known songs so that they get publicity. Music channels’ videos on
YouTube come up in everyone’s recommended watch list. This
means that people can find songs without having to look far for
them. This also gives the artist a small income.
10. +
Task 1 - Purposes
Artists that star in their own music videos usually try to represent
themselves in a way that matches the overall tone of the song.
For example: In perpetration for Lukas Forchammer to star in his
band’s (Lukas Graham) song “7 years”. Lukas Forchammer made
myself look younger by shaving, loosing weight and cutting his
hair. This was done so he could play a younger version of
himself. The first half of the song is about Lukas’ life up to the
present day. This created the idea of reminisce. If an artist such
as Lil Wayne or Snoop Dog has gained a certain reputation as a
drug abuser or a gangster, their music videos will keep up with
that reputation by adding references to drug abuse or crime. This
is all to do with the artist’s image and how their audience’s
perceive them.
11. +
Task 1 - Purposes
Synergy is the combination of multiple different elements that make
an effect greater than all of the elements individually. This is good in
music videos because it combines a story or a message that the
audience is trying to illustrate and the music and lyrics created by
the artist together to create a great effect. An example of this would
be in Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” The lyrics are very up beat and the
music video shows people dancing happily. This fits well and creates
a very positive effect. Twenty one pilots wrote a song called
“Heathens” the song was used along with other songs to promote
the film “Suicide Squad”. This was good because if the song was
played on the radio or on a music streaming platform then, because
the film and song are instantly recognizable, it would freely promote
the two entities. This is a good example of convergence.
12. +
Task 1 - Purposes
Lukas Forchammer presents himself in a sensitive light. He is
very comfortable sharing personal stories from his past. He grew
up in Christiania in Denmark. A rough anarchist neighborhood.
Lukas said he learnt how to “make a Molotov cocktail before a
cup of coffee.” All of his songs share the story of his past. He
presents himself as someone who isn’t afraid to open up to
anyone. People find this presentation inspirational. His brand is
seen as “damaged” this means that the artist has suffered
personal trauma. This can be usually where the artist’s writing
comes from.
13. +
Task 1 - Purposes
One Direction’s videos are clearly manufactured. This means that
they have been told what to wear, what to do and how to behave.
This is because they have an image and a brand that they have to
uphold. Therefore all of their decisions are made for them when it
comes to music videos. Whereas with Animal Collective, their
style and music video is less stylish and more edgy and
interesting. This style was Animal collective’s own choice and this
is good because it means that the music video will be more in line
with the song. Whereas One Direction’s video is essentiality a
quick cut montage of the band members singing and dancing in
fashionable clothes. The main aim of One Direction’s music video
is to sell the song and the band members. This means that the
audience wants to watch the members of the band dance around.
Which is why they are featured in nearly every frame. Whereas in
Animal Collective’s videos the band members are hardly featured
and the video’s focus more on visuals.
15. +
Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
Camerawork is an essential part of a music video. For example: If an
artist is filmed from a low angle, they can come across more
dominant. Whereas if it’s from a high angle it can show that the artist
is perhaps venerable. The camerawork can also show the artist's
brand. This means that if they posses a model like appearance in
their videos and they are heavily featured, it can mean that they are
their own brand. Music videos, depending on the tone, can show a
message that the artist is trying to portray. For example: In the
music video for “love letters” by metromony. The music video is
filmed in one shot and has a dark and edgy feel to it. This is because
it is filmed in a dark room with minimal lights and the camera
movement is also kept to the minimal. This is called minimalistic.
Although complex camera movements are good and can make a
music video better, minimalist movements can make the video flow
better and the audience can pay attention more because there is not
a lot going on on-screen.
16. +
Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
The editing in music videos is a significant part of production. Cutting
to the beat is a very good technique. This is good because it gets the
audience to watch and engage with the music video. Creating a fast
cut montage is effective because it is engaging. This means that it is
something for the audience to pay attention to whilst listening to the
music. This also keeps people watching the music video and
ensures it’s not boring. It is important to keep the videos in time with
the rhythm of the song. This is because the video will look out of
place if the video is faster than the audio. This can ruin a music
video as the music is the central point. A good editing technique to
use is a slow lip syncing effect. This is good because it allow for a
more cinematic effect whilst still allowing the music to match the
subject’s singing. How this is achieved is, whilst filming, the subject
sings the required song at +50% speed. Then the footage is slowed
down to 50% speed. This means that the footage will be slower but
the lip syncing will be in correct time.
17. +
Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
Filming music videos has become much easier with the development
of cameras. This means that cameras are much more portable than
they were before. This means that music videos do not have to only
have one set and they can be filmed in multiple different locations
with ease. Cameras also have more storage space. This allows for
multiple takes and reduces the amount of reshooting you would
have to do. This also cuts down on production time and production
cost. Due to the advancement of PCs, people can now edit videos
more efficiently. This is because the PCs have software such as
Premiere and Final Cut that allow editors to edit their footage
professionally and cleanly. This means that people can color grade,
cut, and render their videos a lot quicker than they previously could.
Viewing music videos is easy because of the advancements in the
field of the internet. This is because they have easy access and
endless access to videos on sites such as YouTube.
18. +
Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
The example I have chose is Indie/Rock. The music conventions
of this genre are that they tend to be black and white, the
artist/band are shown throughout the video. A use of extreme
close ups and long shots are popular, Dark locations, they are fast
paced and there is also an occasional use of special effects. Two
examples of Indie/Rock bands that show these conventions are
Arctic Monkeys and Kings of Leon. ■ For example despite it not
being set in black and white ‘Sex On Fire’ by the Kings of Leon is
set in a dark place, uses special effects and the bands faces, most
notably the lead singer are shown throughout. The Arctic Monkeys
‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High’ also set about the
same trends. Examples are shown right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=RF0HhrwIwp0
https://www.youtube.com/watch ?v=6366dxFf-Os
19. +
Task 2 – Styles, Techniques and
Conventions
Intertextuality is the way in which one media text is referenced in
another. The word Inter-Text means to incorporate two texts and
merge them together so within media, Intersexuality means to
bring together two bits of media. Examples ‘Stay Awake’ and The
Script and will.i.am’s ‘Hall Of Fame’ ■ Example uses lyrical and
visual references to ‘Alice in Wonderland’ which is the famous
literature book wrote by Charles Dodgeson. Just like in ‘Stay
Awake’, ‘Hall Of Fame’ shows lyrical reference to the film ‘King
Kong’ https://www.youtube.co m/watch?v=f5CcOq8Uzk I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5CcOq 8UzkI
21. +
Task 3 – Case Study
This song by Lukas Graham shows his journey from living in near
poverty in Christiania, Copenhagen to being a well rewound artist
in Hollywood. The chorus of the song revolves around his mother
telling him that “It’s okay”. This is because Lukas doubted his
career choices and listened to the bullies to much instead of his
friends. The song is also about Lukas going back to Christiania to
visit all of his childhood friends.
The music video show Lukas in LA at a concert.
This part of the music video takes place in “the
past”. This is why it is in Greyscale. This lets the
audience know that it is in the past without having
to have a visual or verbal notice. The scenes shot
in Christiania are in regular color. This is because
that is set in the “present”. The camerawork is
effective because it is mostly on the same level as
Lukas. This hints that he is trying to reach people
on a personal level. This is common amongst
Lukas Graham’s music videos. This is also
common amongst people in the same genre.
22. +
Task 3 – Case Study
This music video for “Can’t stop” By the Red Hot Chili Peppers. In
an interview regarding the video, the lead singer: Anthony Keidis
said “The video is random, the song is called can’t stop because I
can’t stop being weird or random. I just embrace it just like
everyone should.” This is effective because it means that the
audience can’t stop watching the video.
The camera remains stationary mostly
throughout the video. This is because what
is in the frame is what is significant in this
video. This is because the random acts
featured in the video keep the viewers
interested. The editing is a quick cut
montage, this is sometimes hard to
understand. This could ensure reviewing is
sometimes required. This song came out
in 2002 this means that the cameras and
the PCs used to edit were not as advanced
as they are now.
23. +
Task 3 – Case Study
This song by the Killers. “Mr. Brightside” has a obscure music
video. It features the band singing. There is a relationship
between the music and the visuals with lots of shots of the band
playing in time with the music. There is also a narrative of a love-
triangle to go with performance shots of the band. This is a very
common feature of Indie and Rock music videos in particular and
Goodwin identifies this as a common feature.
Particular music videos may have their
own style or iconography• The particular
style being represented in this music video
is very unique, being set within the context
of a Burlesque show.
