2. 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
• You are expected to submit each section on a weekly basis during your remote
learning weeks.
• If you get stuck, talk to/email your tutor for guidance.
3. 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.
4. TASK 1 -
PURPOSES
Y O U S H O U L D O P E N T H E M U S I C L E C T U R E
P O W E R P O I N T A N D L O O K AT S E C T I O N 1
B E F O R E D O I N G T H I S TA S K
5. TASK 1 - PURPOSES• Q1 - Outline the 3 core purposes of music video with a short explanation
for each:
• To promote an album or a single to increase sales.
• Using the music video will act as advertisement for that album or single
because people will then download or buy it on a different platform.
• To promote a new artist to an audience and maintain an audience focus on
an existing artist.
• A music video will advertise the new artist and the old artist which means
that both artist will have an increase in their audience. Newer artists will
feature in a famous artist’s work to be recognized and to help boost their
career.
• To promote an image of an artist or band that is exciting and dynamic.
• The artist that is making the video will want to attract as many people as
possible so will create an exciting video which makes you want to learn
more about them. Artist will also want to create a strong image of
themselves so people don’t think that they are a negative person or will
have a negative impact in the lives of the younger generations. Many artist
will want to use the music video to support the story and/or meaning of the
song through acting and dance. This could make a music video more
exciting for the audience and for the artist as it means a lot to them.
6. TASK 1 - PURPOSES
• Q2 – What are some of the broader purposes of music videos? Try and outline a minimum of 3.
(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?)
• A music video allows the artist to not have to play live or go on tour as much which will increase
the amount of free time they have. Being famous will have a massive effect on their mental health,
so having more free time away from being in the public view will help them to have a more positive
outlook on their work. Using their free time to look after themselves will encourage them to
produce higher quality of work.
• To promote a brand in the video meaning they could make more money from that project or have
a higher budget. Promoting brands can also help to create an image for themselves as they can
promote the brands, they truly believe in.
• Many artists will use a music video to make the song’s emotion stronger by helping tell the story
using acting and/or dance. The artists will use visual and technical codes to help support these
ideas.
• Some artist may use the video to help put a political or social message in more of the media. A
music video will increase their audience, so we hope that the artists that use their platforms to
show a political view have the correct view as it will reflect on others who look up to the artist.
• For many artists, it is their time to show what they are capable of and to show their ideas in another
form of media. This creates an image for them that everyone will see so they will want to get it
correct. They will also choose correct brands and views to compliment the video idea.
• If the artist is unsigned or in an independent label, they would use the music video to help promote
themselves to be able to have a label sign them. As said above, they use music videos to crate an
image for themselves which labels will see so they will judge the artist of their songs and videos,
not really who they are as a person. This could mean that some newer artists will
7. TASK 1 - PURPOSES• Q3 – Branding; select an artist you like and look at how they present
themselves in their music videos. Explain what their ‘brand’ is, who is
appeals to and why they might have done this.
Billie Eilish
• Billie wear baggy clothes which are often designer brands and are bright
colours or unusual styles. She wears baggy clothes because of her low
self-esteem but has recently been showing body positivity to her fans to
encourage them to be ok with their body. After doing some research, I
think Billie wears baggy clothes to hide her figure which she isn’t very
comfortable showing. I think she also wears designer brands to distract
from her not being so confident with her own body.
• Billie’s music videos are often set in a darker location and has a more
minimalistic style which compliments her music as it isn’t busy. She
doesn’t use lots of special effects or performers making the video focus
on her when she is singing. She has made the scenes quieter to keep
production costs lower but to still have a high production video
produced for all her songs.
• Billie hasn’t changed her style of clothing or music since she started, and I
could not see it changing soon as it is very simple and easily adapted to
what she wants without making her songs busy like other artists. She also
sings very calmly which is her style and is well transferred to her music
videos. I think Billie has used this to her advantage as it has made her
more famous. She has used a more laid-back style meaning the audience
will listen to the lyrics in more detail and can relate to her. Singing slower
and calmer has helped Billie as it means she can show more emotion in
every word instead of speeding through the whole song without
emotion.
8. TASK 1 - PURPOSES• Q4 – Compare One Direction and Animal Collective music videos [find them on
YouTube!], what can you discern about each act from their videos? What is the main aim?
Explain why.
• One Direction
• One Direction are making videos to promote their own song and to make more money
from those platforms as they want to be better known so if they did split up then they
could all carry on as solo singers. I also think that One Direction have spent lots of time
being creative with their ideas to create a more appealing image to a wider audience.
Overall, their main aim is to promote their own work and to gain as many new members
to their audience, who could tell a friend about them, which helps them to sell out when
on tour. Having a massive fan base (21 million followers on Instagram and 33 subscribers
on YouTube) will encourage hundreds of companies to sponsor them when doing
videos, tours, adverts and albums.
• Animal Collective
• Animal Collective are making videos because they want to be more creative and make a
piece of work that they are happy with even if it isn’t going to do the best for their band.
They are not worried about splitting up as a band because they wouldn’t have as much
success in a solo career as the One Direction member. Their main aim is to promote their
work but keep the audience they already have whilst being proud with what they
produce. This shows that they have a big enough fan base (90.6 thousands followers on
Instagram and 55.8 thousand subscribers on YouTube) to keep themselves content with
work.
9. TASK 2 – STYLES,
TECHNIQUES AND
CONVENTIONS
Y O U S H O U L D O P E N T H E M U S I C L E C T U R E
P O W E R P O I N T A N D L O O K AT S E C T I O N 2
B E F O R E D O I N G T H I S TA S K
10. 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 and how this
creates meaning
• The camerawork can accompany the movement of performers or
make the movement for still objects. To make a more dynamic feel in
the video, the cameraman could circle the artist or object to make it
feel more like a live performance.
• Close up shots are the most common camera shots as it is the most
effective angle. It makes it easier to understand the emotion of the
song or performer and it can create intimacy.
• Low angles are used when the artist wants to show a sense of power
or a sense of vulnerability or both whereas a high angle creates a
sense of weakness of a lack of size.
• The camerawork can help make a video seem more realist with tiny
movements. For example if the performer is walking then the camera
could wobble a little bit to make it feel like you are walking with them.
The camerawork can also help portray certain emotions; slow
movement could reflect colder emotions whereas quick harp
movements could reflect warmer emotions.
11. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS• Q2 - Describe and explain the use of editing in music videos, i.e. the types of shot
used with examples to illustrate this and what the effect of this is/meanings that
are created/etc.
• Fast cut montages are used to change shots on the beat to make it more
appealing to the eye. The faster pace songs will have more cuts in a shorter
period to emphases the speed of the video. This can make it harder to show
deeper emotions, but the song will be a great song to dance to with all the beats.
• Gentler transitions are used to establish different moods. A slower song can show
more emotions in the video as the clips will be longer and gentler compared to
the faster songs. Having gentler pace will make the video simpler and more
effective as it will create a relaxed vibe when watching.
• Digital effects are used with the original shot to give a variety of style in each
video. Using digital effects can help as you can make some sequences that
wouldn’t be possible in the real world. Some examples of digital effects are split
screen so you can have different angles of the same shot on the screen or have
multiple shots on the screen at once. Another one is colourisation where you add
colour to black and white videos to help show emotions. The other main effect is
CGI which is used to for visual effects because the quality is often higher, and
effects are more controllable than other more physically based processes.
Greenscreen is used in CGI because green is the colour furthest away from the
skin tone meaning the performers wont merge with the background.
12. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS• Q3 – 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…
• Pop Music Videos
• Pop videos normally have choreographed sections in with lots of dancers or
they will use a narrative style video to compliment the lyrics. In most cases,
there is a strong connection between the lyrics and the visuals.
• Mostly all of pop music video will have lip syncing into to create a feel of
the in-concert style. Using lip syncing helps to create a better video for the
audience as they will join in when watching.
• Lots of pop music videos will be the same as they follow current trends
rather than going independently making the video unique. They have the
similar videos because they follow a verse-chorus-verse structure and then
use certain lyrics to be remembered by the audience.
• Lots of pop videos use MISE EN SCENE: the costumes are trendy and in
uniform, the locations are normally on stages, the camera shots are
normally close ups to show more emotions, the narrative links to the lyrics
but still has room for imagination and the props are mainly instruments.
13. TASK 2 – STYLES, TECHNIQUES
AND CONVENTIONS• Q4 - John Stuart’s
description of the music
video “incorporating, raiding
and reconstructing” is
essentially the essence of
intertextuality [something
asserted by Andrew
Goodwin]. Can you explain
what intertextuality is and
find a minimum of 3
examples of it in music
videos?
• What is Intertextuality?
• Intertextuality is the shaping
of a media form’s meaning
by the influence of another
media form. Someone can
‘borrow’ ideas and themes
from other media forms and
use it in their own work.
Chris Brow – She ain’t
you
He is wearing the same
costume as Michael
Jackson as a tribute –
homage style.
Iggy Azalea – Fancy
The music video for
fancy has a strong
intertextual link to the
American film ‘Clueless
Taylor Swift – Bad Blood
This video has several
intertextual references to
films such as ‘The Host’ and
‘The Hunger Games’ series’
14. TASK 3 – CASE
STUDY
Y O U S H O U L D O P E N T H E M U S I C L E C T U R E
P O W E R P O I N T A N D L O O K AT S E C T I O N 3
B E F O R E D O I N G T H I S TA S K
15. TASK 3 – CASE STUDY
• For your individual case study you must study an artist of
choice, focusing on a minimum of 3 videos [ideally 5+ videos]
• This should provide discussion on the usage of the following:
– Style[s] & Techniques employed
– Intertextuality
– Camerawork/editing
– Genre conventions
– Critical approaches [you should be applying some of the critical
approaches from your lessons and some of your own, to your
selected videos]
16. TASK 3 – CASE STUDY
• You should include a video link for the videos used
• You should include illustrative stills from the videos chosen
• 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
• Compare and contrast your artist/genre to other artists/genres
• Remember to consider differing contexts
